‘Thank God I’m a Country Boy: The Music of John Denver’ @ Reid Cabaret Theatre (Casa Mañana)

Photos courtesy of Casa Mañana

—Jan Farrington

Casa Mañana’s popular Reid Cabaret Theatre (literally one door west of the main entrance to the Mothership) is an intimate, night-clubby, casual spot for musical evenings that feature a style, an era, or (most often) the music of a single revered artist. Coming up in their 2026/27 season, for example, are shows featuring the music of Sinatra, Etta James, Abba, Billy Joel…and the Christmas stylings of Johnny Mathis.

This isn’t “tribute band” territory. Upwards of 100 lucky people per show get to hear one or more fine singers and a crackerjack group of musicians do their take on the music—often staying close to the original sound—we’d complain if they didn’t, right?—but infusing it with their own voices, hearts, and musicality.

Such it is for the current show at The Reid, Thank God I’m a Country Boy: The Music of John Denver, on stage through November 1. An opening-night crowd clapped, stomped, and sang along to what one gent in the crowd called “a kick-ass set list” of Denver songs, from major hits to tender ballads—most familiar, but a few surprises chosen to connect with a moment or event in his life.

Music director Eugene Gwozdz sets the high standard on piano, along with guitarist Aaron Sutton, bass player Andrew Goins, and drummer Kami Lujan—super musicians all. And for me, the three singers of the night were extraordinary attuned to both the music and the man.

Andy Christopher and Taylor Isaac Gray are both familiar from Casa shows (Christopher in Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Gray in Million Dollar Quartet, The Music of Simon and Garfunkel etc.), plus from both national tours and major regional theatre. Esther Stilwell is making her Casa and Reid debut, with Broadway, regional, and national tour credits to her name. (She and husband Andy have roots here in the area—recently “re-planted”—they’re living here again after more than 15 years in NYC.

Their voices (often in three-part harmony) blend subtly and well, whether on delicately-sung songs of love and loss (“Sunshine,” “Perhaps Love,” “Fly Away”), songs of home life “Grandma’s Feather Bed,” “Back Home Again,” “Matthew”) and rousing tunes (“Country Roads,” “It Amazes Me,” “Calypso,” “Rocky Mountain High,” and of course “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”). And there’s more than a hint of that high, clear Denver voice—somehow seeming to come from behind the cheekbones, slightly unearthly, yet anchored in the earth.

The show is a storytelling event as well: biographical material (by Joe Sturgeon) weaves fluidly throughout, leading up to (and sometimes directly into) the songs, adding depth, context, and emotion. The singers aren’t “just” singers: they’re giving us a picture of John Denver the human. I was struck (and impressed) by how intently they listen to one another, smiling or nodding, and reacting to some of the best moments with a pumped fist or a grin.

In other words, I believe we all went home happy—we in the seats, they on the stage. Maybe even the lingering spirit of John Denver, who long ago (as Henry John Deutschendorf, grandson of German Mennonite farmers in Oklahoma, son of an Air Force pilot who set major speed records) went to a high school right down the road from the Reid Cabaret Theatre.

WHEN: October 6-November 1, 2026
WHERE: 3101 W. Lancaster, Fort Worth
WEB: https://casamanana.org/reid-cabaret/