Ride the Cyclone
Opening Night: September 29, 2015
Closing: November 15, 2015
Theater: Chicago Shakespeare Theater
This fall marks the U.S. premiere of a new musical with a refreshingly offbeat twist. Part comedy, part tragedy—and wholly unexpected—this wildly imaginative story delivers surprises at every turn. The lives of six teenagers from a Canadian chamber choir are cut short in a freak accident aboard a roller coaster. A mechanical fortune-teller invites each to tell their story of a life interrupted—offering the chance to come to terms with their fates. At once quirky and smart, edgy and beautiful, “Ride the Cyclone” ultimately reveals the resilience of the human spirit in spite of senseless tragedy.
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November 10, 2015
“Ride the Cyclone,” an unceasingly delightful new musical having its premiere at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, does bring a smidgen of sad news. Apparently the rivalries, insecurities and peer-fearing angst of the teenage years survive even beyond the grave. This show, developed from a cabaret originally produced in Canada, takes place in a ghostly carnivalesque netherworld, designed with ghoulish atmosphere by Scott Davis. The remnants of a rickety wooden roller coaster wrap around a small, antique proscenium. While riding that creaky coaster, six teenagers — all members of a school choir — met their gruesome ends when their car leapt the tracks. This may sound like a singularly weird idea for a musical, but “Ride the Cyclone,” with book, music and lyrics by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell (straight A’s across the board), couldn’t be less of a downer. It’s a witty, small-scaled show of immense sweetness and originality, like a macabre fun house variation on “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” or a madcap comic riff on the “Final Destination” movies, played backward.
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