Almost Heaven
Almost Heaven
"Songs of John Denver"
Conceived by Harold Thau
Denver’s internationally acclaimed music and activist life are recalled and celebrated in a uniquely crafted Riverside Theatre Production on the Main Stage. Featuring over 50 instruments played by an ensemble cast of 10.
Presenting Sponsor:
ANONYMOUS
ON THE STARK MAIN STAGE
SHOW DATES: MAY 10-29, 2022
Described as “among the most beloved entertainers of his era,” John Denver was an American musical icon who achieved great success with his down-to-earth acoustic sound. Almost Heaven celebrates the life and times of this music man with over 25 of Denver’s chart topping hits including: “Rocky Mountain High,” “Sunshine on My Shoulders,” “Thank God, I’m a Country Boy,” “Annie’s Song,” “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” and many more.
Almost Heaven celebrates the life and times of this music man
Photos
Videos
Cast
*Members of the Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
Margaret Dudasik* Riverside debut! Nat’l tour: Roundabout Theatre Company’s Cabaret (Texas). Off B’way: A Child’s Christmas in Wales (Irish Repertory Theatre). Select regional: Once (Weston Playhouse), Cabaret (Ogunquit Playhouse), Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (The MUNY), Smoke on the Mountain (Flat Rock Playhouse), Ring of Fire (German premiere at Deutsches Theater München). She is also an accomplished Irish fiddle player, having represented the US at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann World Championships seven times. Proud Pace University MT. www.margaretdudasik.com
David Finch* [he/him] – Broadway: Cabaret West End: Woody Sez National/Int. Tours – Cabaret, Fame the Musical Off-Broadway: Allegro, Woody Sez, Fame on 42nd, Spring Storm. Finch played chromatic harmonica in the opera Alice in Wonderland with the L.A. Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Most recently he was the Music Director for Florida Studio Theatre’s Friends In Low Places. At Riverside he performed in 1940’s Radio Hour, Woody Sez and Hank Williams’: Lost Highway. As a sideman, he’s played with artists as diverse as Alan Cumming, Kylie Minogue, Serj Tankian, Tony Bennett, Amanda Palmer, Justin Vivian Bond, and Dee Snider. www.dhfinch.com
Allison Ann Kelly* is thrilled to be making her Riverside Theatre Debut! Regional: The Other Josh Cohen, American Idiot, Ring of Fire, Airness, Almost Heaven. NY Workshops: Little Orphan Danny, The Hello Girls. TV: “The Helpsters” (Apple TV+). Allison tours nationally as June Carter with Darlin’ Companion: Johnny and June Carter Cash, and the show she co-created Ramblin’ Rose: The Women who made Country Music. Her solo show Miss Kelly and the Backline Band is set to tour through the Midwest this summer. Her original music can be found through her band, Southpaw Green, on all streaming services. WSU Grad. Thanks to cast and crew for a wonderful experience! @akplaysmusic
David M. Lutken* (Music Director) is pleased to be back at The Riverside Theater where he has appeared over the last twenty years as an actor and musician in Midnight Clear, Always Patsy Cline, Lost Highway, Woody Sez, as well as quite a few hootenannies. Riverside also played host to the first concerts of his group, The Seat Of The Pants Band. Broadway: Inherit the Wind, Ring of Fire, The Civil War, The Will Rogers Follies. Off-Broadway: Woody Sez (Outer Critics’ Circle, Off-Broadway Alliance & Drama League Best Musical nominations), Southern Comfort, Stars in Your Eyes, Winter Man, The Portable Pioneer and Prairie Show. N.Y. City Opera: Paul Bunyan. London: Woody Sez (Evening Standard Best Musical nomination), Dark of the Moon, Bonnie and Clyde, A Month In The Country. Regional: The Porch on Windy Hill, Our Town, Man of La Mancha, Big River, Elmer Gantry, Finian’s Rainbow, Fire On The Mountain, Buddy, Pump Boys and Dinettes, The Love List, On Golden Pond, Mark Twain’s River of Song, and many others.
Morgan Morse* [he/him] is an actor, musician, and writer originally from Connecticut. Selected credits: Southern Comfort (The Public Theater), Once, Godspell, and Stand By Your Man (The Ivoryton Playhouse), Once (Cape Playhouse), and Ring of Fire everywhere from Houston to Vienna. Last year, he co-wrote and performed in The Porch On Windy Hill, a new play with music that premiered at the Ivoryton Playhouse. He also makes music/comedy videos online, with 200,000 followers on TikTok and 30,000 on Instagram, and writes/performs original music as a singer-songwriter. Links to his various endeavors at: linktr.ee/themorsecoda
Leenya Rideout* [she/her/hers] Broadway: War Horse; Cyrano de Bergerac; Company; Cabaret. Off-Broadway: Wild Abandon, Irish Rep.; Before We’re Gone, 13th St. Rep.; Fire and Air & As You Like It, Classic Stage; Taming of the Shrew, Public Theater; and Cowgirls, Minetta Lane Theatre. Regional: Wild Horses, Merrimack Rep; Into the Woods, HVSF; August Rush, Paramount; That Face, Baltimore Center Stage; Camelot, Capital Rep; Fairfield, Cleveland Playhouse; Man of La Mancha, Milwaukee Rep; On Golden Pond, Casa Manana; Woody Sez, Theaterworks; Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Hangar Theater; Holidays with the Chalks, Alliance Theatre; Merrily We Roll Along, Cincinnati Playhouse. Film: Love, Repeat; Mona Lisa Smile; Loser. Television: “Bull” (CBS); “Company” (PBS); “Nashville Star” (USA Network). Original Cast album of Wild Abandon available online. Love to Ted…
Kris Saint-Louis* is an NYC- Based actor-musician and is pleased to be a part of this Riverside season. Notable credits include: A Christmas Carol (San Francisco), Godspell (Saint Michael's Playhouse), Once (Pioneer Theatre Co., Geva Theatre) and Hair (Berkshire Theatre Group). Many thanks to Riverside and the company!
Sam Sherwood* (John Denver) is pleased to be back on the Riverside stage. Previously at Riverside: Ring of Fire, Lost Highway and Million Dollar Quartet. Off-Broadway: Woody Sez (Irish Repertory Theatre); Fancy: A Country Musical (West Side Theatre). Regional Theatre: The world premiere of Million Dollar Quartet Christmas at Phoenix Theatre Company; Many productions of Million Dollar Quartet; Ring of Fire and Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. Godspell; Once; Stand By Your Man and The Road: My Life With John Denver (Ivoryton Playhouse); …Forum; Pump Boys & Dinettes; Lost Highway and Cotton Patch Gospel (Flat Rock Playhouse). TV: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
EJ Zimmerman* [she/her] is ecstatic to return to Riverside! Broadway: Les Misérables (Eponine u/s). National Tour: Avenue Q. Other favorites: Sally Bowles in Cabaret (Gulf Coast Symphony); Nancy in Oliver! (Goodspeed Opera House); Kim in Miss Saigon (Riverside Theatre, Arvada Center - Henry Award); Reza in Once (Geva Theatre, Pioneer Theatre); Julia in Writing Kevin Taylor (Meadow Brook Theatre); Maureen in Rent (Oguma Playhouse); and Mira in The Porch on Windy Hill (Ivoryton Playhouse). Love and gratitude always to my family, friends, and Avalon Artists Group for continued support. And huge thanks to the Lutkens for more adventures with my fiddle! Representation matters. @ejzimmerman47 www.ejzimmerman.com
Sherry Lutken* (Director) is thrilled to be back at The Riverside Theatre where she last directed and played the role of the waitress in Hank Williams: Lost Highway. Off-Broadway and Regional directing and choreography credits include: The Million Dollar Quartet, The Bourgeois Gentleman, Pump Boys and Dinettes, Stand By Your Man: The Tammy Wynette Story, Stars in Your Eyes and Anything Goes. She has directed, choreographed and staged multiple productions of Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash including international productions in Vienna and Munich. Sherry conceived, co-authored and directed the new play The Porch on Windy Hill which had its debut in Connecticut last fall. She is also the associate Director of Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie.
Creative Team
Director: Sherry Lutken*
Music Director: David M. Lutken*
Music Supervisor: Anne Shuttlesworth
Scenic Designer: Allen D. Cornell
Assistant Scenic Designer: Jordan Lippert
Costume & Wig Designer: Kurt Alger
Lighting Designer: Kenton Yeager
Assistant Lighting Designer: Josh Mullady
Sound Designer: Craig Beyrooti
Associate Sound Designer: Jack Audet
Projection Designer: Joe Payne
Stage Manager: Lisa R. Stafford*
Assistant Stage Manager: Melissa A. Nathan*
*Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.