"Musical About John Denver Strikes Heavenly Chord - Almost" by Lisa Bornstein Rocky Mountain News March 30, 2002 Things bode well for "Almost Heaven" from the first notes sung. If you didn't know these were chart-topping hits, you'd get that psyched feeling from encountering a new piece of musical theater. That feeling lasts through much of "Almost Heaven: Songs and Stories of John Denver", a new musical with old songs that sound new, thanks to Jeff Waxman's gorgeous arrangements at Denver Center Theatre Company. Rather than dressing up Denver's songs in Broadway garb, Waxman applies entirely appropriate interpretations, layering bluegrass, country and even a touch of gospel. Waxman and writer-director Peter Glazer previously worked together on Woody Guthrie's "American Song." On Almost Heaven, they trace Denver's life and music through a sextet of singers. The direction, both musical and theatrical, is superb; the script is not. There's an inept melange of dramatic techniques linking the songs, from having cast members speak Denver's words to having them interview one another playing him, to reading letters from fans. It's frequently stilted, as when poor Lisa Asher is stuck with the line, "What happened then?" There have been better transitions. But each time a new song begins, the clunkiness is forgotten. David Ranson sounds surprisingly like Denver, with a clarion, unadorned voice. Emily Bauer's sweet, girlish voice contrasts with her physical energy, particularly on a rousing "Take Me Home, Country Roads." Scruffy-looking Sean Jenness has a textured, nearly bluegrass voice that gives "Rhymes and Reasons" and "Rocky Mountain High" new shadings. The entire cast is accompanied by a marvelous seven-man band. Somehow Tony Meola's sound design makes every measure sound acoustic. The presence of fiddle, mandolin and bass - much of it played by Colorado musicians - makes "Thank God, I'm A Country Boy" a song Waylon Jennings could have supported (and no, that's not blasphemy). Throughout the evening, projections designed by John Boesche play across a widescreen. Some, like shots of Woodstock or multicultural urchins, are painfully cliched. But the final footage, of Denver strumming by a campfire the year before he died, is deeply resonant and affectionate. It reminds that laugh all you will, the man wrote some very pretty music. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -