REVIEW: RING OF FIRE: The Music of Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash was born in a shack in Arkansas and grew up on a hardscrabble farm. He started his career as a rockabilly singer in Memphis but from then on followed a path that was all his own. He defiantly turned his back on the growing glitz of what was called “country” music to join Dylan, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson as a “maverick.” He was “the man in black” singing of trains, prison, temptation, salvation, death, patriotism, heartbreak, love, and work. His struggle with personal demons was never an easy one. Cash also had a sense of humour, peppering his large repertoire with songs such as “Jackson”, “A Boy Named Sue”, and “Dirty Old Egg Sucking Dog”.
Cash’s story is given a new twist in the current Citadel production of William Meade and Richard Maltby Jr.’s Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash. The show concentrates on the troubadour’s singular catalogue of music. It may be what is known as a “jukebox musical” but it is not a “legends in concert” style entertainment. And, of course, there is the story of his complex and often rocky relationship with June Carter, the woman who gave him spiritual and physical redemption when he was ravaged by drugs, booze and high living. Ring of Fire runs in the Maclab Theatre of the Citadel though Aug 11.
The show is part of the Citadel’s efforts to play a more active part in Edmonton’s summer and a better vehicle is hard to imagine. It seems to be working – the show was sold out on opening night. Since it’s shaky debut on Broadway in 2006, Ring of Fire has been completely restrung by its creators and has played with great success all over the country. The Citadel has chosen to mount its own show and has employed the superb director, Tracey Flye (who has helmed some forty productions including We Will Rock You/Once/ the Citadel’s Chelsea Hotel). The result is an entertaining evening that leaves you humming the tunes and marvelling at the enveloping body of work of a legendary talent.
Flye has impeccably cast her show. As in the Citadel’s recent production of Once, the show features a company of performers who each play several instruments. It’s almost completely sung-through except for a few moments of narration and transitional dialogue. The performers accompany themselves as they ramble about the stage singing their songs and telling their stories.
There are several versions of the star and everyone gets to sing his songs – and some he never wrote. One Cash is Lawrence Libor, who was featured in the Citadel’s Once. Libor plays what might be seen as a younger version of Cash and he is as good an instrumentalist as he is a singer. He is particularly powerful in his rendition of Kristofferson’s song of morning-after anguish, “Sunday Morning Coming Down”.
The mature Cash is Jonas Shandel. The actor has the charisma, the look, the intoning narration and the unique rough-hewn, oaken voice. Director Flye effectively stages a bit of Cash’s career-making 1968 concert in Folsom Prison. Quinn Dooley (of the Citadel’s Evangeline) is June Carter. Carter was lovely and funny and so is Ms. Dooley, sounding like she just stepped out of a Carter Family reunion. She brightens up the evening with a sprightly version of that old country classic, “Flushed From The Bathroom of Your Heart”. The rest of the cast – Julien Arnold, Matt Blackie and Daniel Williston – all get their own moment and perform with gusto.
Since the emphasis is on the music, all your favourites (and perhaps a few you didn’t remember) are there – over two dozen or so of Cash’s songs including “If I Were a Carpenter”, “I Walk the Line”, “Folsom Prison Blues”, and “Ring of Fire”.
Cory Sincennes’ useful set is made to look like the stage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville – an old barn with performance platforms. The music direction, from Steven Greenfield, takes its cue from the simple sound of Cash’s Tennessee Three, and builds to some quite powerful musical climaxes. Together the performers could fill Ryman Auditorium with music but are at their best when they sing a cappella. The unaccompanied chords of the many old hymns just ring in the air.
Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash is a crowd pleasing foray for the Citadel into Edmonton’s entertainment filled summers. Here you’ll find exuberant storytelling, compelling vocals and dazzling instrumentals. Perhaps the show misses some of Cash’s unstable darkness and the gravity and continuing creativity of his final years, but it largely encompasses the struggle, success, rowdiness and redemption of an American icon.
