In the same sense that it takes a village to raise a child, it appears that it takes a crowd to tell the story of Johnny Cash. At least that’s the case with the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s production of Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash. Jason Edwards is the driving force behind the show — conceived by William Meade, created and originally directed by Richard Maltby Jr. — as its director and one of 10 onstage singers and musicians. He’s adamant that he’s not portraying the Man in Black. Instead he recruited excellent singers and musicians to authentically recreate the music for which Cash became known. Most of them also act, playing small parts to tell Cash’s multifaceted story.
Ring of Fire’s two acts take audiences through Cash’s life in chronological order, starting with his family’s early years on a hardscrabble Arkansas farm, picking cotton and singing with his parents and siblings. It moves to his early years as a breakout performer, and eventually to Nashville, Tenn.’s Grand Ole Opry. It doesn’t shy away from his wild behavior and substance abuse, but it puts those elements in context with his prime years and his engagement in important social issues of the day, especially prison reform.
Edwards just finished performing Ring of Fire at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, which co-produced this rendition with the Playhouse.
Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash, presented by Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, continues through Feb. 15. $30-$90. Tickets and more info: cincyplay.com.
This article appears in Jan 14-20, 2015.
