This past week I attended a play at the Ivoryton Playhouse
in Ivoryton, CT. The intimate, charming 284-seat theater is a great place for
catching new plays that might someday make their way to Broadway.
The show was The Road:
My Life With John Denver. A picture of John Denver, that round face, those
granny glasses, that laid back Colorado vibe, seventies mellow, beamed down on
the stage.
Now, John Denver is perhaps not my first choice for musical
theater – I’m more a Rent or Wicked girl – but the show had significant
charms. When I took my seat in the balcony, I expected to be entertained. I
didn’t expect to be surprised.
The play follows the journey of a young man, a novice
musician from the 1970s Colorado music scene. He meets Denver, who invites him
to join his national tour. As they travel on the road, the young man’s life
parallels Denver’s: he meet a young woman, falls in love, marries, has a
family, all while dealing with the stresses, challenges, and addictive joys of
performing for several years in 53 shows in 50 days. In the end, both of their
marriages break under the stress of life on the road.
I’ll leave the merits of the show to the professional
critics. I enjoyed it, though I would have liked a shorter first act. The
audience sang along to the familiar tunes with gusto and it was easy to get
caught up in the joyful vibe.
But the play changed one thing for me in a big way. Hearing
Denver’s lyrics in the mouths of other singers gave me a new appreciation for
Denver’s songwriting talent. I learned that one of his first songs was
performed by another group, Peter, Paul, and Mary, who had a hit with “Jet
Plane.” I’m sure you’ll be humming along if I just type the words, I’m leaving
on a jet plane.
One of the strengths of the play was the decision to have
a woman sing several of the songs, especially Denver’s famous love song to his
wife, “Annie’s Song.” This choice switched up the audience’s expectations and
brought into focus that this is not just a beautiful song from a man to a
woman, but a song for any lovers. Not just a song for one particular person,
Annie, but for anyone. As the amazingly talented Katie Deal sang the familiar
lyrics, the song sharpened into focus. The poetry of the words and the beauty
of the emotion revealed power in music that I’d considered just feel-good
oldies.
I thought of the old saying: A poet but didn’t know it. I
left the theater impressed by the talent and artistry of John Denver. Really.
Are you a theater fan? Seen any good shows lately?
