Five exceptional young talents take on the songbook of one of America's favorite pop/folk/country music performers in Roxy Regional Theatre's production of Almost Heaven: Songs of John Denver, now onstage in Clarksville through July 2. Directed with obvious affection and respect for the musical revue's hero by Tom Thayer, it's as if the pop music soundtrack of the early- to mid-1970s (with attention paid to Denver's later work as well) has come to life in the just under two hours of music.
Presented in a deceptively fast-paced fashion (Act One, particularly, clips along at a good pace) that, like Denver's music, is an easy and leisurely evocation of the man's notable achievements, both musical and otherwise, Almost Heaven serves as a fine introduction to Denver's life and music for younger audiences, but I suspect its primary target audience is comprised of those people of a particular vintage: those who came up during the folk music heyday of the 1960s and were buying albums (or, more likely, 8-track tapes) in the 1970s, when Denver's work spanned various musical genres, culminating in his 1975 Entertainer of the Year Award from the Nashville-based Country Music Association.
Like most other jukebox musical revues, the book for Almost Heaven is rather slight, but it nonetheless offers some intriguing tidbits of information about the man who might rightfully be described as "ahead of his time." A poet at heart, who loved nothing better than flying high in the skies above his beloved Rocky Mountains or sailing the seas aboard Jacques Cousteau's Calypso, Denver was one of this world's most outspoken and passionate environmentalists.
Denver's efforts to save the planet presaged the work of today's environmentalists and helped to set him apart from his contemporaries in the music business, using his celebrity to call attention to his various causes, which he called basic human rights. In Almost Heaven, one of the most memorable pieces of dialogue - expressing his uniqueness among other performers at that time - centers on the fact that "You'd never see Jefferson Airplane or Jimi Hendrix performing with The Muppets." To which Denver replies: "Maybe they should have," exemplifying his ability to spread his somewhat revolutionary ideas to a wider audience.
While Almost Heaven is most assuredly the soundtrack for the lives of the majority of the show's audience members, the musical revue lacks the gravitas of serious musical theater (and yes, I realize there are those who think the phrase "serious musical theater" is an oxymoron) and instead comes off as somewhat "themeparkesque" in its perfunctory treatment of the realities of Denver's life. Sure, some attention is paid to his failed first marriage and subsequent DUI arrests - incidents that today wouldn't merit much tabloid press coverage, but in the 1980s were pretty hot stuff to be bandied about by ersatz journalists - and his political activism is given cursory attention. However, the script lacks the dramatic heft that could give it more credibility as a retrospective of Denver's life and work.
Presented earnestly and reverently, Almost Heaven would benefit from the leavening of additional humor - while there are some moments that elicit a chuckle or repressed laughter, it's a fairly dour presentation of Denver's life. And I have this feeling that any man who found so much joy and delight in the world around him and who set pen to paper to capture those feelings so expressively, had to have a better sense of humor than he has in Almost Heaven.
While all the members of Thayer's capable and confident ensemble, at one point or another, serve as the mouthpiece for Denver during the course of the revue, actor Keith Panzarella carries the mantle throughout the piece, displaying the easy charm necessary to convince you that he is recalling the gentle spirit and impassioned drive of Denver himself. Panzarella is tremendously likable, particularly when addressing his audience directly to explain what drove Denver to succeed - and to fail. His performances of "Matthew" and "Looking for Space" are worthy successors to the original recordings, while his "Thank God, I'm a Country Boy" starts off Act Two in pitch perfect fashion.
Thayer surrounds Panzarella with a lot of talent in the ensemble, which includes Erica Lee Haines, Bryan Benware, Kendall Anne Thompson and Ryan Bowie. While together, the ensemble has a rather heavenly sound (their tightly knit harmonies are exquisitely performed, particularly in the wry and funny "Grandma's Feather Bed"), each performer shows they have the chops to pull off their solo turns with style and panache. Haines' performance of "Fly Away" and "Leaving on a Jet Plane" are beautifully sung and expertly delivered for an audience who grew up on those songs. With a warm and welcoming stage presence, her self-assured performance is noteworthy.
