Mike Broemmel is no stranger to the
world of literature and playwriting. Broemmel saw his first book published in
2001. Since 2008, he has seen about a dozen of his plays staged in theatres in
different U.S. cities.
Broemmel teamed up with a newcomer
to the theatre scene, Seth Holley, in writing The Bonfils Girl, a play the chronicles the life and times of Helen
Bonfils. Miss Helen, as she was known during much of her adult life, is a
stranger to most people – but she should not be. Helen Bonfils was the first
woman to head up a major daily newspaper in the United States. She was the
first female producer on Broadway. And, in the 69th year, Miss Helen
married her 28-year old chauffer, who she fell in love with while her husband
lay in his deathbed.
A native of Denver himself,
Broemmel was raised in Helen Bonfil’s hometown. “I knew the name as a child, I
came to know the name a bit more in the past decade,” Broemmel remarked. “I
attend Holy Ghost Church in downtown Denver, a church that Helen Bonfils paid
to build at the tail end of the Great Depression.”
In his gut, Broemmel believed that
there was a story to be told about the building of Holy Ghost Church, and there
proved to be one. In a nutshell, Miss Helen’s father was a major scoundrel on
the Denver scene. Yes, he started the Denver
Post. But he also owned houses of prostitution and gambling halls.
“Helen Bonfils was a Catholic.
Catholics believe in something of a three-tiered system in the afterlife:
Heaven, Purgatory and Hell. Helen made something of deal with God. In exchange
for building a magnificent church in the heart of downtown Denver, she asked
God to let her father slip into Purgatory to avoid the heat of hell,” Broemmel
explained.
The story of the building of the
church enticed Broemmel into beginning a script for a play about Helen Bonfils.
“But, I really did not understand her. It was not until I partnered up with my
co-writer on this project that I really came to appreciate what Helen Bonfils
was all about. Seth Holley recognized right away that the story of Helen
Bonfils was a tale about coming to terms with vices. Had Seth not been involved
in the creation of the script, the play about Helen Bonfils would have been
very different, and very wrong,” Broemmel said.
The
Bonfils Girl
had its world premiere run early in the summer of 2016. It was also one of
seven plays featured in the 2016 Colorado Theatre Festival. The play stars
veteran actress Cathy Washburn in the title role and was directed by Rich
Beall.
“Although Seth and I are proud of
our script, it is Cathy who brings Helen Bonfils alive. We had a couple of
people in attendance on opening night that knew Helen Bonfils. They both agreed
that Cathy Washburn got her spot-on,” Broemmel noted.
A special encore performance of The Bonfils Girl is slated for September
9, 2016, at the Lumber Baron Inn and Gardens. More information about the play,
and about obtaining rights to produce the script, can be obtained by writing info@theatrixusa.org.
Seth Holley & Mike Broemmel
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