Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/678114
MAY 11-17, 2016 UCW 13 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM It 's May – that t ime bet ween the blistering heat of summer and the unpredict abilit y of spring. This is the t ime of the year when people head outdoors. They st ar t work ing on their yards. They st ar t planning day t rips, and, in the evening , they vent ure out to f ind a cool outdoor act iv- it y. For many people, that used to mean heading dow n to the Cape Fear R iver to t ake in the Cape Fear Regional Theat re's R iver Show. With the river slowly reclaiming the st age at Campbellton Landing , the CFRT has been unable to pro- duce a R iver Show the past couple of years, but the lack of an outdoor venue has def initely not prevented them f rom bringing great music and great musicians to the st age. This year is no except ion. From May 12 through May 22, the Cape Fear Regional Theat re inv ites you to sit back and share an hour or so w ith the Man In Black, as Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash comes to the st age. The R iver Show has always been a special project for Bo Thorp. In fact, she and her son penned a couple of the shows. For Thorp, bringing great music to the R iver St age was excit ing. Even though she can't t ake this show to the river, she is st ill excited. "The R iver Show always focused on great music," said Thorp. "And that 's what people are going to get in this show." People who k now Thorp k now that she is not af raid to change a script around – or even st ar t f rom scratch. With Ring of Fire, Thorp and the cast have been doing a lot of that . Thorp explained that the show was w rit ten for Broadway, which act ually means that there was a lot of spark le but not a lot of the grit that made Cash a legend. In order to bring the legend to life, Thorp is depar t- ing f rom the original script and the actors are doing a lot of imprompt u things – all of which was par t and parcel of a Johnny Cash live show. "I've been doing a lot of research on Johnny Cash. I read his autobiog- raphy and it is all marked up," she said. "I k now more about Johnny Cash than I ever thought I would." W hat she has learned has not only int rig ued her, but also inspired her and the cast . "He was a ver y spirit ual person," she explained, not ing that it was his Christ ian beliefs and principles that had him reaching out to the men in prison, which ult imately produced prison concer t s. Cash had st rayed far f rom the st raight and narrow during his early years, but when he got himself st raight, he had a com- passion for those who were walk- ing his old path. A ll of this: his rowdy years, his t roubled years and his just years combined to create some of the greatest music and made Cash an icon. Bringing Cash to life is Ba x ter Clement, a t alented Southern Pines musician also ow ns Casino Guit ars. Clement is no st ranger to the CFRT st age or to the idea of the R iver Show. Several years ago he played Buddy Holly during the R iver Show, and he was one of the f irst people Thorp thought of when she st ar ted planning for Ring of Fire. Clement is classically t rained, hav ing at tending the Blair School of Music at Vander- bilt Universit y, the Nor th Caro- lina School of the Ar t s and the Mozar t ium in Salsburg , Aust ria. He is joined on st age by James Villone, also of Southern Pines, who work s at Casino Guit ars. Vil- lone is play ing the role of James, a musician in Cash's band. Like the other musicians in the show, he has challenged himself by learning other inst rument s and w ill play numerous inst rument s during the show. That is par t of the magic of this product ion. A ll of the musicians who are performing can play by ear and almost all have learned a new inst ru- ment . Clement said that there w ill be a lot of imprompt u musical sw itch- es in the show, and he is look ing for ward to audience involvement, not ing that the audience makes this k ind of show. Join the cast for a " foot-stompin salute to an American legend." The show runs May 12-22 w ith t icket s ranging in price f rom $15 to $28. To purchase t icket s, call 323-4233 or online at w w w.cf r t .org. The Man in Black Takes the Stage at CFRT's Ring of Fire by JANICE BURTON COVER STORY JANICE BURTON, Associate Publisher. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly. com. 910.484.6200 Does your advertising leave you feeling this way? Advertising can be pretty complex. You may not know which way to turn. ere is a sign you can rely on — ours. Call us today so that our professionals can make the most of your advertising investment. Free Papers Working For You Another sign we're working for you. 484-6200 wwwupandcomingweekly.com Ring of Fire runs runs May 12-22 at Cape Fear Regional Theatre.