In the 20 years since the Historic Genesee Theatre has been reborn, the venue has hosted scores of acts, but none as off-the-wall as one set to take the downtown Waukegan stage on Jan. 11, “The Folsom Prison Experience.”
The show, apparently well-received in other sites across the Midwest, is a tribute production based on the iconic performance by Johnny Cash and friends at California’s infamous Folsom State Prison in January of 1968. Still, I’m not sure I’d like to be a captive member of the audience — i.e. an inmate — in re-creating the concert and subsequent album recorded live which revived Cash’s once-failing career.
Ask anyone who’s done a stretch at the notorious Stateville or Pontiac prisons in Illinois and the joint isn’t a fun place to spend any time, let alone a night. Not even to watch a concert that could turn into a singalong of Cash’s many hits. Yet, who wants to judge the entertainment choices of our fellow Americans?
One difference between the ersatz “Folsom Prison Experience,” being performed a few blocks from the Lake County jail, and the real thing is audience members have the opportunity to imbibe beer, wine and mixed drinks from the Genesee’s lounges. That’s a far cry from when, as many remember, for decades the near-2,500-seat theater and the Academy Theatre across the street were the city’s main outlets for first-run films.
Standing in line for movies at the two theaters, and gripping popcorn purchased at the tiny Karmelkorn Shop next to the Genesee, was a tradition perhaps dating from the 1920s when the theater first opened. Popcorn was about a quarter less when bought from the candy shop than inside the Genesee, whose management didn’t mind folks bringing their salty purchases into the theater.
The historic movie palace has come a long way since then, nearly closing but for the vision of backers of the arts back in 2004 when the city of Waukegan sold $20 million in bonds to rehab the theater at Genesee and Clayton streets. During nights when shows are at the Historic Genesee, life returns to a downtown which continues to struggle.
Attending live productions at the Genesee — from rock groups to plays to comedians — is always an enjoyable time. The rejuvenated theater is a joy, and there’s plenty of close parking.
Certainly those attending “The Folsom Prison Experience” will be using the city parking lots or garage to see the Minneapolis-based troupe turn the Genesee into the slammer. The performance sounds nothing like the recent stagings of another notable project Cash had a hand in back in the mid-1950s, “Million Dollar Quartet.”
From the troupe’s website: “Step into the shoes of an inmate at Folsom Prison in 1968 and participate in this electrifying Johnny Cash show. Feel the palpable tension as the watchful warden and his guards keep a vigilant eye, while Johnny Cash, June Carter, and the Statler Brothers ignite the stage with their timeless music.”
Now, who doesn’t like a good Johnny Cash song? But being considered an inmate might be too realistic for some as, “guards keep a vigilant eye”.
The troupe invites concertgoers to come dressed as prisoners, while the website sells “Folsom Prison Experience” prison garb such as jumpsuits, T-shirts and guard badges. A jail cell photo booth also is planned.
There was no photo booth available at Folsom Prison outside Sacramento, the capital of California, when Cash and company arrived and performed two concerts there. The “Man in Black” kicked off the concert with a song he first recorded in 1955, “Folsom Prison Blues,” with the grim line: “I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.”
The version on the successful album “Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison” turned the song into a No. 1 hit on the country charts and reached No. 32 on Billboard’s Hot 100, according to several accounts. The song won Cash a Grammy in 1969 for best country performance. Rolling Stone magazine has ranked it No. 51 on its list of the 100 greatest country songs of all time.
The live album was so successful, that Cash continued recording at prisons, releasing “At San Quentin” in 1969, “Pa Osteraker,” done at a Swedish prison in 1973, and “A Concert Behind Prison Walls” in 1976 at the Tennessee State Prison outside of Nashville, which has since closed.
Chicago bluesman B.B. King followed in Cash’s footsteps with his own September 1970 concert for prisoners, which turned into a best-selling album, “Live in Cook County Jail,” which was released in 1971.
Those seeking to attend “The Folsom Prison Experience” might want to brush up by listening to the Cash or King performances before heading to this unique offering scheduled by the talent agents at the theater. But be alert for those guards with vigilant eyes.
Tickets remain available for the Folsom Prison Experience at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 11 at the Historic Genesee Theatre.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.
sellenews@gmail.com
X: @sellenews
