Arts Club tours Johnny Cash's iconic songbook to the Shadbolt Centre in Ring of Fire, March 29 and 30

Adaptation of the original Broadway production journeys through different eras of the Man in Black’s life and music

By emily lyth

Arts Club Theatre Company’s Ring of Fire. Photo by Moonrider Productions

The Arts Club Theatre Company presents Ring of Fire at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts on March 29 and 30

WHEN JOHNNY CASH’S wildly popular “Ring of Fire” came out in 1963, it topped the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in the U.S. for seven weeks straight.

The passionate song was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and in 2010, it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America when it surpassed 500,000 units sold. The track catapulted Cash to long-term success, becoming one of the biggest hits of his decades-long career (and, according to Rolling Stone, one of the greatest songs of all time).

Given the track’s significance in Cash’s life, it’s only fitting that it is also the name of a Broadway production about his music and legacy. In the show created by Richard Maltby Jr. and conceived by William Meade, there isn’t exactly an actor playing the Kingsland, Arkansas–born star; instead, six different singers and musicians take to the stage to journey through eras of Cash’s life.

The Arts Club Theatre Company has adapted the Broadway show into a popular musical that has been touring local venues for the past month. It will hit the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby for four shows on March 29 and 30, with three nearly sold out already.

Ring of Fire features orchestrations by Steven Bishop and Jeff Lisenby, along with some of the Man in Black’s most beloved hits. In Stir’s review of Ring of Fire last summer, we called it “as contemplative as it is a joyride”. When “Folsom Prison Blues” rang out, there was “a vividly staged homage to the hardships of prison life”, which was balanced by lively renditions of songs like “I’ve Been Everywhere” and “A Boy Named Sue”.

If you missed last year’s show, fret not, because the full cast will return to the stage: Devon Busswood, Frankie Cottrell, Daniel Deorksen, Tainui Kuru, Patrick Metzger, and Caitriona Murphy. Director Rachel Peake and musical director Steven Charles are even back at the helm. 

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