“Try as I might, I still don’t think I look cool!” states Christina Bianco. She is discussing the business of wrangling an impressive autoharp on stage. “Perhaps because I’m petite and the instrument is a bit too big for me to hold – while standing up – with no strap. I keep trying, though! And I have the bruises to show for it!”
The autoharp is, of course, something of a holy relic in country music, pioneered by the legendary Mother Maybelle Carter. You could look at Bianco’s struggle with the instrument as a neat metaphor for the responsibility she feels. Or, if you’re feeling less poetic, it’s just a typically fun and frank observation from the ever-popular singing thesp who is currently touring the country as June Carter Cash.
The Ballad of Johnny and June rolled into Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre this week, promising the definitive, estate-sanctioned story of music’s most famously turbulent couple. But as Bianco points out, stepping into the boots of a legend alongside a 13-strong company and a live band requires heavy lifting.
Not least when you have to repeat the feat multiple times a week as part of a monumental national tour.
Shedding the Impressions
Bianco is widely known as a vocal chameleon. For a performer whose viral fame was built on rapid-fire mimicry—shifting effortlessly from Celine Dion to Kristin Chenoweth in a single breath—locking into a single historical figure for an entire evening looks like quite a change of pace.
“It’s an absolute joy,” she says. “I love doing impressions, but it’s always been only a part of what I do. I’m grateful that I’ve always been able to balance my impression-based work with work that allows me to be an actor and singer in my own right.”
Over the last few years, she has actively side-stepped the ‘novelty’ circuit to tick off a remarkably varied list of theatrical roles. “From the lyrical soprano of Glinda in ‘The Wizard Of Oz’, to the belting of the Narrator in ‘Joseph…Dreamcoat,’ to singing country music now in ‘Johnny and June,’ I’m fulfilling my itch to sing different genres, while still being me.”
“It’s an absolute joy,” she says. “I love doing impressions, but it’s always been only a part of what I do. I’m grateful that I’ve always been able to balance my impression-based work with work that allows me to be an actor and singer in my own right.”
The transition away from her trademark schtick brings a very practical kind of relief. “And singing as myself is infinitely easier than doing impressions!”
Reclaiming Country Royalty
Pop culture has a bad habit of reducing June Carter to the woman who ‘saved’ the Man in Black. It’s a neat, Hollywood-friendly narrative that ignores that she was country royalty in her own right. As a key player in the Carter Family, June was a seasoned veteran of the Appalachian music scene long before Johnny Cash ever bought his first black suit.
Fortunately, this new musical is intent on correcting the record.
“The show was created with the support and guidance of Johnny and June’s son, John Carter Cash,” Bianco explains. “Even longtime fans who attend this show will be learning things about this iconic couple that they’ve never known before.”
Writers Des McAnuff and Robert Cary dug deep, recording extensive conversations with John to get the story right, purposefully dropping the usual rose-tinted filter.
“This not only includes telling the audience about June’s rise to fame, but also her previous marriages and finally revealing that June herself ultimately battled with addiction.”
It is a heavy mantle to carry on stage, acknowledging the jagged edges of a beloved icon, but Bianco clearly relishes the responsibility. “It’s an honour to share her full story in this way and shine a light on her properly.”
Keeping Pace with Des McAnuff
June Carter’s early career ran on high-octane physical comedy—a grinning, almost manic energy that masked the emotional toll of her private life. Pacing that kind of vitality over two acts is no mean feat, especially when the director is Des McAnuff. The Olivier and Tony Award-winner isn’t exactly known for hanging about; his previous work on Jersey Boys and The Who’s Tommy practically defined the slick, relentless momentum of the modern biographical musical.
“Luckily, the show is mostly linear and goes through their lives chronologically,” Bianco notes. “This gives me the opportunity to age June slightly as the scenes progress, which impacts her/my vocal placement, physicality and energy level.”
That said, McAnuff productions move like a freight train. There aren’t many polite blackouts to let a performer catch their breath.
“I have to be ready to shift gears instantly,” she says. To manage the breakneck speed, Bianco has engineered specific anchor points within the script. “In act two, there are a few moments I’ve chosen to personally tap in to ‘mature’ June. They’re beats in which, to me, there’s a significant change in how she responds to things. I use this as the foundation that takes me into the final, most dramatic chapter of the show.”
The Mechanics of Stage Chemistry
A play about one of music’s greatest love affairs obviously lives or dies on the chemistry between its leads. Condensing decades of complicated romance into a couple of hours alongside Christopher Ryan Grant’s Johnny requires a rock-solid foundation. Grant, who cut his teeth in Million Dollar Quartet, knows better than most how to handle the Sun Records era without descending into a deep-voiced caricature.
“All the best writing, direction and acting in the world will only take you so far if you and your scene partner don’t respect and trust each other,” Bianco asserts. “It starts with that. Then I would say really listening to each other is key. Being comfortable enough to play and try new things so nothing becomes mechanical…”
“I have to be ready to shift gears instantly,” she says. To manage the breakneck speed, Bianco has engineered specific anchor points within the script. “In act two, there are a few moments I’ve chosen to personally tap in to ‘mature’ June.
But as she quickly points out, you cannot fake genuinely getting on with someone.
“I have to say, if you get along outside of the rehearsal room, it certainly helps!” she laughs. “Luckily, Chris and I got on like a house on fire from day one. That’s just a little bit of magic that makes things that much easier.”
With the tour now setting up camp in Edinburgh, and a hefty songbook of Cash classics—from Ring of Fire to Jackson—to get through, the pair seem ready to deliver the friction and sparks required.
“People have been very complimentary about how well we work together on stage, and I’m so proud of that,” Bianco concludes. “We both know how important it is to capture and portray the very unique relationship between Johnny and June.”
Featured Image: Christopher Ryan Grant (Johnny Cash) & Christina Bianco (June Carter Cash). Credit_ Pamela Raith
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