The Denver Immersive Repertory Theater is getting booted off the stage it hasn’t even finished building.
The theater at 1431 15th St. was issued an eviction notice by landlord Fred Glick, who says the theater owes $51,000 in unpaid rent for May and June. DIRT is also being sued by a contractor for hundreds of thousands in unpaid work, another lease violation, according to the eviction notice.
The eviction notice was posted on the theater’s door Thursday morning.
“Because DIRT has failed to pay two months’ rent and amounts owed to the contractor they hired for work which has been performed, we’ve had to move forward with the eviction process,” Glick said.
“We’re disappointed things have turned out like this but feel like we have done everything we could to help make this (theater) happen,” he added.
Glick said the theater has also not paid July rent, but that payment isn’t due for a few more days.
DIRT owners Steve Wargo and Blair Russell declined to comment.
The business was awarded a $400,000 loan from the Denver Downtown Development Authority last year. After a long back-and-forth with the city, the business received the funds in February of this year. Loan documents obtained by BusinessDen allocate $50,000 of the money for fixtures, furniture and equipment, with the remainder set aside for “working capital.”
Denver Chief Projects Officer Bill Mosher, who works as a liaison between the city and the DDDA, summed up his feelings in one word — “disappointment.”
“There’s a certain amount of risk you take, particularly on nonprofit arts groups, and they don’t help their brethren by acting like this,” he said.
Last week, Littleton-based Beaver Construction Consulting sued the theater at 15th and Blake streets for $269,000 it says it is owed. The firm, which declined to comment, said it had been contracted in April 2025 for $654,000.
A settlement reached in May called for DIRT to make three payments, according to court documents obtained by BusinessDen. A $27,000 payment was to be made that month, followed by payments of $124,000 in June and $127,000 in July.
The lawsuit claims the theater made that first payment, but missed the second required by June 15.
On Wednesday, the theater said in a statement about the lawsuit that it “has endured some unforeseen challenges that have caused significant operational delays and financial impacts towards completing construction on our building as originally envisioned.”
“That being said, we are actively moving forward with construction on our venue and look forward to producing ‘Midnight’s Dream’ when the building is ready for it,” the statement reads.
The immersive model allows theatergoers to participate in a play, not just watch. DIRT’s first production is supposed to feature 11 rooms with scenes happening simultaneously — with 18 hours of acting in each show.
