Engeman's "Ring of Fire" brings great songs, lyrics to life
- By David Solloway
- 10 hours ago
- 8 min read
There’s a moment in "Ring of Fire," presented by the John W. Engeman Theater, in Northport, when Johnny Cash is seated, driving along with June Carter Cash. We hear Cash singing, while at the same time, telling his life story through lyrics. He’s a man who has lived on the road, truly an American singer, who has traveled across the nation. We, or at least I, can't imagine anyone else singing this wholly American song.
“I've been everywhere, man.
I've been everywhere, man
Across the deserts bare, man
I've breathed the mountain air, man
Of travel I've had my share, man
I've been everywhere.”
And then we hear him singing, reciting a rollcall of American cities, as if he is someone who knows the United States. Wherever you are, Johnny Cash has been there. He’s not only an American singer, but one who has traveled the map. He is singing his life to us and all we have to do is listen.
“I've been to Reno, Chicago, Fargo Minnesota, Buffalo, Toronto, Winslow, Sarasota, Wichita, Tulsa, Ottowa, Oklahoma, Tampa, Panama, Mattawa, La Paloma, Bangor, Baltimore, Salvador, Amarillo, Tocopilla, Barranquilla andPadilla..."
It is pure Johnny Cash and nothing else. But look a little deeper and you find that Johnny Cash may have claimed that song, but he did not create it. Never mind that Australian country singer Geoff Mack wrote the song first sung by a singer named Lucky Starr. Never mind that Hank Snow sang an Americanized version in 1962 and Johnny Cash didn't sing and record it until decades later in 1996. That song belongs to Johnny Cash. When he sings, we hear it coming from his heart, his life. Johnny Cash lived those lyrics, more than just singing them. We hear the road in his voice, that slightly ragged, gravelly sense of exhileration and exhaustion. He has been everywhere. And he takes us with him as he sings.
There is something about that song that is so American, more American than the cliche of apple pie or the technology of automobiles, a song about constantly traveling, with a guitar. Johnny Cash claimed that song like an American astronaut landing on the moon and planting a flag there. After you hear Johnny Cash sing that song, it's his forever. Or maybe after you hear the song sung in "Ring of Fire," you may think it also belongs to the performers in that show, as does the entire Cash repertoire even if the lyrics and music are only loaned out for that and other performance nights.
"Ring of Fire," the musical, or at least the performance and presentation at Engeman, is sort of like that song. While you might think it’s a biomusical telling Johnny Cash’s story, the tragedy, the triumph, the trouble, it’s really a show about his music as much as or much more than his life. Cash does pop a few pills while in that car, and, of course, he had mammoth problems with addiction. But this show is really more about Johnny Cash’s music than this American life. He sings his life, rather than living it, but then, there is a place for and a pleasure in that. The fusing of the singer and the song, the life and the lyrics, are part of what make Cash's lyrics meaningful, the emotions genuine and the music powerful.
We see some major events, as he meets June Carter Cash and there are a few signs of the apocalyptic forces of addiction. We hear about a flood and every song fits neatly like a piece into the puzzle of his life. But we largely get a musical about lyrics more than dialogue, music more than moments in the life, less drama than the power of songs sung from the heart. "Ring of Fire" is a highly satisfying concert with some narrative as the connective tissue, about music, and it is great music performed by great actors and singers. The program indicates the show was conceived by William Meade and created by Richard Maltby Jr., and adapted from the Broadway production. It is not “written” in the conventional sense with dialogue, conflict and successive scenes telling a story. Instead, the songs here tell the story, often presented as scenes, performed with context. This is more of a powerful concert where songs, music and emotion fill the space, brushed with narrative and touches of dialogue, than a conventional drama. The songs say sometihng and we hear it, and enjoy it, even if they come from suffering, loud and clear. The lyrics are bold, broken and beautiful. And the show assembles all these songs into one rousing night of music.
