Almost Heaven: The Songs of John Denver, a revue of the late singer/songwriter’s music, will begin Off-Broadway performaces at the Promenade Theater on October 28 and will open officially on November 9. Originally conceived by producer Harold Thau and adapted by Peter Glazer, the show is directed by Randal Myler, whose previous credits include It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, and Love, Janis.
Featured in the cast are Jennifer Allen, Terry Burrell, Valisia Lekae Little, Lee Morgan, Jim Newman, and Nicholas Rodriguez. The production has orchestrations, vocal arrangements, and musical supervision by Jeff Waxman, scenic design by Kelly Tighe, costume design by Tobin Ost, lighting design by Don Darnutzer, and sound design by Lewis Mead.
In Almost Heaven, nearly 30 of Denver’s songs — including “Rocky Mountain High,” “Sunshine on My Shoulders,” “Annie’s Song,” “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” and “Calypso” — are performed against a backdrop of visual images of America in the late 1960s and early ’70s, a time of social unrest and political protest.