Monday, October 5

Tag: The Ballad of Johnny & June

The Ballad of Johnny & June – Leeds Grand Theatre
Yorkshire & Humber

The Ballad of Johnny & June – Leeds Grand Theatre

The Man in Black. Very few artists are instantly identified by a simple description, but country legend Johnny Cash was one of that select group. Given the quality of his back catalogue The Man in Black was probably long overdue for a jukebox musical, so it came as no surprise that Jersey Boys director Des McAnuff was behind this show.  Like that smash hit, this was a warts and all tale of Johnny’s rock and roll lifestyle where his substance abuse masks the pain of losing his beloved brother, and his tempestuous marriage to country royalty June Carter. It’s all narrated onstage by their son John Carter Cash who noted that like all fairytales there was both light and plenty of darkness as Johnny and June battled their own demons. Whilst we didn’t really learn anything new abou...
The Ballad of Johnny & June – Hull New Theatre
Yorkshire & Humber

The Ballad of Johnny & June – Hull New Theatre

The applause started immediately after curtain up on Tuesday night when The Ballad of Johnny & June hit the Hull New Theatre stage. We were showing our appreciation for the fantastic music being played by on-stage musicians who were sometimes visible, yet mostly obscured, throughout the production - a production that would have been nothing without their amazing, tuneful contribution under Connagh Tonkinson’s direction. This new musical, from the book by Robert Cary and Des McAnuff (who also directed) being the story of country music legends Johnny Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, was obviously going to be brimful of harmonies, yet behind those famous tunes - Jackson, I Walk the Line, A Boy Named Sue and Ring of Fire to name just a few hits - lay a world of drug-taking, trage...