– By Cate Marquis –
The Repertory Theater of St. Louis closes out an outstanding 2025-2026 season with a high-energy, crowd-pleasing musical production. “Ring of Fire” is neither a musical nor a concert nor a biography, but a show that straddles all three of those descriptions. The show begins with an older Johnny Cash, in the form of a character named Marshall (Eric Scott Anthony), looking back on his life and his music. As he remembers, he has his guitar in hand, as people from his past (and his younger self” gather on the stage, and start to play and jam, what becomes a biographical medley of Cash’s hits and other songs. While the Marshall character moves in and out of the performances on stage, he narates a lightly-sketched tale of Johnny Cash’s life and music, more like highlights and memories than a biography. Mostly, Johnny Cash’s life and career are told through songs.
You do not need to be particularly a Johnny Cash fan, nor a fan of country music, to enjoy this entertaining, tuneful performance. Johnny Cash got his start in popular music at the time when rock and roll was just budding out of the combined musical traditions of blues, country and gospel, and so all those influences show up in Johnny Cash’s music. There are hits, there are ballads, there are songs that lean rock-and-roll and those that lean gospel or even humorous, but all are performed with high-energy and fine musicianship.
The Rep’s Artistic Director, Kate Bergstrom, directs this delightful musical show. The show is built loosely around Johnny Cash’s life and career but rather than full biography, it is only through selected moments and memories, some ups and downs of the country musician’s life. There are moments of humor and heartbreak, of sweet memories and regrets. While there are some spoken sections, mostly “Ring of Fire” is a story told through music. That story is told chronologically, mostly, but the spoken scenes are sparse and brief, with most of the acting work falling on Eric Scott Anthony, as older Johnny Cash and narrator. Anthony does well as both actor and musician, with the rest of the cast called on to be primarily musicians – and they are really good!
This a very entertaining, high-energy show, with musicians taking the lead like a prolonged jam session, interpreted periodically by some dialog between the musicians in their various roles. At certain points in Johnny Cash’s life. Marshall serves as narrator at times, and at others, he plays an bystander, a witness, or just a member of the band. As the Johnny’s story unfolds, we meet important people in his life, like as his first wife Viv (Kim Blanck), early bandmate Luther (Ryan Guerra, an impressive guitarist in this show) and Cash’s second wife, June Carter Cash (Caitlin McKechney). Andrew Frace plays the very young Johnny Cash, who is billed as J.R., while Kurt Zischke plays Johnny Cash at his peak, billed as just Johnny.
The music is excellent, both in song choice and in the rollicking performances, which are often filled with fun and humor. The songs are a mix of Johnny Cash’s most famous hits and other less-familiar songs from his catalog, chosen to suit or illustrate that moment in his life. We hear the title song “Ring of Fire,” as well as other hits like “Daddy Sang Base,” “Jackson,” and “I Walk the Line.” The sampling of his works range from fun songs like “I’ve Been Everywhere” and the June Carter comic tune “Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart,” to more the soulful “Folsom Prison Blues,” Carter Family gospel tune “In the Highways,” and the iconic “Man in Black.” Cash’s hit “A Boy Named Sue” makes a featured appearance at the end of this satisfying, enjoyable show.
The action takes place on a single set, a stage surrounded by cotton plants and fields, with a few props as needed. Mostly, it is a space for the musicians to play, and to play around in.
This is a delightful crowd-pleasing choice to end the Rep’s excellent season. The Rep’s “Ring of Fire” is on stage in the main stage space at the Loretto Hilton Theater in Webster Groves through Mar. 28, 2026.
© Cate Marquis
