Johnny Cash’s life story on The Citadel’s first summer stage

Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash The musical is on at the Citadel Theatre until Aug. 11. CTV News Edmonton's Graham Neil reports.

The tumultuous life story of a legendary American performer is being presented to Edmonton audiences in Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash, on the Citadel Theatre’s first-ever summer musical stage.

The production delivers 34 classic Cash songs, woven into a narrative of his life from age 12, until his death.

Director Tracey Flye knows the songs resonate with people as familiar standards of the era, but believes his legacy cuts even deeper with his fans.

“I feel like he was the voice of the people,” she told CTV News Edmonton. “He stood up for causes and people that didn’t have one. Fronted things that he thought were important and were right and just.”

Those songs, and the passion behind them, make for a legacy that resonates with audiences today, even after nearly 16 years since his passing at age 71.

“He’s often called one of America’s greatest poets, and lauded the same as Bob Dylan,” Flye says.

The actor tasked with performing as the legend makes it clear his role isn’t to be a Johnny Cash impersonator. Jonas Shandel is a musician himself and considers it a huge honour to take the recognizable Cash character and make it his own.

“I try to embody him,” Shandel said. And with that, he takes them on a journey to some fond memories.

He called the musical a nostalgia piece: “It brings people back to their childhood and it reconnects them with perhaps lost loved ones. I think a lot of people travel back to their youth through this music.”

Younger fans are often found filling the seats too. After one show, Shandel met one local 10-year-old who told him he plays songs from the Cash songbook at local open mic stages around Edmonton.

Former Edmontonian Quinn Dooley returns to a hometown stage to tell the Cash story through three key women in his life.

“It was complex,” she said. “I play his mother, his first wife and June Carter.” Singing the song “Jackson” with Shandel is a highlight for Dooley, in what she calls “a big heavy hitter of a show.”

Cash’s turbulent life is well known to many of his fans, and director Flye believes these human frailties allow fans to relate and connect with the legendary star.

“He was a flawed individual like we all are and had lots of trials and tribulations and obstacles,” Flye said. “I think that’s why people relate to him so much, because they see themselves in him and hear themselves in his music.”

The heavy responsibility of playing The Man in Black is not lost on Jonas Shandel.

“The image is iconic”, the singer commented. “He’s somehow become otherworldly, and the music is still good!”

Wading into the summer scene for the first time with this production, the Citadel Theatre is making a concerted effort to have a presence for theatre-goers amongst Edmonton’s busy festival schedule.

Artistic Director Daryl Cloran said the theatre is “committed to helping create a vibrant downtown, and endeavour to be the artistic heart of the city, beating year ‘round.’”

Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash plays the Maclab Stage at the Citadel Theatre from July 20 to August 11.