The Man in Black
September 27, Royal Theatre
The Man in Black is a contemporary ballet set to the music of Johnny Cash. Specifically, it’s set to six stripped-down cover songs that Cash recorded late in his life with legendary producer Rick Rubin.
Adding strange to strange can be a risky undertaking, but (like the Cash recordings) the performance manages to transcend novelty.
The performance featured three men and one woman wearing cowboy boots and black cowboy shirts. The footwear and subject matter doesn’t lend itself readily to traditional ballet moves, and the choreography took stylistic inspiration from western forms like line dancing and square dancing.
The first two songs, “In My Life” and “Four Strong Winds,” were a little flat, but Rebekah Rimsay took the forefront and glowed with sadistic delight during “Sam Hall.”
The highlight was Gordon Lightfoot’s “If You Could Read My Mind.” Despite a somewhat literal interpretation of the corny lyrics, the dancers worked together as one tightly cooperative unit.
Unfortunately for choreographer James Kudelka, any visual accompaniment to Cash’s treatment of “Hurt,” a Nine Inch Nails cover song, is going to be compared with Mark Romanek’s unforgettable music video.
The show ends with “Further on (up the Road),” originally by Bruce Springsteen, a promise to catch up with friends in the afterlife. One by one, the dancers fade off the stage, a logical finale to a night of songs and dances that are largely about reflection and death.
The western take on themes of life, and loss serves as a common thread throughout; the show is cohesive as a result.
The Man in Black sidesteps the obvious pothole of being gimmicky, and the result is thoughtful and entertaining.