Hamilton’s Adam Stevenson grabs a ‘Ring of Fire’
Adam Stevenson is happy to be home in Hamilton. The tall and lanky performer with the red hair and handsome smile is glad to be back where his career put down roots.
I grew up in Hamilton, up on the mountain and I always wanted to sing and dance. Don't ask me why. I just did. I never felt this was odd. It was just what I wanted to do. Thankfully, my parents supported me in this dream I had."
When he was five, Stevenson took dance lessons from teacher Freda Crisp. And when he was a teenager of 13, he found Lou Zamprogna and the Summer School at Theatre Aquarius.
That was it. Everything just fit. I realized what I wanted to do could be a profession."
After several roles in student productions, Stevenson landed a part in the Theatre Aquarius main stage take on The Sound of Music."
And, he kept right on performing, appearing in everything from California Dreamin'" and Spamalot" at Stage West Dinner Theatre in Mississauga, to the role of Javert in Drayton Festival Theatre's production of Les Miserables."
He also spent three years on the road touring 47 North American theatres as the Jafar standby in the National Tour of the Disney musical Aladdin."
I took my wife Katie along with me and it was the greatest adventure of my life."
These days, Stevenson is back in Hamilton with Katie and the children, one-year old Frankie and four-year-old Sam.
I bought the dream house where I had lived with my parents. It's such a perfect place to raise children. It's idyllic. I just couldn't let the old place go, there are just too many memories there," Stevenson says. I just had to have it."
In December 2021, Stevenson was in the Theatre Aquarius show Home for the Holidays," singing and telling tales of what it was like to grow up in Hamilton.
And now he's getting ready to sing the songs of iconic country singer Johnny Cash in the musical Ring of Fire."
Stevenson has long loved all the Cash recordings.
I used to play them over and over on my old record player. I was such a big Johnny Cash fan. I've read all the books about him."
Stevenson finds the mythology of Cash fascinating.
The way he has been mythologized is so interesting. He made himself a star. Of course, there was darkness about him. There were times of drugs and drink. Yet, through the love of a good woman and Jesus Christ, Cash came back from darkness to find his place in music. He shed light on all that darkness and shared his story. He created a new genre of country called the Nashville sound," he says.
I play Cash in Ring of Fire,' but I don't try to imitate him. I think more about creating the essence of his style and his sound. There are 32 Cash songs in the show and the story is told by these songs."
Stevenson says Ring of Fire" isn't just another jukebox musical. There's more here, just as there was more in Jersey Boys,' the hit show about Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons."
Director Tracey Flye has reimagined the show, so there is more story, not just all the songs.
It's rethought as a memory play and it's a journey. It asks you to hop on the train and go for the ride. We'll let you off at the last stop," Stevenson says.
When you ask him what he thinks his own strength is as a performer, Stevenson looks startled.
I guess I never thought about it, but I now know what it is. It's relatability. I relate to the audience. I never forget they are out there. I break the fourth wall between myself and them. I feel them and I think they feel me."
If you ask Stevenson about a favourite Cash song, he hedges a little. Then, suddenly he says, The Man in Black."
That song was so personal. Cash called out America with it, speaking about the poor, the disadvantaged and the lives being taken by the Vietnam War. He wasn't hurtful, but he said he would wear black until he saw changes in the America he loved."
That's when I noticed Stevenson was wearing black from top to toe. It was a more sophisticated look than a Johnny Cash two-piece suit.
But, the black necklace peeking out at the opening of his smart shirt seemed to suggest something rebel in his look.
I can't wait to hear Stevenson and the Aquarius cast cut loose on all those terrific Ring of Fire" songs.
Gary Smith has written about theatre and dance for The Hamilton Spectator for 40 years gsmith1@cogeco.ca
Adam Stevenson
What: Ring of Fire-The Music of Johnny Cash
Where: Theatre Aquarius, 190 King William St.
When: June 8-25. Evenings at 7:30 p.m.
Matinees Saturday and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. No performances Mondays.
Tickets: $40-$84 plus HST (pay what you can June 7, $10-$20 suggested)
Call: 905-522-7529 or theatreaquarius.org
Protocols: Masks required