Riverside Theatre Mourns Loss of Director and Actor Jason Edwards
It is with great sadness Riverside Theatre shares the news of the passing of Jason Edwards, star and director of the just-concluded run of Ring of Fire, The Music of Johnny Cash.
"The theatre community has lost a unique talent," said Allen D. Cornell, Producing Artistic Director/CEO of Riverside Theatre. "My relationship with Jason goes back over twenty years as both a professional colleague and friend. We loved to shoot the breeze about fishing as much as how to create indelible moments on the stage. On his final day here among us, he caught a nice redfish on a special topwater plug I had given him a week or so ago. He played his last chords on his six string here on the Riverside stage, and they will long be remembered."
Involved with Ring of Fire since its inception in 2005 and subsequent Broadway run, Mr. Edwards adapted the original Broadway production by adding more of Mr. Cash's music to the grouping of songs to better tell the story of this American legend.
An accomplished director, musician, and actor, Mr. Edwards had an affinity for Mr. Cash. "We are cut from the same cloth," Mr. Edwards said. "We were Southern boys who grew up on farms, singing hymns in church, aspiring towards the same thing. When I was 13 years old, I had the chance to see him in concert. The power and passion of his songs moved me. There on stage was a music legend, but underneath that image and fame was a very patriotic American and deeply spiritual man. Throughout his life he never lost sight of who he was and where he came from."
Mr. Edward's dedication to Ring of Fire took him all over the country where he directed and performed Mr. Cash's music to tens of thousands of theater patrons. Lauded by critics and audiences alike, Riverside Theatre's production of Ring of Fire became the most successful opening show in the Theatre's 43 year history.
Having performed at Riverside twice before, Pump Boys & Dinettes and A Sanders Family Christmas, Mr. Edwards loved Vero and spent his last days fishing and enjoying the area.
Riverside Theatre extends its condolences to Mr. Edward's family, friends, and fans.
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