Weston Playhouse Theatre Company\u2019s kicked off its 90th anniversary season with \u201cRing of Fire: the Music of Johnny Cash,\u201d a jukebox musical that weaves a narrative of the troubled and joyous life of country music legend Johnny Cash. On opening night, the talented ensemble of actor\/musicians reminded us how good music, performed well, can stir one\u2019s emotions as well as get the joint jumping.<\/p>\n
As conceived by William Meade and created by Richard Maltby, Jr., \u201cRing of Fire\u201d was not exactly a linear rehashing of Johnny Cash\u2019s hardscrabble beginnings in Tennessee, rise to stardom, troubled marriages, struggles with addiction, and triumphant prison concerts. Told in flashback by an older Johnny Cash, played by Larry Tobias, what beamed through was a self-awareness of the joys of performing but also the hurt fame can bring and did bring.<\/p>\n
The evening began with cast member Emily Mikesell, alone onstage, hitting mournful notes on the fiddle, before the others joined her from the audience to croon the traditional “Wayfaring Stranger.” As a more mature June Carter Cash, Mikesell, possessed of a crisp alto, effectively conveyed the bad but also the good that goes along with standing by one\u2019s man. Mikesell and Tobias also portrayed Cash\u2019s parents, who experienced hard times but found comfort in family and each other.<\/p>\n
Each member of the cast played several instruments and took turns on lead as different events in the singer\u2019s life were dramatized. Seth Eliser portrayed the very young Johnny Cash with a boyish verve. Eliser later shifted gears with a quiet interpretation of \u201cSunday Morning Comin\u2019 Down,\u201d Kris Kristofferson\u2019s musical ode to too many mornings after.<\/p>\n
In one of the evening\u2019s many highlights, Eliser (who doubled as Music Director) joined fellow cast members to deliver an affecting rendition by the entire cast of \u201cIn the Sweet Bye and Bye,\u201d and an old Carter Family song: \u201cWill the Circle Be Unbroken?\u201d The tight harmonies of voices and instruments were a perfect meld.<\/p>\n
Playing a variety of roles, Angel Lin as the young first wife of Johnny Cash, illustrated her character\u2019s angst with a wistful rendition of \u201cI Still Miss Someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allie Siebold, as the young June Carter smitten by Cash, treated the audience at the Grand Ole’ Opry to a charming little ditty: \u201cFlushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart.\u201d Siebold showed her character\u2019s willingness to hitch her wagon to Cash in a lovely duet with Elisor of the classic Tim Hardin ballad: “If I Were A Carpenter.”<\/p>\n
Tarif Pappu, in formal cowboy garb, manned the electric guitar to powerfully anchor other\u2019s numbers. His tenor voice blended well with Larry Tobias and Seth Elisor, who added the bass\/baritone sound for which Johnny Cash was so well known. Kudos to Director Susanna Gellart for resisting the temptation to let the cast capture well-known personalities with mimicry. For example, neither Tobias nor Eliser nor Pappu attempted to hold their guitars up high like Cash famously did. It all just worked to tell a tale worth telling.<\/p>\n
\u201cRing of Fire\u201d was not all heartache. Tguan Malinowski\u2019s delightful choreography had the entire cast deftly moving about the stage. Johnny Cash\u2019s greatest hits, such as \u201cFolsom Prison Blues\u201d and \u201cA Boy Named Sue\u201d and \u201cI Walk the Line,\u201d were part of an encore at the end of the evening. On a warm summer night, \u201cRing of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash,\u201d was a more than welcome respite from the news and everyday concerns.<\/p>\n
In 2021, Weston mounted this show outside, under a tent, to an audience dealing with a horrible pandemic. Patrons were reminded that masks were required when entering and exiting the tent area, as well as when using restroom facilities. Back then, Larry Tobias and Seth Eliser were members of a cast that entered on the back of a pick-up truck. Director Susanna Gellert remarked to me that given the circumstances, that production never received its due and that in the intervening years, audiences, having experienced so much, have changed too. They know that together, so much is possible.<\/p>\n