Love is a burning thing for Tony Barton and Tracy Neff.
The husband-and-wife team of entertainers is taking to the stage on Friday, Nov. 10 with Ring of Fire, their nostalgic musical tribute to the music of Johnny Cash. It’s onstage at 7:30 p.m. at the Anvil Centre.
Barton brings Cash to life, while Neff offers up June Carter’s fun-loving, family friendly comedy to shed light on the Man in Black – and remind audiences how June endeared herself to the world of country-western music.
They’re backed by Kyle Radomsky on drums, Goby Catt on bass, Alexander Flock and John Roper on guitar and Mike Sanyshyn on fiddle – with a mariachi duo joining them for memorable tunes such as Ring of Fire, It Ain’t Me and Ghost Riders in the Sky.
Both Barton and Neff come to the stage with extensive performing backgrounds.
Barton holds a master’s degree in voice performance and has performed in opera, with such roles as Figaro in The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro and Papageno in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. He has also taken on contemporary roles such as Mark in Rent and Hank Williams in Hank Williams: Lost Highway. In 2003, he played Blue in the off-Broadway company of Blueman Group.
He debuted his first tribute show to Frank Sinatra, Blue Eyes Too, after a stint as a singer on Princess Cruise Lines, and developed a production company, AEB Productions, that now produces and entertains audiences across the continent with four different productions.
His first performing experience in Canada was as Curly in Oklahoma at the Chemainus Theatre Festival – where he met his leading lady and now wife, Tracy Neff.
Neff will also be familiar to local audiences from her recent turn as Eliza Doolittle in Royal City Musical Theatre’s My Fair Lady. She has also appeared in theatres around the Lower Mainland, including the Stanley, Belfry and Gateway theatres.
Most recently, the duo entertained New Westminster audiences with Jingle at the Anvil Centre last Christmas. The show – with an indoor snowball fight, live band, and Santa Claus himself live and in person – will return to the Anvil Centre this Christmas season.
Anvil Centre is at 777 Columbia St. Tickets for Ring of Fire are $15, $25 and $35, plus service charges, available at www.ticketsnw.ca or 604-521-5050.
See www.tonybarton.biz/ring-of-fire for more.
