On Tuesday evening at the Bangor Opera House, performers trickled through the doors, their arms laden with instrument cases. They swept through the lobby and into the theater space, busying themselves with rehearsal preparations.
Ashley Lewis lugged her guitar case up onto the stage and started her voice exercises, trilling along and flitting about the theater happily. Andrew Crowe and Gaylen Smith began filling the stage with instruments, from banjos and guitars to mandolins and an upright bass. Ira Kramer and Jeremy Sevelovitz arrived to complete the quintet.
These five comprise the performing cast for “Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash,” a production by the Penobscot Theatre Co. that will kick off its 2015-2016 season.
“[The musical is about] telling the story through the songs,” said Smith, a Brewer resident who will play one of many incarnations of Cash. Each actor, including Crowe, Kramer, Sevelovitz and Smith, plays Cash at some point during his life, and actress Lewis juggles the roles of the women in his life, including Cash’s mother and his second wife, June Carter Cash. The dialogue facilitates the exploration of Cash through his music, and there’s just enough of it to give shape to Cash’s life.
“I think that fans are going to get interesting details that they wouldn’t have normally understood without the songs latched into his life,” Lewis said of the show.
Each of the performers will fill out the story by performing almost 40 Cash songs on a range of instruments at each of the 14 performances from Sept. 10 to Sept. 27.
Crowe, who is also the show’s music director, stressed the show isn’t an impersonation of Cash but rather a celebration.
“There’s a danger in these shows of trying to impersonate,” Crowe said. “When you impersonate them it becomes a flimsy, fake replica of something that was once amazing. I think that does a disservice to the musician. We’re here to celebrate the music with the audience and try to steer things in that direction rather than doing an impersonation.”
In addition to the songs and acting of the performers, a projection screen will provide actual video and photos of Cash throughout his life. The production is a reimagining of the original Broadway performance and chronicles Cash’s journey from Arkansas to the Grand Ole Opry and everything in between. But it speaks to much more than just Cash’s life, using universal themes to relate to all manner of theatergoers, just as Cash’s music crossed genres, cultural divides and generations.
Crowe and the cast expect to see a diverse audience, who will be drawn to the show because of their varying connections to Cash’s music.
“That’s how audiences were for Johnny when he was alive,” Crowe said. “You would have the hippie crowd in their bell bottoms, the cowboys in their boots and their hats because they’re country fans. You’d have the rock and roll crowd in their tight black T-shirts and they’d all come together because Johnny appealed to all of them. They would all sit shoulder to shoulder and enjoy this music together. That’s been my experience when I’ve played around the country and I hope and expect that will happen here.”
To purchase tickets, call the Penobscot Theatre Co. at 942-3333 or visit penobscottheatre.org. For a full schedule of the 2015-2016 season, visit penobscottheatre.org/season.
