MOUNT CARROLL -- Timber Lake Playhouse, the professional summer theatre of Northwest Illinois, will present a special, pre-season musical revue, Almost Heaven: The Songs of John Denver, for two weekends May 6-15. The musical is part of a new Jukebox Series at the playhouse, which will also include Always … Patsy Cline in September.
Longtime TLP favorite Courtney Crouse (last summer’s Big River) directs Almost Heaven with a cast of six that includes returning performers Amelia Jo Parish (Hairspray, Peter Pan), Adam Fane (Grease, A Chorus Line) and Harmony France (Big River). Chicago performers Roy Brown, Carly Glenn and Anthony Norman round out the cast. Chris Logan (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) leads the music.
Featuring thirty of Denver’s songs including “Rocky Mountain High,” “Sunshine on My Shoulders,” “Annie’s Song,” “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” “Calypso,” and more, the show celebrates the feeling of coming home against a backdrop of stunning visual images of America’s landscapes and people in the late ‘60s and ‘70s. Variety wrote of the show, “A winning musical revue! …The show pays excellent tribute to an artist who remains great at making people feel good.”
Almost Heaven: The Songs of John Denver will run for eight performances only between May 6 and May 15. Performances are Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.timberlakeplayhouse.org or by calling 815-244-2035 between 10 am and 3 pm. The show is not part of the playhouse’s summer subscription series.
TLP’s 55th summer season officially kicks off June 2nd with the golden age musical classic Gypsy. The season also includes Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years, Rock of Ages, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Titanic and Gaslight. Subscriptions to see all six of those shows are available for $119.
The Magic Owl Children’s Theatre at TLP will present a stage version of The Prince and The Pauper May 10-14, and a rock musical version of The Three Little Pigs in July and August and the TLP’s Concert Series kicks off on May 21 with the all-female country group, Farewell Angelina and concludes TLP’s season with Felix and Fingers Dueling Pianos on September 24. For tickets and information, visit www.timberlakeplayhouse.org or call the Box Office at 815.244.2035.
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