[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 137 (Wednesday, November 12, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF HENRY ERNEST LOWENSTEIN

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                           HON. DIANA DeGETTE

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 12, 2014

  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life of one of 
Colorado's most respected and honorable residents, Mr. Henry Ernest 
Lowenstein, who passed away October 7 at age 89. This remarkable man 
merits both our recognition for decades of work in the theater and 
gratitude for his unwavering efforts to improve our community. He 
leaves behind an impressive body of theatrical work as well as his 
legacy of encouragement and mentorship not just in the arts, but for 
social justice as well. He made an enormous impact on scores of lives 
and is widely considered one of the most important people in the 
shaping of Denver.
   Henry Lowenstein was born in Berlin on the 4th of July in 1925, to 
parents Max and Maria Lowenstein, whose home became a magnet for that 
city's arts scene. In fact, Henry often told the story of listening to 
Kurt Weill compose the now classic Three Penny Opera in his parent's 
apartment. But Berlin in the 1930's was no place to raise a Jewish 
family. Fearing for the safety of their son following the harrowing 
Kristallnacht in 1938, Henry would become part of history himself as a 
child of the Kindertransport program, which saved the lives of 
thousands of children before the outbreak of World War II. 
Miraculously, the Lowenstein family was reunited after the war and was 
able to immigrate to America in 1947. Consistently fighting against 
discrimination in any form, Henry held a deep compassion for artists 
and outcasts. This passion, born from the horrors of Nazi Germany, 
would shape the artist he would become.
   After working for years as a foundry man and a gravedigger, Henry 
joined the U.S. Air Force, where he worked as an illustrator before 
attending Yale University. While at Yale he studied theatrical design 
and worked as a stagehand on Broadway. It was during that time he 
received a call from the Denver Post publisher, Mrs. Helen Bonfils, who 
was the wife of theater producer George Somnes. That 1956 request to 
run what would become the nationally recognized Bonfils Theatre changed 
not only Henry's life but the lives of hundreds of artists over the 
next five decades. Henry earned the nickname ``Father of Denver 
Theater.'' The Bonfils Theatre produced more than 400 plays, operas, 
ballet, children's theater, and touring productions until it closed in 
1986 by which time it had been renamed the Lowenstein Theater. It was 
then that Mr. Lowenstein retired--for the first time. The next stage in 
Mr. Lowenstein's theatrical life was to found the Denver Civic Theater 
which he ran until his second retirement in 1995, although Henry never 
fully retired. He was a prolific scenic and costume designer and 
contributed designs into the early 2000's.
   Mr. Lowenstein's passion for theater was equaled by his commitment 
to human rights. Henry was a prolific mentor, particularly for women 
and people of color. His hiring practices, like his theatrical 
productions, consistently broke down racial and societal barriers. His 
work was so important to the theatrical community that the Colorado 
Theater Guild's annual theater awards were renamed ``The Henry's'' in 
his honor in 2008. In his later years, Mr. Lowenstein was also actively 
involved in the historical preservation of personal artifacts related 
to his family's experience in Nazi Germany.
   Mr. Lowenstein is survived by his wife, Deborah Goodman Lowenstein 
and sons David, Daniel and Joshua by his late wife, Doris Brewer, and 
his granddaughters Sarah and Nyssa.
   Please join me in commending Mr. Henry Lowenstein for his leadership 
in the search for justice, equality and beauty through the vehicle 
called theater; which dares to show us our humanity. Henry's generosity 
of spirit, kindness and compassion continues to enhance our lives and 
builds a better future for us all.

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