BWW Reviews: Stirring Production of RING OF FIRE Opens at The Renaissance Center

You don't necessarily have to be a fan of Johnny Cash or his music to enjoy Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash now onstage at Dickson's Renaissance Center in a professional production from The Gaslight Theatre. But you can be certain that when you leave the theater you will be a Johnny Cash fan of the highest order, humming the songs you've just heard performed by a remarkable group of artists.

Easily, one of the most satisfying musical revues you'll find on any stage anytime and anywhere, Ring of Fire is a perfect choice for a Tennessee theater company and you cannot help but wonder why you don't already count the show among your favorites. It really is that good.

Directed by Pacer Harp, with self-assured grace and a subtle theatrical flair that ensures Cash's story is told evocatively and movingly, and featuring a top-flight cast and artistic staff that include veterans of the Broadway and national touring productions, Ring of Fire relates the story of Cash's upbringing in Arkansas and his subsequent rise to superstardom in Nashville and all the other musical capitals of the world. It's a fast moving retrospective of the seminal works that have defined The Man in Black's career and, if the darker aspects of his life are relatively glossed over, they are at least given attention through the performances of all of his best-loved songs, which have left a musical legacy that is perhaps unequaled.

Performed with amazing skill and talent by the superb 10-member ensemble of singers and musicians - all of whom display their versatility doing virtually everything required of them in a work for musical theater - Cash's songs, written by some of Music City's best-known writers and composers, are guaranteed to stir up memories and elicit sentimental reactions when you first hear them. Particularly, if you grew up in Tennessee (where, no matter your upbringing, country music provides much of the soundtrack of your own life no matter how you feel about it), you will be moved by the performances of Harp's stellar cast of actors and musicians. The echoes of memories of long-ago youth and the presence of loved ones no longer in your lives will be felt at the most unexpected moments, your realization that each song holds the key to a long-forgotten memory making the musical revue all the more compelling and thought-provoking.

With Jeff Lisenby as the production's music director, you are certain that this production of Ring of Fire will be presented with the utmost of care and deference to Cash's artistry and to the memory of his richly detailed life. As the music director of the relatively short-lived Broadway production of Ring of Fire, Lisenby is the perfect choice to take on the job of fashioning this production's musical accompaniment and performances. He is a Nashville treasure (and the father of Jaclyn Lisenby Brown, herself a musician and actress of renown in the region) and his presence on the production team of any musical offering gives audiences a sense of confidence that what they are about to see is truly non-pareil. Lisenby assembles a band that includes noted Nashville musicians Chris Buck and Pete Roze, along with The Renaissance Center's staff musical director Nathan W. Brown conducting and playing keyboards, with staff choreographer Bryan J. Wlas showing off his own versatility on the upright bass. Musically, this production may have the best pedigree of any you are likely to enjoy anytime, anywhere.

Every Johnny Cash song you could possibly think of or want to hear is included in the revue's score - and even some you may not even be aware that you actually know - making Ring of Fire so much more than a mere "jukebox musical." That term has taken on an almost pejorative air thanks to the ill-fated revues that have sought to capitalize on the success of a particular singer or group, with little or no attention paid to telling a story well. While it's clear why Ring of Fire wasn't necessarily a Broadway hit (it is simply lacking in showbiz pizzazz that guarantees success at a top ticket price upwards of $200), it's so obvious a hit with lovers of country music that it should rightfully be heard far and wide. This musical also shows how closely related the business of writing songs in Nashville is to the business of writing songs for musical theater - both genres are built upon the notion of telling stories and telling them well.

Among the songs you'll love hearing from this talented troupe of performers include "Daddy Sang Bass," "Five Feet High and Rising," "Ring of Fire," "Jackson," "I Walk the Line" and the second act opening of "I've Been Everywhere" that is nothing short of marvelous! And you'll enjoy lesser known songs like "Straight A's in Love," "Get Rhythm" and the coterie of prison-themed works like "Folsom Prison Blues," "Orleans Parish Prison" and "Cocaine Blues" that will stir your imagination. Then there are the songs that really pack an emotional wallop like "If I Were A Carpenter," "Angel Band," "Cry, Cry, Cry," "Tennessee Flat-Top Box" and the autobiographical "The Man in Black." You will find a wealth of musical masterpieces in the score of Ring of Fire at every turn, it seems, including the beautiful "Why Me, Lord," that helps to focus the spotlight on the artists who contributed to the luster and the allure of Cash's superstardom.

Harp's cast of six actors is unparalleled in their complete and resolute devotion to their jobs, each one showing their skill in stellar turns in the spotlight and then coming together to present ensemble work that is laudable for its musicality and heartfelt realism. Close your eyes and listen to Charlynn Carter's plaintive vibrato and you may believe you hear the hauntingly beautiful sounds of country music's iconic Carter Family, from whence June Carter Cash came (but be forewarned: your tears might freely come as a result). Watch Jenny Stodd deliver some of the cornpone humor for which June Carter was known early in her career (sure, she was a talented singer, but she really made her mark as a comedienne) and in her performance you will see traces of June's own practiced stagecraft. Amanda Bridgette, her voice giving evidence of her more jazz-infused abilities, expertly delivers her songs with ease, showing off her lovely voice at its best. Each of the women is unique in her abilities, stunning in her beauty and so fiercely certain of the role she is playing that you will greet each of their onstage appearances with enthusiastic applause.

The three women are partnered by three gifted men to complete the ensemble, with Todd Meredith (a veteran of three other productions of Ring of Fire) playing the younger Johnny with charm and charisma that ensures your complete attention to his well-mannered, yet fiery, performance. Clean-cut, tall and handsome, Meredith's way with a tune and his practiced turn of phrase guarantees that not only June Carter will be falling in love with Johnny Cash by the end of the show (and his performance of "A Boy Named Sue" lifts that silly novelty song to new heights). Will Sevier, who without danger of exaggeration, possesses one of the most beautiful voices to be found among Nashville theater artisans, adds yet another stellar credit to his resume, the lilting tones of his voice giving new shading and meaning to the Cash songs with which he is entrusted. Tom Mason, a veteran of the national tour of Ring of Fire and a longtime artist in theater throughout the region, uses the wealth of his knowledge and the sheer volume of his experience to lend credibility to his finely etched portrayal, leading the ensemble with care and gravitas.

Nathan Ray's lighting design perfectly captures the emotions and musicality of all the songs and the dramatic turns in Cash's personal life, while Ray Dryden's sound design ensures that each performer is heard perfectly. Rachel Gallup's stylish costumes provide the appropriate clothes for each of the characters portrayed in the show.

Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash. Created by Richard Maltby Jr. Conceived by William Meade. Orchestrations by Steven Bishop and Jeff Lisenby. Directed by Pacer Harp. Music direction by Jeff Lisenby. Presented by The Gaslight Theatre at The Renaissance Center,  855 Highway 46 South, Dickson. Through October 15. For details, go to www.rcenter.org; for reservations, call (615) 740-5600.

 

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