''Ring of Fire'' is a
jukebox musical
A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known, pre-existing popular music songs, rather than original music composed for the musical.
Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while ...
based on the music of
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
.
Productions
''Ring of Fire'' was conceived by William Meade and created and directed by
Richard Maltby, Jr.
Richard Eldridge Maltby Jr. (born October 6, 1937) is an American theatre director and producer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He conceived and directed the only two musical revues to win the Tony Award for Best Musical: '' Ain't Misbehavin (1 ...
The musical played a "discreet and well-reviewed test run at Buffalo's Studio Arena Theatre in fall 2005".
[
The musical contains 38 of Johnny Cash's songs, such as "Country Boy," "A Thing Called Love," "Five Feet High and Rising," "Daddy Sang Bass," "Ring of Fire," "I Walk the Line," "I've Been Everywhere," "The Man in Black" and "Hurt."
]
The musical opened on Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre
The Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 243 West 47th Street (Manhattan), 47th Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1928, it ...
on March 12, 2006. The show has six principal performers paired as three couples: young, middle-aged and older. The cast featured Beth Malone
Elizabeth Ann "Beth" Malone (born January 2, 1969) is an American actress and singer known for her work in Broadway, off-Broadway and regional theatre. She originated the role of Alison Bechdel in the musical '' Fun Home'', for which she was ...
and Jarrod Emick
Jarrod Emick (born July 2, 1969) is an American actor who primarily acts in musicals. He received a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, and a Theatre World Award for his performance in the 1994 revival of '' Damn Yankees''.
Biography
Emick grew u ...
; Lari White
Lari Michele White Cannon (, ; May 13, 1965 – January 23, 2018) was an American country musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her debut in 1988 after winning ''You Can Be a Star'', a televised talent competition o ...
and Jeb Brown
Jeb Brown (born 1963/1964) is an American actor known for his work in theatre. Brown has appeared in productions on- and off-Broadway including '' Grease'', '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'', and '' Beautiful: The Carole King Musical'', in which ...
; and Jason Edwards and Cass Morgan.[ Maltby said of the concept: "The couples progress through life. If you know Johnny Cash's story you can see the contours of his biography in the show. But it's not only his story. A lot of people have said to me that they saw their own life in the show, which I think is true, too."][ Due to mixed reviews and critical reception, as well as low ticket sales, the musical closed on April 30, 2006 after 57 performances and 38 previews.
The musical was produced at the ]Charlottetown Festival The Charlottetown Festival is a seasonal Canadian musical theatre festival which has run from late May to mid-October every year since 1965.
The Charlottetown Festival is hosted in Confederation Centre of the Arts every year. Named after its host c ...
, Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...
, in June 2012.
A "reconceived" version of the musical was presented at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
, in March 2013, created and directed by Maltby. This version had five cast members, including Eddie Clendening.
Critical response
Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher, and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 t ...
, in his review for ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', wrote: "Though Mr. Cash,...is not himself a character in this latest entry in the jukebox musical sweepstakes of Broadway, his spirit is invoked as a friendly ghost with dimples and a twinkling disposition. In other words, ''Ring of Fire,'' which opened last night at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, has little to do with the dark, troubled and excitingly dangerous presence that most people remember as Johnny Cash... In form, ''Ring of Fire'' hovers between the usual singalong and storybook styles. Using songs recorded by Mr. Cash between 1955 and 2002 (many of them written by other composers), the show follows a sort of ages-of-man path from green country-boy idealism into the sloughs of a hard-living musician's disillusionment and on up to the mountains of spiritual redemption... Certainly, I was aware of missing someone as I was watching ''Ring of Fire.'' Too bad that person happened to be Johnny Cash."
Many felt the failure was due to the show being booked into a theatre that was too large for the intimacy of the show.
References
External links
''Variety'' Review
''Ring of Fire'' The Musical
*
guidetomusicaltheatre.com
{{Johnny Cash
Jukebox musicals
2006 musicals
Broadway musicals
Cultural depictions of Johnny Cash