06/22/2026
Dr Brian
BREAKING NEWS: The Denver Actors Fund joins with the local theater community in celebrating today’s announcement that the recipient of the Colorado Theatre Guild's 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award is Dr. Brian Kelly DDS.
As our partnering dentist, Dr. Kelly has provided more than $200,000 in emergency dental care to members of the Colorado theater community since 2017. Dr. Kelly additionally joined the DAF board of directors in 2021.
Recently, Dr. Kelly guided Rachel Graham through a serious molar issue dating back to 2020, eventually sparing the local actor and photographer about $6,500 in dental expenses over two years.
Kelly does it, he says, because he can – and he should. It’s safe to assume no dentist more viscerally understands the precariousness of the actor’s life than Kelly. He is himself a veteran of four Broadway productions, including playing Mark during the original run of “A Chorus Line” before pursuing a career in dentistry at the University of Colorado Boulder in 1985.
“These people who do theater are underserved and underpaid,” Dr. Kelly said. “Many of them have no health insurance, much less dental insurance. This is a community of people who offer a service. They make peoples’ lives better and happier by entertaining them. And the idea that they can’t afford to go to a dentist because it is outrageously expensive bothers me greatly. They deserve help when they need it.”
5280 Magazine has included Dr. Kelly among Denver’s top dentists as chosen by his peers for 18 years in a row. It is important to note that, in semi-retirement, he is only able to provide direct dental services to qualified DAF applicants because of facilities made available to him by Hakala Family Dentistry of Cherry Creek. They have our immense thanks as well.
Dr. Kelly has occasionally returned to local stages, with a resume that includes productions at the Arvada Center, Aurora Fox and The Candlelight Dinner Playhouse in Johnstown. At the Arvada Center, he played Cosmo in “Singin’ In the Rain,” Chip in “On The Town,” Benny Southstreet in “Guys And Dolls,” Harold in “The Full Monty” and, most recently in 2023 as manager Benny Van Buren in “Damn Yankees.”
The Colorado Theatre Guild will present Kelly with its 20th Lifetime Achievement Award at its 2026 Henry Awards ceremony on July 20 at the Arvada Center, 6900 Wadsworth Blvd. Ticket information at https://arvadacenter.org/events/henry-awards.
Congratulations to our indispensable “Dancing’ Dentist” from Founder and Executive Director John Moore and board members Jessica Kroupa, Scott Rathbun, Gail Marie Bransteitter and Rodger Hara.
NOTE: If you are a qualified DAF applicant in need of immediate dental intervention, it is important that you contact us BEFORE receiving assistance elsewhere. Fill out an application here. If you qualify, Dr. Kelly can often see qualified applicants within 24 hours --> https://www.denveractorsfund.org/dental-assistance/
To support the mission of the Denver Actors Fund, go to https://www.denveractorsfund.org
