Review: RING OF FIRE: THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH at Merrimack Repertory Theatre

Singer-songwriter Johnny Cash (1932–2003) was one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century — so popular in country, rock and roll, blues, and gospel genres that he had not one but several signature songs, including “Folsom Prison Blues,” “I Walk the Line,” “Man in Black,” “Get Rhythm,” and “Ring of Fire.”

That latter song became one of Cash’s biggest hits, spending weeks at number one on the country charts in 1963, and becoming the title of the 2005 Broadway musical created by Richard Maltby, Jr., and conceived by William Meade, now being given a production that should delight Cash’s legion of fans, as well as others just finding their way to the Man in Black, at Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell through December 14.

Subsumed in a sea of jukebox musicals and overshadowed by the release in the same year of the Cash biopic “Walk the Line,” starring Joaquim Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, “Ring of Fire” burned out after 57 performances and 38 previews. Reimagined in a more compact style with fewer actors and musicians, and a more modest overall look, the MRT mounting of “Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash” is appealingly co-directed by Correy West, who also serves as the production’s choreographer, and Karen Oster, who doubles as music director.

The pared-back production’s two greatest assets are the Johnny Cash catalogue, with over 30 songs used, and the rich-voiced five-person cast including Patrick Dinnsen, Jenna Fawcett, Andrew Frace, and Celeste Vandermillen. As an older Cash, Frace works seamlessly with Patrick Dinnsen as the younger Johnny. The transitions couldn’t be any smoother as Cash’s life unfolds from his childhood on a farm to his climb up the ladder of country-music fame, bedeviled by drug addiction and imprisonment, to his finding relative peace with the love of his life, June Carter.

The rest of the cast also displays fine voices and good command of the character work required by the linear story that’s woven through this lean production. Nathan Yates Douglass is a stand-out here — a terrific actor, singer, and bass player who can even play the instrument while standing astride it. He’s also terrific on the laugh-inducing “A Boy Named Sue.”

But all in all, it is the music that carries this show – the Cash chart-toppers, of course, but also plenty of B-sides like “Straight A’s in Love,” “Cry Cry Cry,” “Hey Porter,” “I Still Miss Someone,” “Five Feet High,” “Daddy Sang Bass,” and more. Female voices also get their moments with Vandermillen as the confident June Carter and Fawcett as Cash’s crestfallen first wife, Viv.

Scenic designer Shelley Barish has created an authentic stage that feels like a scaled-down version of the Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry. Amanda Gladu’s costumes capture the country style of the era, though they do little to advance the story — as the singer gains fame, his attire remains virtually the same.

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