‘Johnny Cash: The Official Concert Experience’ makes its way to Kauffman Center on Feb. 10

Johnny Cash Experience Live // Photo courtesy of The American Theatre Guild

Saturday, Feb. 10, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts welcomes Johnny Cash – The Official Concert Experience to the stage. It has been produced in collaboration with the Estate of Johnny Cash and his son, John Carter Cash.

The show utilizes archival footage from Cash’s TV show, aired from 1969-1971. Cast member Eric Hofmanis says that the show is an incredibly unique performance and is unlike anything people have seen before. He stresses that fans shouldn’t expect a movie or a hologram, and the show is not a musical. The screen used during the show was created special for the tour, and is unlike anything ever seen before.

Any instrumental backing has been redacted from the archival footage, and a live band will accompany Cash in its place. While the performance is primarily musical in nature, Cash’s son also shares never before told stories of his father, and segments from Cash’s show are aired in which he shares commentary on current events at the time.

The lighting and tone mimics that of the old Grand Ole Opry, where Cash performed for the first time in 1956. Hofmanis says that “People just become utterly transfixed from the beginning. The show just hits you.”

Hofmanis is most notably known for his show “A Man Named Cash,” a tribute performance that spans nearly 50 years of life and music. Upon hearing the announcement of the new show, Hofmanis sent in an audition tape and was invited to Nashville for callbacks. There he was given the opportunity to audition in front of Cash’s only son, John Carter Cash.

He says that getting the call that invited him to be a part of the show was surreal. He still can’t believe that he was chosen by John Carter Cash to sing some of his late father’s songs. “It’s really just like a dream. I can’t believe I’m part of this.”

He says that he is most excited about performing “(When) The Man Comes Around,” a song written by Cash towards the end of his life. The lyrics convey both an awareness and an acceptance of the inevitable that the singer is facing. When the song was recorded, Cash knew that his health was dwindling and his time was running out. Hofmanis says that singing both the first and the last song that Cash wrote is an incredibly emotional experience.

On the contrary, “Boy Named Sue” is another favorite of Hofmanis’s. He says that he looks forward to it because it’s a song that makes the audience laugh and happy. “Part of what I feel that my job is as a performer is to take people away from their problems for an amount of time and bring back memories.”

The show will take place at 2:00pm and 7:30pm at The Kauffman Center for Performing Arts. Tickets for both showings can be purchased here.