The Cottonwood Club's Julia Tobey
Our series CULTURED features taste-makers who are shaping the cultural and social landscape of the city. In this issue, Editor in Chief ESTHER LEE LEACH interviews the founder of Give 5 Productions and The Cottonwood Club Julia Tobey.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY ESTHER LEE LEACH
STYLING BY CAROLYN CARRINGTON // CLOTHING & JEWELRY: THE VINTAGE LABEL
LOCATION: A CLANDESTINE DRINKING DEN WITHIN HALCYON, A HOTEL IN CHERRY CREEK
Esther Lee Leach: Julia, where do we even begin! You are an entertainment powerhouse! When did you begin performing on the stage?
Julia Tobey: Thank you Esther. My mom started taking me to ballet and tap classes at Miller’s Dance Studio right here in Aurora when I was four years old. After a freak knee accident and surgery that put me into a wheelchair for a while, I moved away from serious dancing and started singing. When I was cast in Annie at Eaglecrest as a seventh-grader, it changed my life. I was bitten by the theater bug and have never looked back.
ELL: You studied at the University of Northern Colorado and earned a Bachelor of Music. After university, you lived in many cities including New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. Tell us more about performing in these cities
JT: Each city is so incredibly different! I love Tokyo. I performed in the Diamond Horseshoe show at Tokyo Disneyland and had to speak and sing in Japanese. The rest of the cast and technical and costuming crew spoke very little English, so I learned the language quickly. It was baptism by fire! I still dream of Japan and hope to take my husband and daughter back there someday.
One of my most embarrassing moments to this date was when I went out to a sushi bar with my Japanese friend. I yelled out “sumimasen!” which is how you get the chefs’ attention. It was clear in the tiny place that I was the only gaijin (foreigner) in there. I was hoping to order unagi - fresh sea scallops. Instead, I ordered unage - chest hair. Everyone in the place covered their mouths and laughed at me. My friend quickly corrected me and said: “oh no Judia-chan, unaGI!”
New York! I think every young adult should live in NYC for at least a little while. As you know from living there, it’s such an artistically rich and diverse city. The lifestyle is not easy for most, but it taught me so much; mostly about how tenacious I am. I often think “if I survived bartending and cocktail waitressing in NYC with shifts until 4 a.m., I can do anything.” I was also honored to work as a professional calligrapher, model, and actor on stage, film, and TV there. I lived close to a lot of Colorado transplants in Astoria, Queens. I took for granted getting to see my dear friends daily. I miss that.
While living in Los Angeles, I was cast as a prostitute in an ABC sitcom pilot called “St. Francis”. I love playing rough characters! It starred Michael Imperioli who played Christopher in HBO’s “The Sopranos”. I am such a huge fan of that series, I’ve watched it over and over. When it came time to rehearse my scene, I was directed to touch Michael’s chest by James Burrows - arguably the most famous sitcom director of all time. I got super flustered and messed up my lines. I’m pretty sure I spit in Michael’s face a little bit by accident. He was so sweet about it. Thank God the actual taping went well, that just felt like live theatre!
ELL: After 15 years on the road, you moved back to your home state of Colorado and founded the company Give 5 Productions. Tell us more about the company and the charitable angle.
JT: My company delivers the highest level of music and entertainment to bring joy to our clients and audiences. I’m so happy to be doing it here for my home town team. We named ourselves Give 5 Productions out of a desire to do more to help our hurting world. We give five percent or more of our earnings each year to local organizations doing critical work. This year, our chosen benefactor is Moms Demand Action for Gun Safety Awareness. We also support their rallies with technical sound equipment and personnel and sponsor #WearOrange tee shirts.
ELL: You also manage many performing groups like The Beverly Belles. Who else is on your roster?
JT: In addition to our internationally touring vintage act, The Beverly Belles, Colorado-based Rocky Mtn. Bluegrass and Top 40 Cover Band Rockslide, we produce Black Iris Collective - a female-led DJ fusion band that specializes in the 1920s and Postmodern Jukebox inspired entertainment. Black Iris Collective performs all over the country as well. 2020 is going to be a huge year for us with tons of Gatsby-inspired corporate events and shows.
ELL: Your company also produces fabulous events including the Gatsby themed Cottonwood Club. Tell us more about the event and the dress code.
JT: This New Year’s Eve is 2019 into 2020, so an authentic Roaring Twenties celebration is a must. We wanted to produce something truly unique here in Denver. In June, we launched The Cottonwood Club and now each date is selling out fast! At each soirée, we transport guests to an era of flowing libations, laissez-faire attitudes and of course, a call to dress in your most dapper threads and sparkly frocks. We aim to channel a modern version of the 1920s. For this New Year’s Eve, we are encouraging black-tie attire and long gowns. But each Club has a strict semi-formal dress code, regardless of the date. We have a Moët & Chandon VIP Champagne Lounge, incredible live entertainment including acts from Circus Foundry, acclaimed tap troupe The Honey Taps, I sing with Black Iris Collective, my husband Heath emcees and we feature fantastic drag and burlesque acts as well.
ELL: Vintage clothing plays a huge part of this event. Where do you like to source your vintage items?
JT: Carolyn Carrington of The Vintage Label is now local to Denver and she offers gorgeous, curated vintage pieces. She is a delight to work with and has an amazing eye. I’m so grateful she styled me for this shoot! For stage, we often order from Unique Vintage online or order custom dresses to be made by Denver and Los Angeles-based costume designers. Many vintage stores on South Broadway have amazing finds and Cherry Creek Shopping Center is a goldmine. You may just see our “Jingle Belles” singing by Santa’s Flight Academy this holiday season too!
ELL: You have done theater, film and television including appearing on the soap operas Guiding Light and All My Children. Describe that experience.
JT: Soap operas are so funny. The regulars in the cast have so many lines and each work day is so long, nothing from the script is even close to word perfect. As a guest star coming from the theater world, I was used to lines being exactly as they are written on the page and I was used to projecting my voice. It threw me off having to go with whatever lines I was fed and a boom mic just inches over my head and using my soft “bedroom voice”. The sets are super flimsy too. I tried to leave a scene angrily once. I shut the door a little too hard and the whole set almost fell apart. The slam made it on the air, they don’t really edit. We moved on from most scenes in one take.
ELL: What’s next for you and Give 5 Productions?
JT: This weekend, right after Thanksgiving, we have our “Swing into Christmas with The Beverly Belles” shows at the PACE Center- a truly magnificent 600 seat theater off Main Street in Parker. This is our second sold-out year! We worked it out so my husband Heath and I get to work together. He performs some of his comedy show and emcees as our bumbling “manager.” It’s a hoot!
Then we move on to “Santa’s Naughty List” at Parker’s Schoolhouse theatre. A cabaret-style show full of tasteful burlesque, drag revelry, comedy and more. We are working with Tatianna Tata to create the North Pole you’ve never seen.
Next summer, we are honored to have won the contract to produce the ABBA scored Broadway smash hit, “Mamma Mia!” at Parker Arts. We have an incredible Broadway creative team lined up including Piper Arpan and Susan Draus, a Denver native. Get out your sequin jumpsuits, it’s going to be epic!
Cottonwood Club: @cottonwoodclubdenver
Give 5 Productions: @give5productions
Clothing & Jewelry: @the_vintage_label