Can the music of country legend Johnny Cash and his tumultuous romance with June Carter Cash, be enough to shake a mild hangover and kick start a run of a new musical at The Grand in fine style?
With the pair’s son Johnny Carter Cash being the executive producer and story consultant on board for this new show from the director of Jersey Boys, it had a firm foundation to make sure it had some authenticity and gave a fair story to one of the 20th centuries greatest musical romances, so yes, as opening nights go at a new venue, this was definitely a successful one.
While it might seem obvious to say when you have a show with an interval, it’s a real story of two halves is The Ballad of Johnny & June. The first half of the two hours or so, it’s Christina Bianco who steals the show for me. She might be slight in stature, but she cuts a big presence as June Carter Cash, delivering some great songs, comedy timing and importantly someone you want to root for.
I say that because for all Johnny Cash is a musical legend, like a lot of star-quality geniuses out there, he was a very flawed person, battling a temper not helped by a heady mix of booze, amphetamines and barbiturates that he was addicted to. While it’s good that they haven’t tried to gloss over that side of him, or his womanising, it means Christopher Grant as the main protagonist isn’t playing for likes from the audience in the first hour.
He does voice the great man brilliantly, both when talking and especially when singing, but it’s not until he cuts a more fragile, sentimental figure in the second half of the show that you want the best for him. That’s not his fault obviously – the story is the story and the portrayal in the latter stages genuinely cuts straight to the emotions.
A constant through the performance is Ryan O’Donnell, who plays their son, from a baby up to adult, and narrates the love story for them. It’s a clever way to do it as it stops it from ever being sickly sweet and he again has some real moments of humour in his lines that help to bring some lighter moments to the show.
My only, small criticism and I know again it’s going to sound a strange thing to say for a musical about musicians, is I would have loved to see a little more dialogue and maybe fewer songs so that the acting was further to the front, but that’s me being ultra picky as the cast (including lesser parts played by a small group who pick up multiple roles) and backing band all come together for a very cohesive night, that is very well received.
Having cleared my ‘Leeds United in big win on Monday night’ shaped hangover with their performance last night, the cast headed to Northern Guitars on Call Lane for a pop-up lunchtime performance of a few songs today.
The two main stars were there, along with their ‘son’ and a drummer, A decent little crowd in the venue saw them rattle through acoustic versions of ‘Going to Jackson’, ‘Folsom Prison Blues’, ‘Ring of Fire’ and the Hank Snow cover ‘Everywhere Man’, a real pleasure to see the talent from the night before in such an intimate and relaxed environment and they seemed to be having fun themselves, as well as some of the backing cast who had come down to support them.
I would imagine the rest of the week is going to be quite popular with the resurgence of cowboys and country music being hip at the moment, so if you do want to catch it while it’s in Leeds – hangover optional but I’m sure Johnny would approve – they are doing the following shows:
Thursday 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Friday 7.30pm
Saturday 2.30pm & 7.30pm
https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/the-ballad-of-johnny-and-june-2026
Photography by Pamela Raith unless otherwise captioned.
