LITTLE ROCK — Chances are, there'll not anytime soon be another voice like that of the late Johnny Cash, perhaps the greatest Arkansas country singer to have ever come along.
So a proper tribute to the life and times of the Man in Black might as well be in the form of a musical revue, where almost 40 of his songs are loosely stitched together, with a bit of biographical information added as if to border this tuneful quilt.
Ring of Fire, the opening show of the 2007-2008 season of touring Broadway attractions, assembled by Celebrity Attractions, arrived Tuesday night, a cold, blustery, rainy night that didn't seem to havethat much effect on the crowd of Cash fans, who turned out for a two-hour show, plus an intermission.
A cast of 16 young men and women took their turns on the sparsely designed set, dominated by two structures that contained stairs and moved about at times, and served to give the eight singers and an equal number of instrumentalists something on which to strut about, around, up and down.
Some of the songs in the show were obscure, perhaps deliberately so, rather than just have the show a collection of Cash's greatest hits. But the selection certainly had a sense of humor, including the songs "Flushed From the Bathroom of Your Heart," "DirtyOld Egg Suckin' Dog" and "A Boy Named Sue," especially, done up in fine style by Jeremy Wood.
On the sentimental side, there were fine versions of "Sunday Morning Coming Down" and "I Still Miss Someone," as performed by Erin Parker and Steve Benoit, which featured only their two voices, accompanied by keyboardist/ conductor Nathan W. Perry. The rousing songs that closed each act, "Jackson" and "I've Been Everywhere," were done in splendid style.
There will be two more performances of Ring of Fire, at 7:30 p.m. today and Thursday. More information is available at (501) 244-8800 or on the Web site www.celebrityattractions.com.
Arkansas, Pages 14 on 10/24/2007