Almost Heaven: John Denver’s America

[rating=4] There seems to be a trend on stages throughout Chicago. We seem to be seeing a number of biographies that deal with the lives of legends of the music world told thru their music. On th eheels of viewing the road company doing “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical” we have headed south to Munster Indiana and the Theatre At The Center with the Chicago area premiere of ” Amost Heaven: John Denver’s America”.

In reality this is almost a concert with his bio being presented along with his music. The concept by Harold Thau is not that unique, but the presentation directed by Linda Fortunato is easy to follow as we learn a great deal about the man and his music . There are five performers with Steven Romero Schaeffer ( who some might remember from TATC’s “Big River”) taking on the “identity” of Denver. He has the look and feel but never tried to imitate Denver. The other cast members are Sara Geist, a new comer to the Munster stage, Tommy Malouf ( recently he was here for “Million Dollar Quartet”, Andrew Mueller ( making his TATC debut) and Shannon McEldowney ( previously in “The Pajama Game”).

These are five talented performers/musicians/singers who will wow you with the way they tell Denver’s story and present his music ( written by him and others).

As I said, it is pretty much like a concert with our five performers using the stage to convey the story of a man who had a problem telling people what he felt in words, but was very able to do so with his songs. The design of this sort of bandshell ( but very rustic) by Ann Davis works. On the floor of the arch are the other musicians under the direction of Musical Director William Underwood. They are Alison Tatum who plays a mean fiddle and Chicago favorite Malcolm Ruhl who plays just about every instrument and will astound you with his harmonica solo. Wow!

All five of our performers portray the feeling of the music as we hear solid renditions of “Take Me Home Country Roads”, “Fly Away”, “Rocky Mountain High”, “Calypso”, “Thank God I’m A Country Boy”, “Sunshine On My Shoulders”, “Yellowstone” and many others. The songs come from his early days with other groups we learn about his family as a child. his emergence in the 1960’s as a folk singer and on to the superstar years of the 1980’s and 1990’s.

If one thinks about the music of Denver, even those that have a sad story contained within always found a way t make us happy. Perhaps that was his goal in life and we were the recipients. Watching the reactions to the music last night made for an uplifting theatrical experience. Smiles were all over the almost sold out theater.  Schaeffer had the feel of Denver and looked a bit like him. He played off the others and the audience well and has a dynamite voice. Speaking of voices, listening to Mceldowney’s “Leaving On A Jet Plane” was breathtaking and Mueller has an amazing range. This cast is “into” what they are bringing to the audience and having as much fun telling his story as we are watching it.

Hats off to the tech people as well. The sound (Joe Palermo) and lights ( G. “Max” Maxin IV) are sheer perfection. The costumes by Brenda Winstead certainly have the look of the period and the props (Melissa Geel) while limited in numbers are just right.

This is a show that is designed for people who loved the man and his music. For those who do love this music, put this on your to do list. The actual performance is under two hours with an intermission and watching these five performers and the musicians on the stage at Theatre At The Center is worth the trip.

“Almost Heaven : John Denver’s America” will continue thru Thru – Mar 22,  with performances as follows

Show Type: Musical

Tickets range from $42-$46

Box Office: 219-836-3255

www.theatreatthecenter.com   

Theatre at The Center is located at 1040 Ridge Road in Munster Indiana, just a short ride from the “loop” and only an hour from the north suburbs. By the way, Munster Donut is a great place to stop by either when entering or leaving town.

Great donuts!!!

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Almost Heaven: John Denver’s America”