Ring of Fire
The Deutsches Theater München presents
RING OF FIRE
The Music of Johnny Cash
Saturday: 3.00 pm and 7.30 pm
Sunday: 2.30 pm
THE MAN IN BLACK IS BACK
Johnny Cash’s legendary music and his equally dazzling and dramatic life are the focus of the musical Ring of Fire, which celebrated its German premiere with us at the Silbersaal in 2019. In July, we bring the production from the USA back for two weeks as an exclusive and only guest performance in Germany. And this time on our big stage. Unforgettable songs like “Folsom Prison Blues”, “Hey Porter”, “Far Side Banks of Jordan” and “I Walk The Line” tell the story of the Man in Black.
THE YOUNG AND THE OLD CASH
The production by Richard Maltby Jr. and William Maede, is as extraordinary as the cast. This is due in no small part to the fact that musical director David M. Lutken simultaneously plays the role of the older Johnny Cash, who repeatedly looks back on his life and on his younger self, played by Sam Sherwood. Likewise, Cash’s wife June Carter is embodied by two actresses in Helen Jean Russell and Margaret Dudasik. Rounding out the cast are Morgen Morse and Michael Hicks, who portray Cash’s brothers Roy and Jack, among others.
STRONG ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
The greatest strength of the production, however, is the interplay between the six protagonists. For each individual slips into different roles again and again and is at the same time an ensemble and band member, playing a wide variety of instruments such as bass, violin, harmonica, drums and, of course, guitar. Another special feature is the choice of songs, which are so cleverly arranged that the plot is told through the songs and almost without further dialogue. The setting for this is a simple stage decorated with wooden planks framed with black and white pictures of Johnny Cash, which together with the lighting design by David W. Kidd and the costumes by Marla Jurglanis provide the appropriate country feeling.
Hootenanny
It wasn’t only the performances of Ring of Fire that created enthusiasm among the audience in 2019. Great atmosphere was also always the order of the day at the so-called Hootenannies. After a show, the cast plays an open session where other musicians are also invited to join in. The 2022 Hootenanny will take place directly after the performance on Sunday, 24 July in the Courtyard. Admission is open to anyone with a ticket for a performance of Ring of Fire. All tickets (including those already validated) for all performances between 14 and 24 July are valid.
Trailer
Many thanks to the Mocker family from Häder and Bernhard Dietrich from Agawang, who provided us with all the wood for the stage design.
