Decades before Colorado’s best singers, dancers and actors graced the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in downtown Denver, workers pushed brooms across the stage to clean up elephant dung, rodeo sawdust, and blood spatters from boxing matches.

“They actually used this for circuses and even basketball games at one point,” said Rodger A. Hara as a group of a dozen people scrambled for seats at the edge of the Ellie’s wide stage.

Hara, an ambassador for Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ public tours, guides people of all ages into and behind the scenes of the city’s biggest performing arts houses. He delves into the histories of these spaces — as well as the modern magic used to create shows like “The Lion King,” “Hamilton,” and “Wicked.” And while it’s mostly look-but-don’t-touch, hardly

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