The Legend of Johnny Cash Comes to Santa Barbara

The legend of the Man in Black is reimagined for the stage in Richard Maltby Jr.’s musical review of Johnny Cash’s body of work, Ring of Fire. This performed collection of Cash’s songs is more than a concert — it’s an experience that presents the scope and emotional range of Cash’s music through new and vibrant interpretations. Produced by Ensemble Theatre Company, Ring of Fire runs at the New Vic Theatre November 30–December 17.

The cast includes five actor/musicians who take turns as song-leaders throughout the show. And while no one is directly impersonating Cash, director/music director Randy Redd intends to maintain and highlight his spirit of rowdy vulnerability and outlaw country. “Nobody’s going to sound like Johnny Cash; nobody’s going to walk and talk like Johnny Cash,” says Redd, “so you hear the songs differently. You experience the music differently. As a result, you walk away with a deeper understanding and more appreciation for his catalog of American songs.”

Actor Glenn Stanton categorizes Cash’s music as defiant of traditional genres. “So many people immediately think of ‘hoedown country,’ but there is a sense of punk rock to it. In a time when a lot of country music was too literal and too on the nose, he was somebody who was willing to be introspective and publicly wrestle with his own demons,” Stanton says. “It reaches way past the limitations we sometimes place on country music.”

It’s for these reasons, agrees Redd, that Cash’s music has maintained popularity and relevance through the generations. “When you put these songs in the hands of five very different, very dynamic performers, you can see that this man wrote songs to all of us,” he says. “He was speaking to everybody…. All five of these actors embody Johnny Cash. We are all Johnny Cash.”

Ensemble Theatre Company’s production of ‘Ring of Fire’ will be at the New Vic Theatre (33 W. Victoria St.), November 30 through December 17. See etcsb.org.