A 69-year-old accountant will sing in front of a live audience for the first time next week, joining a former dancer stepping back on stage for her first solo routine in 19 years, when Not Til Now returns to the Lakewood Cultural Center on September 30 at 7 p.m. The show, which asks ordinary Coloradans to try something they have never done before in front of a crowd, sold out its 320-seat debut in January and has already sold more than 220 tickets a week ahead of showtime, according to founder Brit Stueven.
Not Til Now is the brainchild of Stueven, a 42-year-old Lakewood writer who leads workshops and events and built the show around a simple premise: everyday people trying something new, whether that means singing, dancing, doing stand-up or telling stories, as reported by Westword. The lineup for the upcoming show includes ten performers, among them a photographer from the first event who is returning with a series of short stories. Stueven says she scouts performers among acquaintances and through recommendations from friends and family.
The January debut at the Lakewood Cultural Center packed all 320 seats of the venue's main theater inside the 38,000-square-foot arts facility run by the city's Heritage, Culture and Arts Division. That first show featured Ed Prather as its first performer.
A Show Built to Push People Past the Fear
Stueven, who has run Brit Stueven PR since 2013 and assisted more than 100 small businesses and nonprofits, says the show is meant to make people ask what they have been putting off and what else might be possible. Not Til Now marked her own first time hosting an event of this scale, and also her own first time dancing alone on a stage. During the show, Stueven wears a disco-ball helmet, a visual she says symbolizes that people are safe to shine.
According to Stueven, people need permission to try something before they recognize what they are capable of. She has said she wants audiences to walk away considering what they believe they cannot do but actually can. That message appears to have stuck: the account notes that several January attendees made major personal or professional moves afterward, including one who signed up to study art therapy the very next day and another who decided to quit her job to finish a counseling degree.
From a Dinner Party to a Growing Brand
Not Til Now grew directly out of Stueven's earlier project, Moms on the Mic, an annual open-mic dinner party where a few first-time speakers took the microphone. In February, Stueven wrote in her newsletter that she was preparing to start a podcast and discussed planned performer interviews, in Behind the Mic.
Stueven's creative track record predates the stage show. She published the book Mama Be Present in 2023, which grew out of an online community for mothers she started in February 2022 focused on maternal mindfulness and connection. Stueven intends to make Not Til Now an annual tradition, with a third show already expected next fall.
The Bigger Fear Behind the Format
The premise taps into a widespread anxiety. Per the 2025 Chapman University Survey of American Fears, cited by Matsh, 33.7% of Americans report being afraid or very afraid of public speaking, ranking the fear 46th out of more than 65 surveyed national anxieties.
Tickets for the September 30 show start at $40 and are available through lakewood.showare.com, with the venue located at 470 S. Allison Parkway.
