Arts news: Soiled Dove reopening … Twisty (and John Carroll Lynch) are back … Dancn’ Dentist wins award and what is John Oliver doing on daytime (soaps?)

As upsets go, it isn’t quite as monumental as Paraguay’s shocking elimination of Germany – but it’s bigger than, say, Australia beats Turkey.

Out of every song in every gin joint, John Denver’s 1971 hit “Take Me Home, Country Roads” has become the breakout stadium anthem for the U.S. Men’s National Team.

Here’s how it all apparently went down: Before the tournament began, FIFA asked each team to submit a postgame playlist. England’s Liverpool chose “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” The French national team picked “I Will Survive.” For the U.S., the decision was assigned to U.S. Chief Strategy Officer Amy Hopfinger, who chose “Country Roads” – Denver’s beloved ode to West Virginia – which first blared after the U.S. men’s 4-1 victory over Paraguay in Los Angeles.

The phenomenon went viral a few days later when nearly 66,000 fans and players sang the track in unison following the Americans’ 2-0 win over Australia in Seattle. Midfielder Weston McKennie was seen playing air guitar during the singalong. Even Telemundo commentators broke into a spoken-word rendition on-air. A video clip posted by the team has been viewed 1.7 million times on X.

Fans kept the fun going even in consolation after a meaningless 3-2 loss to Türkey. Spotify says streams for the song have surged by 74% since the World Cup began.

Now here’s the funny part. Well, three of them. First: Hopfinger, an 18-year veteran of Team USA, said the players’ initial choices were Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” and Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” But Hopfinger told The Athletic that she personally chose to include “Country Roads” on her list to FIFA after seeing England fans serenade their team with Oasis’s “Wonderwall.” “We were talking about what other songs might create those moments,” she said.

Secondly: Colorado’s adopted son, who is most adored here for his musical love letter to the state, “Rocky Mountain High,” had never actually been to West Virginia (and neither had his co-writers) when they penned “Country Roads.” And then there’s this: Denver, for the record, was born in New Mexico.

“Country Roads” was surely played again Wednesday night in Santa Clara, Calif., following the U.S.’s scheduled knockout match with Bosnia/Herzegovina.

Watch the video!

So many Soiled Doves

The seemingly dying Soiled Dove brand is enjoying a continuing resurgence with word that the “Soiled Dove Underground” will have a soft reopening this Fourth of July weekend in the newly renovated space that once carried the Soiled Dove name out in the Lowry neighborhood at 7401 E. 1st Ave. Only now, it will have an additional outdoor stage.

Keeping up with the Soiled Dove requires a scorecard, and I’ll defer here to the most recent rundown assembled by Westword’s Patty Calhoun. In short:

The ownership group, called Tavern Hospitality Group, had grown to eight locations in 2024 when the partnership between Frank Schultz and his own mother began to fall apart, leading to an ugly court fight. Then came a massive sell-off of properties. When the Soiled Dove Underground closed in May 2024, the property was picked up by a local surgeon named Jackie Glenn.

According to Calhoun: “THG sold the Tavern Littleton for $2.4 million; the Uptown Tavern was foreclosed on by John Elway after it defaulted on his $5.4 million loan. Other properties remain for sale, including a shuttered Tavern in the Denver Tech Center and more LoDo properties.”

But Schultz still personally owned Chopper’s Sports Grill, dubbed “Your Sports Headquarters” in Cherry Creek. The Soiled Dove name returned last month when Schultz installed a stage for live music there and called it the “Soiled Dove at Chopper’s.”

And now, here comes Glenn to reopen to the new/old Soiled Dove Underground, again involving that same name. The new/old venue, he says, will have a new music school, a state-of-the-art sound system, live recording capabilities, video production and livestreaming for a capacity of about 300. The full-service restaurant will be called Rising Phoenix and be led by Chef D. The talent bookers will be Jesse Wehling and Patricia Duncan. Glenn plans an official grand opening later this summer.

“I loved the (old) Soiled Dove’s acoustics, its intimate atmosphere and the sense of community it created,” Glenn said. “When it closed, I felt that loss alongside so many others. Restoring this venue has not only been about renovating a building, but it’s been about bringing back a place where people gather, celebrate music and create memories.

Remembering the names will be easy. (They’re all Soled Doves.) The owners? That’s another matter.

