Dead teenagers in a macabre amusement park limbo making a pitch for why they should get to return to their lives is far more amusing than might be expected in “Ride the Cyclone”, a wildly charming musical currently in production at Farmers Alley Theatre in Kalamazoo.
The music, book, and lyrics, written by Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond, are terrifically imaginative, and evolved from a 2008 cabaret show in Canada, made its U.S. debut in Chicago in 2015, then emerged Off-Broadway the following year. It draws inspiration from various sources and styles to create an utterly entertaining, wonderfully strange, life-affirming show that’s a perfect fit for Farmers Alley.
Those dead teenagers in limbo are all members of the Saint Cassian Chamber Choir from Uranium City, Saskatchewan who died in a freak roller coaster accident recreated right before our eyes in slow motion. The Amazing Karnak (Steve Brubaker), a mechanical fortune teller much like Zoltar in the film “Big”, narrates the show and informs the teens they’re playing a game in which they’re competing to return to their life—but only one will be sent back, and Karnak reveals and changes the rules willy nilly. He also introduces them one-by-one with astrological sign and catchphrase before each narrates their life with a distinctive musical number.
And therein lies the fun. The brilliance of the show is in the character study, the delightfully weird personalities, how they opt to reveal themselves through diverse and distinctive song and dance, and how the truly excellent actors fully embody these wonderful humans—as well as the phenomenal transformation of space in the theatre to take the audience on a very wild ride, indeed.
There’s type-A Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg (Emery Henderson), who stumps for herself by singing in a very bouncy pop song, “what the world needs is people like me” and is the kind of girl who scripts all improvisation ahead of time for her best friend Constance Blackwood (Niki Metcalf) whose catchphrase is “Sorry”, who reveals she lost her virginity in a port-a-potty to a carnie right before they died, and realizes while in limbo how very beautiful life really was; and there’s little to be known about Jane Doe (Faith Northcutt) because she was decapitated during the accident and is something of a doll in both voice and movement, though her dirge turned spiritual is like a New Orleans Jazz funeral.
The men include Ricky Potts (Alex Daspit), a mute child whose fantastic imagination transforms him into a kind of “Space Jesus” in a galaxy where “Cats” meets “Rocky Horror”; neglected Ukrainian adoptee Mischa Bachinski (Jason Mulay Koch) funnels his rage and passion (the only two emotions a Ukrainian man experiences, he says) into auto-tuned hip hop; and Noel Gruber (Braeden Davis), the only gay boy in town, longs to be Marlene Dietrich though instead slings bean burritos at Taco Bell.
They’re all hysterically tragic, how teenagers are, but everything is exaggerated and yet also made more real while being satirized with the wonderfully zany writing and performances. Each monologue and number outdoes the last with its own twist and the actors are so fully committed there’s somehow nothing far fetched about them and everything seems plausible in this topsy-turvy world that is technically rendered so very beautifully.
From the proscenium thrust stage with turntable framed by two giant clowns through whose mouths the actors enter and exit designed by Sam Snow to the excellent projections from Chris Mahlmann on the center stage curtain to the lights from Lanford J. Potts, at turns bold and nuanced, creating character and space while also shaping emotion, to Molly Lewis’s costumes (school uniforms to spacesuits to lounge singer gowns), Steve Hodges’ wigs, and Savannah Draper’s props, every technical element and detail is crucial to the storytelling and utterly seamless.
Director Leonard E. Sullivan’s vision is a spectacular fantasy sprung to life, fully realized on the Farmers Alley Stage with an extraordinary cast and crew. His choreography, too, spans the varied styles of the musical numbers and builds these wacky characters with terrific musicality in part thanks to the excellent four-piece band led by Music Director Brendan Vincent that seemingly effortlessly plays everything from rock to pop to funk to jazz and beyond.
And as dark as the set up appears to be is as light hearted is the ultimate message of this show that’s utterly earned—by both the creators and the audience. Life isn’t a game, it’s a ride. There’s no right or wrong, win or lose, just enjoy the experience. The twists, the turns, the thrills, the fear, the utter loss of control.
Seeing this show is just like riding a roller coaster. By the time you stand up and exit the theatre, you feel a little lighter, maybe a little woozy, but you want to go again.
Ride the Cyclone
Farmers Alley Theatre
May 29-June 15 (With newly added showings on June 6 at 2pm and June 7 at 7pm)
https://www.farmersalleytheatre.com/shows/ride-the-cyclone