We are given various Johnny Cash figures, a virtual chorus of Johnny Cashes, different ages, appearances and voices, as if he multiplies, too big to be portrayed by one actor or constrained by one character. And the same is true of June Carter Cash. You can pick your favorite or just enjoy watching and listening. Mark Mazzarella plays a young Cash who looks the most like the real thing, a mop of black hair combed back and an emotional, trained voice. Armando Gutierrez plays Papa Cash, a more glittering show business figure also with a strong voice, and some other characters. And Matt Cusack, while he doesn’t look much like Cash, has a booming voice and strength, from standing to speaking to singing, that, if you close your eyes, feels like the reincarnation of the famed singer. Allison Ann Kelly’s June Carter Cash is vulnerable and strong with a powerful voice, Cash’s match, and Cat Patterson’s June Cater Cash provides a powerful portrayal as well. Plus these performers play instruments, such as guitar and piano with the same skill with which they sing. There's a lot of talent on that stage and the audience clearly appreciates it. Yes, you're getting Johnny Cash, but you're getting this cast as well. And the set, complete with lighting that evokes Cash's world, helps us travel far away in place and time, into a world where Johnny Cash once lived.
If you want to see and learn about Cash’s life, there are movies, books and Wikipedia. But the lyrics, really, tell part of the story and conceal other parts. This show will have a different impact on those very familiar with Cash’s music and those only partly familiar. I knew many, even most of the songs, but got to discover a few as well. We watch and listen to the songs beginning with “A Boy Named Sue” until we finish with “Why Me.” It’s truly an amazing whirlwind of a concert, with songs performed, not simply presented. After I left, I switched to the Johnny Cash station on Pandora to hear more before I drove. He’s truly a great singer with a sometimes gritty voice. When I heard the real Cash singing, that only added to my appreciation of the singer himself as well as the show. The performers and director, Jennifer Dolce, wisely steered clear of imitating Johnny Cash, rather recreating the songs than impersonating the singer. We get some of the energy, the feel, the firmly planted feet in the storm of life, but the power of the voices not the mannerisms, for the most part, bring Johnny Cash into the room.
Yes, all the songs and some movements and stances have a bit of a Johnny Cash feel, but they feel authentic rather than copies. And yes, the various shades of Johnny Cash do summon the ghost of this great country artist. My guess is some people went hoping to see Cash's life, battles and struggles play out. Those may be disappointed, at least unless and until they let go of that desire to see a life dramatized rather than great music presented by great performers with great staging and musical ability. Once you realize this is about the songs, and the stories tucked into those, not so much dramatizing the story of a life in dialogue through scenes, you can sit back and enjoy the ride that takes you, not everywhere, but quite far. You may find yourself, as I did, deciding which of the songs is your favorite and which Johnny Cash or June Carter Cash you like best. I found myself repeatedly deciding that one was best, until I heard the next. My personal favorite from the play list, the string of songs, might just be “Man in Black” where Cash explains why he wears black, a kind of permanent mourning and recognition of the troubles and travails of reality, as well as an anthem for empathy and those who struggle, as, I suppose we all, or most of us, do in some way.
“Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on...”
Cash, who wrote that song, goes on to list reasons to mourn, although he certainly led a life rife with success as well as his share of sorrow. It turns out that before he sang the song for the first time in public, he told the audience that he wrote it after talking with audience members from Vanderbilt University. He said he wrote and revised the song, performing the recently revised lyrics with cards. Cash got a standing ovation after singing "Man in Black" the first time. It then became the opening track for “Johnny Cash and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra," released posthumously in 2020.
I suppose we could all wear black, due to the loss of Johnny Cash, who died in 2003. Yes, Johnny Cash had a hard life, a beautiful life, a successful life, an American life. Places even more than people are the stars of many songs. “Ring of Fire,” whether it’s a wedding ring or just a ring regarding the cycle of life, is a beautiful show, but not a biography unless his songs tell his, or his soul's, story. There's no reason to wear black here, unless it’s to honor Johnny Cash. It’s truly a great concert, with songs performed and presented in context. And it’s one that left me looking to listen to more Johnny Cash, as I drove away, not heading everywhere, but home, accompanied by Cash himself, living on, a legend that not only never dies, but inspired these talented performers to do their own renditions of a life told through lyrics more than dialogue.
Great songs and singers although not really a look at the story of a life