Incoming UVU Freshman Stays ‘Footloose’ After Life-Threatening Burn Accident

By the time he reached the stage to speak at this year’s Freshman Convocation ceremony at Utah Valley University, incoming student James Culatta had already taken an unbelievable journey.

In the summer of 2024, Culatta was planning on touring UVU’s Orem Campus before his senior year of high school. But before that, the Virginia native wanted to spend time with family hiking and camping at Baker Hot Springs, near Delta, Utah.

He never made it to the tour.

“I took a step, and the ground just broke from under me,” Culatta said. “I fell into this boiling mud, and I had to swim out of it. It was awful.”

By the time Culatta made it to safety, he was dripping blood, as the superhot water had melted significant portions of skin from his body. Telling a cousin to go get help, he lay on the ground and went into shock. It took emergency personnel more than 45 minutes to reach their remote location.

“It felt like an eternity,” said Culatta’s father, Richard Culatta. “We just tried to help him stay conscious and try to help control the pain as much as we could.”

Culatta was flown to the burn center at University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City. After he was stabilized, doctors told him he would need to stay for as long as four months while undergoing a series of complicated skin grafts to replace the dead, burned areas.

He was also told he might never walk normally again — news that broke his heart, because of his interest in dance and theatre.

“I had to relearn how to walk,” Culatta said. “I remember taking that first step and feeling no response. It was really hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

But Richard said he knew how dedicated his son could be.

“When James decides he wants to do something, he's pretty determined about it,” Richard said. “I think that was what pushed him through that hospital experience way ahead of what anybody expected.”

Despite the excruciating pain, a daily routine that involved removing dozens of surgical staples in his skin, and hours upon hours of physical therapy, Culatta recovered in half the time predicted. And that led to another goal: His high school back in Virginia was planning a production of the stage musical “Footloose,” and Culatta wanted to audition. He’d only ever been in one production before, with a minor role in the school’s staging of “Fiddler on the Roof.” But he decided he had to try.

“I was walking like a penguin,” he said. “I was very stiff, because essentially, every five minutes you're holding still, you have to rip the skin up to get your mobility back. I figured I wasn’t going to get a part at all, just the ensemble, but that was enough for me.”

Despite his cautious realism, Culatta couldn’t bear to check the website when the roles were posted. But his mother’s scream of joy revealed that he hadn’t just made the cast — he’d landed the lead role of Ren McCormack, made famous by Kevin Bacon in the film version of “Footloose.”

“I was so, so happy, because it just didn’t seem possible,” Culatta said.

 Culatta said the role was in no way watered down due to his condition — “It definitely wasn’t a pity casting,” he said — and the toll it took on his body was compounded by his inability to sweat and regulate his temperature due to his damaged skin.

The only concession made for him was in wardrobe: He was allowed to wear long pants instead of shorts to hide and protect his scarred legs.

“I remember specifically that my final bow was the most relieving, happy moment of my life, because I was able to really look back and be like, ‘Wow, this is where I was just a few months ago,’” Culatta said.

Now back in Utah and ready to start at UVU, Culatta said he plans to take several dance classes and audition for theatre and a cappella opportunities. He’s also using his experience to help others. He served as a camp counselor in Tooele this summer, sharing his story with other burn victims and helping encourage their recoveries.

“I really just wanted to be there for them,” he said. “I remember being in the hospital, and there was nothing more comforting than talking to someone who knew relatively what you had been through. And I wanted to be that for other people.”

“It feels a little full circle to be back here at the school that we were originally going to take a tour of when all this happened,” Richard said. “So, for me, it's a bit of a way of saying, you know, we're back on track.”