Twisty is back!

When Ryan Murphy created Twisty for the cult FX TV series “American Horror Story,” he said he wanted to create the most terrifying clown in the history of television. And the New York Times said he basically succeeded – in large part thanks to Denver-born actor John Carroll Lynch’s sublime work in bringing the killer clown to life.

The Times officially called Twisty “one of the most memorable and terrifying clown figures in television” in appearances that spanned only seven episodes over two seasons.

Last week, it was confirmed that Lynch will reprise his legendary slasher role for “AHS” Season 13, which premieres in late 2026. And it’s shaping up to be an absolute dream, er, nightmare, for longtime fans of the franchise: Lynch joins returning icons Jessica Lange, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Angela Bassett and Kathy Bates, along with surprise newcomers Ariana Grande and John Waters.  

Now, you might be thinking: Twisty met with a fittingly disturbing demise, what with being stabbed by Edward Mordrake and becoming a ghost. Don’t worry about any of that. He’s back!

Lynch, meanwhile, can be seen in Season 2 of the hit Bosch universe spinoff series Ballard opposite Maggie Q starting July 8 on Prime Video.

Shakespeare weeps for thee

The Colorado Shakespeare Festival has announced the death of actor Chuck Wilcox, whose time with the company goes all the way back to 1971. Wilcox played everyone from Marcus Brutus to Sir Toby Belch.

A stroke at age 40 did not stop him from embarking on a decades-long run “playing” Shakespeare on the lawn in front of the Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre. Wilcox became a fixture perched on a stool, decked in Renaissance garb, answering questions and telling stories to guests as they arrived. He also took part in the company’s annual “Will Power Festival,” bringing the Bard to life for hundreds of elementary-school students.

Wilcox, a graduate of the University of Wyoming and holder of a master’s from CU in stage weaponry, was presented CU Boulder’s University Medal in 2000.

Wilcox died May 13 on his farm in Costa Rica. He was 83. 

“We are grateful to Chuck for devoting his career to the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, bringing Will Shakespeare to life for so many patrons, and for his commitment to excellence in performance, scholarship and teaching,” the festival said in an unsigned statement. Memorial contributions are encouraged either to the Colorado Shakespeare Festival or to Wilcox’s Fearless Creativity project – a website with tools for teaching theater and Shakespeare.

Dancin’ Dentist wins lifetime award

The Colorado Theatre Guild has announced its 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Denver dentist and Broadway veteran Brian Kelly, DDS, at its 2026 Henry Awards ceremony July 20 at the Arvada Center.

Kelly appeared in four Broadway productions, including playing Mark during the original run of “A Chorus Line” before pursuing a career in dentistry at the University of Colorado Boulder in 1985. In 2017, he entered into a partnership with the Denver Actors Fund and has since provided more than $200,000 worth of emergency dental care to members of the Colorado theater community as his own in-kind donation.

Kelly does it, he says, because he can – and he should.

“These people who do theater are underserved and underpaid,” Kelly said. “Many of them have no health insurance, much less dental insurance. They deserve help when they need it.”

Kelly still occasionally performs on area stages, most recently playing manager Benny Van Buren in the Arvada Center’s 2023 production of “Damn Yankees.”

Briefly …

The Carousel Ball has announced that the Grammy-winning group Little Big Town will headline its 40th anniversary gala on Oct. 3 at the downtown Sheraton. Tickets start at a cool $650 to fight children’s diabetes …
Are you a fan of the uncommonly affable standup comedian who goes by the name Fortune Feimster? Many of you must be, as a third show has been added to her upcoming Denver visit from Nov. 13-14 at the Paramount Theatre. The comic’s first Netflix special, “Sweet & Salty,” had fun with the idea that “common ground is only a joke or two away.”

And finally …

If you watch daytime soap operas, do not adjust your sets. John Oliver, host of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” weekly political skewering, will appear on the serial in episodes airing July 2-6. And that’s not all. Oliver will also guest star on “Days of Our Lives” on episodes streaming on Peacock from Aug. 11-14. Why is any of this happening? Oliver joked to his audience: “What is funnier than being in one soap opera? Being in two!”

John Moore is The Denver Gazette’s Senior Arts Journalist, and the founder of the Denver Actors Fund. Email him at [email protected].