Joyful performances of Johnny Cash's greatest hits buoy Drury Lane's 'Ring of Fire'
“Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash” — ★ ★ ½
As a jukebox musical, “Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash” is second-tier. But as a tribute concert to a country music legend and rock 'n' roll pioneer, Drury Lane Theatre's revival is first-rate.
Credit for that goes to the talented actor/musicians (two of them veterans of “Million Dollar Quartet,” which better represents the bio-tuner genre), who make up director Scott Weinstein's cast. All of them sing. Several play multiple instruments and, except for some quickly resolved audio glitches that muddied the vocals at the top of the show, they sound fine.
The problem with “Ring of Fire,” which was conceived by William Meade and created by Richard Maltby Jr. and whose 2006 Broadway run lasted less than three months, is the loosely defined narrative. Superficial biographical details fail to capture Cash's complexity: a man of faith unfaithful to his first wife; an embattled addict; a musician rooted in gospel who embraced rockabilly; the soulful artist with the outlaw reputation who wrote love songs and prison odes; who never spent time in a penitentiary but identified with inmates and advocated for prison reform.
Two versions of Cash dominate the show. Ron E. Rains plays the older Johnny as a quietly contemplative man who, while surveying his career from the end of the line, wonders whether he was a good man. The charismatic Michael Potter plays J.R., Cash's loose-limbed younger self.
The show, which unfolds chronologically, commences with Rains' Johnny strolling onto Angela Weber Miller's set — a sun-bleached, train depot in the middle of nowhere — while crooning the opening lyrics to “Folsom Prison Blues.” Rains' Johnny recalls key life moments: the hardscrabble childhood on his family's Arkansas cotton farm; the death of his 14-year-old brother and the flood that decimated the family's land; the Sun Records contract that launched his career alongside guitarist Luther (Erik Hellman) and bassist Marshall (Roy James Brown); and the Grand Old Opry debut where he met June Carter (Aja Wiltshire), his beloved second wife.
There's an oblique reference to Cash's first wife, Viv (violinist/vocalist Elleon Dobias), and brief nod to his addiction represented by Potter's tender performance of “Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down,” Kris Kristofferson's unvarnished ode to loneliness recounted by a hung over man.
But most of the tuner consists of the concert-style performances of 30-plus songs (most of them by Cash) by Weinstein's enthusiastic, well-tuned ensemble led by Rains and Potter, who (wisely) approximate but don't imitate Cash's distinctive, gravely bass-baritone.
What makes “Ring of Fire” worth seeing are the performances: “If I Were a Carpenter,” “Ring of Fire” and “Jackson,” a celebration of love that concludes Act 1; Brown's lovely rendition of “Delia's Gone”; Jack Clement's cheeky novelty tunes “Dirty Old Egg Sucking Dog” and “Flushed From the Bathroom of Your Heart”; the rousing “I've Been Everywhere,” which earned applause for Rains, Potter and Wiltshire's rapid-fire delivery; the sweeping “Folsom Prison Blues”; and as an encore, one of Cash's biggest hits, Shel Silverstein's “A Boy Named Sue.”
That's where this show's strength lies: in music joyfully played for an appreciative audience and a fitting tribute to the man in black.
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Location: Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, (630) 530-0111, drurylanetheatre.com/
Showtimes: 1:30 p.m. Wednesday; 1:30 and 7 p.m. Thursday; 7 p.m. Friday; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 6 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 22
Tickets: $85.75-$96.25, dinner-theater packages available
Running time: About 2 hours, including intermission
Parking: In the adjacent lot
Rating: For most audiences; includes drug use references