The Creede Repertory Theatre Mainstage on Main Street with cliffs behind

Theatre

Creede Repertory Theatre

For a town of a few hundred people, Creede has a remarkable theatre. Every summer the Creede Repertory Theatre stages several plays in rotation on Main Street, so you can see two or three different shows in a short stay.

The story

In 1966, Creede’s mines were winding down and the town wanted something to bring visitors in summer. A group of twelve students from the University of Kansas came to put on plays in the old opera house. They stayed, the audiences grew, and the Creede Repertory Theatre became a fully professional company that draws theatre-goers from across the country.

What to expect

  • Repertory: the company stages several productions in rotation, often a mix of comedies, classics, musicals and new American plays. Stay a few nights and you can see more than one.
  • Two stages on Main Street: the historic Mainstage and a second, newer theatre a short walk away.
  • New work: the theatre has a long history of developing new plays, and some productions are premieres.
  • Family shows: look out for shorter daytime shows for children in summer.

Tickets

Buy tickets through the theatre’s own box office or website. Summer weekends sell out, especially around the Fourth of July, so book as soon as you know your dates. Check the current season, schedule and prices with the theatre before you travel.

Tips

  • Book dinner in town before the show, as Creede has only a handful of restaurants.
  • Bring a warm layer: even summer nights are cool at 8,800 feet.
  • Make it a theatre weekend: see a play each evening and explore the Bachelor Loop and the Underground Mining Museum by day.
  • Book your room early. See where to stay.
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The two-storey Creede Hotel with its balcony on Main Street Town

Downtown Creede

A boom town on Main Street

A few blocks of false-front buildings, galleries, cafés and outfitters on Main Street, with the cliffs of Willow Creek Canyon rising at the north end.

Willow Creek running through a stone channel beneath the cliffs at the north end of Creede Museum

Underground Mining Museum

A museum blasted from solid rock

Hundreds of feet of tunnel blasted into the cliffs by Creede miners, with displays on drilling, blasting and mucking, and tours led by locals in summer.

Mine tailings and old timber workings on a hillside along the Bachelor Loop Historic drive

Bachelor Loop

Mines, cliffs and a ghost town

A 17-mile gravel loop from the top of Main Street through Willow Creek Canyon and the old mining district, past cliffside mines and the site of Bachelor.