The Ballad of Johnny & June is a jukebox musical focused on Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter, from the infamous country music royalty family, the Carters. Narrated by (and a story consultant) their son, John Carter Cash, we meet Johnny and June in their childhood and follow this through to them meeting, their relationship forming and onto their lives together. It tells of the good such as the birth of their son, the bad such as Johnny’s adultery to his first wife and the ugly including Johnny’s stay at the Betty Ford Centre.

With this show being a musical biopic the musical is clearly a focus of the story. The music appears both as performances by Johnny or June as part of their shows or to create a mood on stage. The latter is used a lot less which is a shame as at times it meant that the focus was on their performances so that we could get onto the next Johnny or June song. The story itself of Johnny and June’s life and their rise to fame and everything that went with it was interesting and coming into the show not knowing much about Johnny Cash or June Carter certainly inspired me to go away and learn more. I particularly enjoyed that moments of the story were told from different points of view. Whilst there were clearly a lot of emotive moments throughout their lives we quickly were moved onto a performance and there consequently wasn’t much time to dwell on what had just happened and the emotion behind it which meant that at times there was a struggle to build an emotional connection to the musical.

The cast were really well suited, not only to the character they played but to this style of music. Christopher Ryan Grant played Johnny Cash and he perfectly captured everything from Cash’s charisma which won him hordes of fans to his darker moments along with his growth in his later years and as a result portrayed him as a three dimensional character. Christina Bianco was June Carter Cash and is utterly watchable in the role, with a huge amount of gumption when needed and a distinct country twang. The rest of the cast played numerous roles as well as instruments between them.

The set gave the impression of a looming barn, perfect for the country setting of the show and the projections of the location throughout helped contextualise each moment without the need for large set changes to slow down the pace of the show.

By the final curtain, The Ballad of Johnny & June proves itself to be an enjoyable celebration of two hugely influential figures in country music. While the storytelling sometimes feels secondary to the musical performances there is no denying the quality of the cast or the enduring appeal of the songs themselves. For fans of Johnny Cash and June Carter this shows offers a lively journey through their lives and music, and for those less familiar it provides an engaging introduction to a remarkable partnership that left a lasting mark on the world of country music.

The Ballad of Johnny & June continues its tour, you can find out more on its website.

If you like this review you may also like my review of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, American Psycho and Moulin Rouge.