Harley Medcalf remembers the last time he was in Denver. He’ll never forget it.
Medcalf is the producer/creator of “Burn the Floor – Floorplay,” the ballroom dance sensation that hoofs it into the Buell tonight through Sunday.
In his last visit, “Burn the Floor” was set to open at the Buell, followed by a party at Tamayo for the cast – and for Medcalf, who was about to turn 50. The date: Sept. 11, 2001.
The opening that night was canceled.
“I can never forget that night,” Medcalf said Monday. “I was with 40 kids from all over the world. Their families were calling; we really didn’t know what to do. The streets were deserted; we’d gather in the hotel foyer and watch the news. It was just shock, such an unknown void. We were scared.”
The show opened the next night. No cast party, no birthday party. “The city asked us to go on, and we went on wondering if we should be performing. The audience was wondering if it should be there. When the curtain went up, there was enormous relief from both sides.”
The Denver Post sent the show a rave, calling it “a patriotic jolt.”
But the 10-week tour was cut short. People weren’t going to the theater. It was a strange time in America.
Still, Medcalf is happy to get back to town. “We’ve rehearsed here; we opened in America here. Denver has always held a significant role in the show.”
It’s a wrap
Before I talk to Aurora native David May, a competitor in the Fox moviemaking reality series “On the Lot,” a producer tells me that May’s been kept in the dark about the the show and the world. In other words, he doesn’t know that, despite the involvement of Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg, the show is totally tanking as they desperately try to tweak it. It’s been called “‘American Idol’s’ inbred sister.” All he knows about the outside world, says May, is that Paris Hilton is back in jail. And really, that’s all any of us needs to know.
“I’m having a good time,” says May, who might be eliminated on the show tonight (7 p.m. on KDVR-Channel 31). When he showed the judges his short flick recently, “They weren’t really totally favorable. But some other people around here liked it, so I have to remain optimistic.”
Wes Craven is the guest judge tonight – and that’s scary.
City spirit
Morton’s DTC salutes Cindy Galloway Kellogg at its Women of Spirit night June 26. Winemaker Kate MacMurray (Fred’s daughter!) will be talking and pouring. $150, call Milli King at 303-409-1177 … Postie Doug Brown sold the movie rights to 20th Century Fox for his upcoming book on having sex with his wife for 100 days … Kathy Griffin is a pally of Dana Gould – so after her gig at the Buell on Saturday night, she dropped in on his 10 p.m. show at the Comedy Works … Hyland Hills Water World’s Annual Belly Flop Contest hits the waves 11:30 a.m. Thursday. First-place flopper gets a trip to Mexico … Hilary Duff at Coors Amphitheatre Aug. 21 … Sez who: “I deserve someone who likes me for who I am pretending to be.” Arj Barker
Bill Husted’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Husted also appears Tuesdays and Fridays on “Good Day Colorado” on Fox 31. You can reach him at 303-954-1486 or at bhusted@denverpost.com.
