Johnny Cash Musical, Film On The Way

We could all use a little more cash — people who can’t get enough Johnny Cash, though, are in luck. If the late singer's 1997 autobiography just wasn't enough for you, two upcoming projects should fill that void. Producers of a new stage musical, Ring Of Fire, announced it will open Broadway in February 2006. The show is a "jukebox" musical, meaning that the legendary musician's greatest songs are pieced together to suggest a narrative — a technique really popular right now, though ABBA-inspired Mamma Mia has been the only runaway hit.

The show was approved by Cash before his 2003 death. William Meade secured the rights, then worked with director Richard Maltby Jr. (the man behind Fats Waller musical Ain't Misbehavin', as well as Fosse and Miss Saigon) to create the show. Ring Of Fire is no stage biography, however, instead using the material to tell a vague story of America's heartland, without plot or dramatic connecting scenes.

When the show opened for a short pre-Broadway run in Buffalo recently, a Toronto Star review told readers this was no crappy John Lennon or Beach Boys musical.

"There's no cliched stage biography here," read the review. "Nor is there an artificially constructed story trying to string it all together. What you get are three dozen numbers that Cash performed in his lifetime, presented in an impressionistic format that suggests the man's life journey, without ever spelling it out."

Aside from the title track, Ring Of Fire includes such songs as "I Walk The Line," "The Man In Black" and "Country Boy." Maltby told Reuters that they decided not to try and duplicate Cash onstage through one actor, instead using various singers to avoid "a poor imitation."

For less Cash music, but more Cash man, there's also Walk The Line, an upcoming biopic that was already in the works before Cash's 2003 death. The performer reportedly chose actor Joaquin Phoenix to portray him in the flick, while Reese Witherspoon was chosen for the role of his wife, June. Directed by James Mangold, Walk The Line appeared at the Toronto International Film Fest this month and hits theatres in November.

source: chartattack - by David McDougall