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Colorado residents make up two-thirds of the "Some Like It Hot" orchestra at DCPA

See the rehearsal for the mostly Colorado-based "Some Like it Hot" band
See the rehearsal for the mostly Colorado-based "Some Like it Hot" band 02:29

Some Like It Hot hosted opening night in Denver on Tuesday, starting their two-week stay at the Buell Theatre. However, many may not know that a majority of the orchestra for the show is from Colorado, and played the score together for the first time just hours before the first curtain.

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The orchestra practices for Some Like It Hot at the DCPA. CBS

Some Like It Hot is a musical comedy set in the 1930s, facilitated by the sounds of the big band era. However, the touring cast and crew consists of only four full-time band members. The other eight that are needed to round out the orchestra are hired in each city of the tour.

Art Bouton is from Lone Tree and was hired to play several different wind instruments for the Denver productions.

"It's a fun show, you get to swing hard. It is a big band feel. It is a ton of fun," Bouton told CBS News Colorado's Dillon Thomas.

Thomas was invited to the band's first rehearsal in Denver, taking place just outside the Buell Theatre in the lobby as the set was being constructed by the crew. This was the first time the band was coming together to play the music of Some Like It Hot, a matter of only nine hours before the first show began.

To prepare for the quick turnaround, those who are selected to play for the show are given assets like sheet music and a video recording from the pit of a show in order to prepare.

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Some Like It Hot DCPA

"We watch the conductor videos for maybe a month in advance," Bouton said. "The traveling production comes in, and the skill we bring is that we are able to meld with what they are doing very quickly."

Jim Harvey is the music contractor for the DCPA. His job is to help each production fill their pit with the most talented musicians in Colorado.

"You have this short rehearsal, and then you go on that night and play a show you aren't used to playing in public," Harvey said. "There is great security that the touring people know the show, and it is a chance for them to know they can trust the local musicians."

Those involved in the process admit there is a learning curve and minor mistakes are expected, and quickly ironed out.

"Sometimes you turn the page and it is like, did we rehearse this today? Rehearsal goes really quickly," Harvey said.

By the time the show begins before a live audience, just about nobody would be able to know the band had just met hours prior.

"Not until you tell them," Harvey joked of Thomas's report.

In the end, everyone involved said it is a team effort to make sure Denver Center for the Performing Arts ticket buyers never notice how new the music is to the band.

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Colorado residents make up two-thirds of the "Some Like It Hot" orchestra at DCPA. DCPA

"I equate it to being in a submarine. Yes, you can play your part really well, but you have to mesh well with the people around you," Bouton said.

Bouton has played many shows at the Buell Theatre over the years. He said there are few things more exciting than an opening night when the conductor cues the band as the curtain rises.

"You can feel the energy from the audience. It is about as much fun as you should be allowed to have," Bouton said. "I tell everyone all the time that everyone works for a living. I play for a living."

Some Like It Hot plays the Buell Theatre through July 20. Tickets are .

CBS Colorado is a proud partner of the DCPA.

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