Ben Dicke, the producer, director, and star of the show, fell through a trap door on opening night, leaving him seriously hurt and putting the production in peril.
The rock musical about politics of the past will open Thursday night at the Aurora Fox Arts Center, three weeks later than originally planned.
Despite Dicke's painful recovery, the show must go on.
"This is a loud, raucous, irreverent, rock and roll show," Dicke said.
It tells the story of America's 7th President, Andrew Jackson, a role played by Dicke.
"I'm the executive producer," Dicke said. "I'm also the director of the production, and the leading actor, and the scenic designer. The only way I wouldn't do this show is if I couldn't walk; if I got hit by a car or something."
That "something" wasn't a car, but a trap door, left open for less than 30 seconds on the original opening night, Sept 7.
"We were two hours before our opening night curtain when I fell in this hole. I was carrying props for the show and so that kind of blindsided me," Dicke said.
It took an hour for rescue crews to extricate Dicke from a crawl space under the stage.
"It hurt about as bad as anything has ever hurt," Dicke said.
He suffered four broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a head gash.
After 6 months of hard work, opening night was cancelled.
"How could this happen? To have it derailed like this," Dicke said.
Dicke remembered something he learned as an ultra runner.
"You never give up. You don't ever say I'm going to give up," Dicke said.
He pushed his way through a painful recovery, surprising even his own doctors.
"Whatever it takes to make this show go forward, I'm going to do," Dicke said.
Just 3 weeks after the fall, the show will go on.
"We're going to run four nights a week. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday," Dicke said.
Dicke is still recovering from his fall but he will play the starring role in "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson."
The show runs for a month at the Aurora Fox theatre on East Colfax.
"Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson"
Dates: Sept. 27 through Oct. 28
Times: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays
6 p.m. Sundays
Venue: Aurora Fox Arts Center, 9900 E. Colfax Ave.
Tickets: $25 in advance, $30 at the door
Phone: 303-739-1970
Web: www.bloodydenver.com
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