Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash is neither a biography nor revue. As conceived by William Meade and written by Richard Maltby Jr., the show is a deep dive into the themes and emotions of the legendary country singer’s music. Biographical elements are introduced to explain Cash’s preoccupations, but the show is about his work, not his history.

The current production by the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis is a superb realization of the songs. They burst with life because Kate Bergstrom’s brilliant direction adds so much detailed action to the spare script. Whether festive or solemn, each number creates a specific moment in time. Characters in costume interact and express their feelings as fully as they would in a book musical.

The splendid singing actors at The Rep are experts at interpreting the songs to bring out their meaning. The cast includes:

• Kurt Zischke as mature Johnny
• Andrew Frace as J.R. (young Johnny)
• Kim Blanck as Viv (Johnny’s first wife)
• Caitlin McKechney as June (Johnny’s second wife)
• Eric Scott Anthony as Marshall (on bass)
• Ryan Guerra as Luther (on guitar)

This cast list from The Rep’s program differs greatly from the character list in script, which numbers the characters instead of naming them. No one in the original Broadway cast impersonated Cash because Maltby, the original director, thought imitations would be distracting and not convincing.

These problems do not arise at The Rep. Singing like Cash is natural and effortless for Zischke and Frace. They could not be more expressive or convincing, and the Cash sound adds to the songs’ thematic resonance.

Actors’ skill sets and audience’s expectations have changed in the 20 year since Ring of Fire opened on Broadway. Bergstrom deserves great thanks and admiration for recognizing the need to depart from the Broadway precedent.

The creative team continually enlivens the show with the authentic look and sound of Cash’s background. The uniformly stellar contributions include Chuck Mead’s music direction, Taavon Gamble’s choreography, Scott C. Neale’s scenic design, Jayson Lawshee-Gress’ lighting, Renee Garcia’s costumes, Amanda Werre’s sound, and Cristy Anderson’s wigs.

Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash continues through April 12 in the Virginia Jackson Browning Theatre at Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road.

—Gerry Kowarsky

Photo by Jon Gitchoff
From left to right Eric Scott Anthony as Marshall, Ryan Guerra as Luther, Andrew Frace as J.R. (young Johnny), Kurt Zischke as mature Johnny, Kim Blanck as Viv (Johnny’s first wife), and Caitlin McKechney as June (Johnny’s second wife) in Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash.