Perkins is currently touring his hit show The Man In Black across Australia for the third time. It’s no wonder he can draw the crowds. Tex is dark, brooding, sexy and funny. Put a cowboy hat on the man and most women would collapse. With his slick hair and deep rumbling southern sounding voice and wild reputation to match he’s the perfect candidate to play the legendary Cash, in this music driven theatre show about the life of the great Johnny Cash.
It’s a real shame that Perkins ego is pitted as the star of this production. Without the incredibly tight styling of The Tennessee Four, and the showmanship of the seasoned songstress Rachel Tidd, Tex would be nothing but greasy hair and a pile of bad puns. Forgetting the lyrics all but two songs into the first act Perkins laughs and screams “It’s been two years since I’ve done this show,” to Cash’s famous train ballad Hey Porter. (Hey Tex the lyrics go like this; “Hey Porter, Hey Porter. Hey Porter, Hey Porter.”)
Rachel Tidd is everything you want in a leading lady. She is beautiful, a talented singer, a confident lead and a supportive co-star. Playing Cash’s wife June Carter she is the epitome of the phrase ‘the woman behind the man’. She’s even a good sport when Perkins taunts and jeers her in a bid to gain back popularity from the crowd after forgetting his lines, cues and lyrics.
The show opens as the confidence man Perkins mimics chopping on an unplugged guitar, held high in the air ala Cash homage style belting out Walk The Line, and it’s brilliant in that respect. As a kind of live, musical documentary this show really works. There were whispers from the goldies behind me reminiscing about the time that they saw the real Johnny Cash and giggles from elderly women as Tex lustfully raises just one eyebrow, cheekily singing the famous Cash/Carter duet Jackson. The vibe created by the Tennessee Four was stomping. They play Cash’s songs incredibly fast and tight and the chemistry between the band is cookin’.
While The Man In Black is undeniably entertaining I would of expected a bit of a step up in quality for a show at the Athenaeum Theatre. Tex is unfortunately dangerously close to heading into Moonee Ponds RSL territory this time around. He certainly ain’t Johnny Cash.
BY JESSICA LAWSON
