Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash was a musical that I was looking forward to for a few reasons.

 

1. My husband was a huge Johnny Cash fan and this play was perfect for his first time attending a play at Playhouse in the Park.

2. The play was the celebrating the music of Johnny Cash which meant that I would be familiar with the popular songs.

 

Created by Richard Maltby Jr. and conceived by William Meade, RING OF FIRE was adapted from the Broadway production by Richard Maltby Jr. and Jason Edwards. Edwards, who starred in RINGOF FIRE on Broadway, will both direct and appear in the Playhouse production, which tells Cash’s story through his songs.

 

 

More than a musical biography, RING OF FIRE looks at Cash’s life thematically. From his early years picking cotton in hardscrabble fields to superstardom, the show chronicles both the lows and the highs of the man who traversed musical genres from country and rock to folk and gospel.

 

 

I was relieved that the play didn’t create one person to represent Johnny Cash.

 

 

He was such a distinct musical icon that it would have been hard for anyone to even try to be compared to him.

 

 

The play did a great job of sharing some of Johnny’s history and also telling his story through his songs with various voices of the cast. I really enjoyed hearing the songs through other voices and perspectives. It really added an interesting dimension to the show.

 

 

The talent level of the cast was so impressive!

 

The musicians were a joy to watch and one of them reminded me of a way younger version of my 95 year old grandfather “Pops.”

 

 

RING OF FIRE encompasses more than 30 of Cash’s classic songs, including the title tune, “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Man in Black,” “A Boy Named Sue” and “I Walk the Line,” the ballad that Rolling Stone magazine this year declared number one on its list of 25 Greatest Country Songs of All Time. Even so, it’s but an iconic sampling of the more than 400 songs that Cash, a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member, has to his credit. Cash was also inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Gospel Music Hall of Fame. He placed 48 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart and more than 130 hits on the Billboard country singles chart, more than anyone in history.

 

I would highly recommend this play to anyone who is a fan of Johnny Cash or who just enjoys musicals.

 

RING OF FIRE: THE MUSIC OF JOHNNY CASH JAN. 17-FEB. 15, 2015

 

 

Ticket prices start at $30.

 

Prices are subject to change, and patrons are encouraged to buy early for the best seats at the best prices.

 

Teen and student tickets are $30 each.

*The show is appropriate for adults and teenage audiences.

New for the 2014-15 season is Sunday College Night, with tickets to all 7 p.m. Sunday performances priced at just $10 with a valid student ID.

Student tickets are just $15 on the day of the show for all other performances.

Performances 

7:30 p.m.Tuesdays and Wednesdays,

8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 4 p.m. 

8 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 p.m. 

7 p.m. Sundays.

*There is no 7 p.m. performance on Sunday, Feb. 1, and no 2 p.m. performance on Sunday, Feb. 15.

Free post-show Meet the Artists programs that allow audiences to interact with cast members and others associated with the production will be offered at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 28; 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8; and 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12.

 

 

Tickets to RING OF FIRE are on sale now.

For more information, call the Playhouse Box Office at 513-421-3888 (toll-free in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana at 800-582-3208) or visit www.cincyplay.com. Call 513-345-2248 for Telecommunications Device for the Deaf accessibility.

 

*All photo credit goes to Sandy Underwood

 

 

 

Disclosure: I was given complimentary tickets for review purposes. All opinions are my own.