Ring of Feh

The other night, Mrs. DJStan and I (and friends) went to see a performance of "Ring of Fire", currently in previews on Broadway. We're inveterate theatregoers, and usually enjoy some aspect of just about everything we see. This case was an exception. I posted a reader's review on the NYT site, and have copied it here because after all, the play is a "tribute" to Johnny Cash's music (read "exploitation") - and this site is primarily about music.

Let me preface this by saying that I like Johnny Cash AND his music - and besides recommending the original himself, there's a pretty good tribute disc to Cash as songwriter ("Kindred Spirits") which demonstrates that given the right hands and voices, Cash's songs travel well. "Ring of Fire" shows how they can easily be made to sound like Up With People. Think Pat Boone covering Fats Domino (his version of "Ain't That A Shame" really is), and you've got a good idea of what this show is about.

Anyway, here's the review:

One act was enough to send us home. This jukebox musical has no feeling for country music in general or Johnny Cash in particular. Some reviewers here have compared it to a Branson, Mo. production or a theme park entertainment; these are on the mark. The music has been gelded and denatured into a generic mush without heart or soul.

The performers are willing, but while uniformly enthusiastic, there is nothing distinctive about any one of them, and little to differentiate the "characters" they portray. The best thing about the production is the clever use of a pair of rear-projection screens to set the scene with still (and occasionally moving) images - but it's too bad when the best thing you can say about a musical production has to do with the set.

This kind of show can work - for example, the Billy Joel musical, "Movin' Out", was a great pleasure. The music worked because as a composer Billy Joel always had one foot firmly planted on Broadway, the choreography by Twyla Tharp was sharp and inventive, the onstage band played with spirit and heart, and the lead dancers gave outstanding performances.

Nothing remotely similar could be said about "Ring of Fire", which fails on virtually every level. We've been regular on and off broadway theatregoers for many years; we virtually never leave the theatre before the end of the show. But in this case, we made an exception.

Incidentally, the NYT site allows other readers to rate reviews as "helpful" or not. There are currently 9 reviews - 4 unabashedly positive, 5 heavily negative (including mine). Curiously, the high "helpful" scores are for the positive ones, which leads me to conjecture that either (a) people just don't like negative reviews, regardless of accuracy or (b) the cast, crew, producers, and relatives of the production in question are registered with the NYT and vote accordingly (the most "helpful" reader review gets featured on the overview page for the production).

That's just a cynical surmise, mind you.