"Producer Sees Future for John Denver Tribute Show"
       by Monica L. Haynes
       Post-Gazette   
       April 29, 2002

    When "Almost Heaven: Songs and Stories of John Denver"
closed its six-week run on Saturday at the Denver Center in
Colorado, producer Harold Thau's work had just gotten started.
"I want to tour the show rather than bring it into New York
first," said Thau, who was Denver's business manager, partner
and friend. No tour dates have been arranged yet. The singer
died in 1997 when the aircraft he was piloting crashed.
    "He was just getting over his second divorce. He was
really starting to feel good about himself, and we were
looking into a new record deal," Thau said.
    The show features Denver's music and includes three male
and three female actors portraying Denver as he gives his
viewpoints on life, music, the environment, etc. while the
singer of songs such as "Sunshine on My Shoulder" and "Take 
Me Home, Country Roads" was not a favorite of the critics, 
the show has received rave reviews.
    "It's exciting because it's been sold out for six weeks
basically" said Thau, who has spent 40 years in show business
as a business manager, personal manager and theater producer.
A scrappy Jewish kid from the Bronx, he met Denver, a military
brat born in New Mexico, in the early 1960's when the
clean-cut singer became a member of the Mitchell Trio. Their
business relationship and friendship is chronicled in Thau's
recently published autobiography "Bronx to Broadway, A Life in
Show Business" written with Arthur Tobier.
    Thau, 67, has worked with a host of talented musicians,
comedians and actors ranging from Duke Ellington to Jackie
Vernon to John Malkovich. His odyssey in the industry began in
the 1950's when, as a certified public accountant, he began
handling the business affairs of many of the jazz and blues
artists of the day: Sarah Vaughn, Cannonball Adderly, Wes
Montgomery, Ahmad Jamal, and Dakota Staton. His first show
business client was the smoldering singer Nina Simone.
"I thought she was and still is one of the most talented
people around," Thau said of the 69 year old singer. "She was
classically trained, just an incredible ability to entertain
an audience.
    "In those days it was very difficult to be a black
artist."  The overt racial discrimination of the times coupled
with the rigid segregation of musical genres made things
especially trying for jazz artists.  "There was no such thing
as crossover," Thau said.  "It's the job of a business manager
really to insulate the client that he's working with from the
vagaries of the business" Thau said. "The highs are very high
and the lows are very low. Sometimes you have to be more of a
psychologist than a business manager."
    Comedian Vernon appears to be someone who required both.
Popular during the late '60's and early '70's, Vernon was a
notorious big spender who Thau tried to keep from
self-destructing according to the book.  He liked Vernon and
was even the godfather of his children, but "he'd just be
crazy as far as money was concerned," Thau said.  Sometimes
the business manager would have to fly to Las Vegas where
Vernon would be performing to keep the comedian from spending
all his money before his bills were paid.
    After a couple of decades of handling the business affairs
of volatile, temperamental but wonderfully talented people,
Thau was burned out and turned his attention to producing
theater.  After a few producing missteps, someone took him to
see a production in the basement of a Chicago church. "There
was this little acting company called Steppenwolf doing a play
called 'True West,'" Thau recalled.  The play, written by Sam
Shepard, starred then-unknowns Gary Sinise and John Malkovich.
Thau took the production to the Cherry Lane Theater in New
York, where it ran for two years. Thau is still Malkovich's
business manager and friend.
    "I've always been partial to actors who came into motion
pictures from theater," Thau said. "The smart actors from time
to time go back and do theater because they really hone their
craft."  Thau had wanted Denver to do a Broadway show, but
things never came together at that time. "I always had that
particular idea and worked with some producers. Then when John
died I said, 'How do I do this show?'"
    He sought the aid of Jeff Waxman and Peter Glazer, who had
successfully brought the life of Woody Guthrie to the stage.
Thau hopes the show is appreciated by Denver's diehard fans as
well as those who've never heard "Annie's Song" or "Thank God
I'm A Country Boy." "John's music makes people feel good, and
that's what people want to hear," Thau said.