Ride the Cyclone at Barnstormers Theater: The Nicest Show in Town

by Laura Duffy

Ride the Cyclone is a 2009 musical with lyrics and book by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell, which has developed a cult following in recent years due to internet popularity. It follows six high school students who die in a roller coaster accident, and are left in limbo with a mysterious mechanical fortune telling machine who forces them to compete for a chance to escape the afterlife. 

Barnstormers Theatre set the tone for their production with a simple but sufficient set, designed by Sharon Daws and J. “Buzz” DiSabatino, and eerily lit by Matt English and DiSabatino. A lopsided sign advertising the fateful Cyclone coaster hanging from the grid, a projection screen on the back wall, and a fortune telling booth on stage left were the only notable pieces – but one of the perks of an intimate show like Cyclone is that it can work well with only a few key elements. The production may have even benefited from removing the projections – personally, I feel that they often detract more from a story than add to them, and the videos that played behind the characters during various sequences often distracted from the action happening on stage. Still, I thought the simplicity of the overall design served the show well.

In addition to English and DiSabatino’s lighting design, Justin O’Connor served as Spotlight Operator, and did a good job of highlighting the characters during important moments. Natalie Rose served as Run Crew, and was, I’m sure, responsible for successfully assisting the actors with some fast costume changes.

The entire show is narrated by The Amazing Karnak, portrayed in this production by Tauron Thompson, whose fate is to die by the end of the show when Virgil the Rat (briefly portrayed by Jaylynne Peppel) chews through his wiring. Thompson used a deep, monotone voice to invoke the persona of the mechanical fortune teller, which worked well. Unfortunately, I did have a lot of trouble hearing his character’s dialogue, as it was often layered on top of fairly loud musical accompaniments. Since Karnak provides exposition and narration for the entire story, this did raise a bit of an issue. Luckily, I was already familiar with the show, so I could still follow it, but I hope the sound balance is able to be resolved for future performances, for the sake of those who are new to the story. Kudos to Audio Engineers Martin English and Ray Yeomans for working on what is evidently a hard show to balance – besides Karnak, I could hear all of the other actors well.

Eliza Davulcu was a good fit for Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg, the choir’s resident egocentric overachiever. Her number, “What the World Needs”, is a notoriously hard sing, and I appreciated that Davulcu sang healthily and didn’t strain her voice by belting out some of the higher notes at the end of the song. Her energy and spunk provided a fun way to start off the kids’ competition.

Special plaudits are due to Zach King’s performance as Noel Gruber. His number, “Noel’s Lament”, was one of the highlights of the show – he exuded confidence, dressed in a stunning showgirl’s bodysuit and matching red high-heeled boots (courtesy of Costume and Property Designer Ashley O’Connor-Mitchell, who did a great job with all of the unique looks that this show requires). There were a few Ride the Cyclone superfans in the front row of the audience the day that I attended, and King made sure to engage with them during the number, which added a fun touch.

In fact, there were many moments throughout the show when the actors either entered through the audience or left the stage to engage further with them. This was one choice among many made by director A.J.M., whom I could tell was very passionate about the project – this isn’t the kind of show that’s easy to pull off without diving deep into the material and understanding its cult following. I think overall, the direction was fairly clear, and small choices such as this one added a unique touch to the show. This worked in collaboration with Madeline Ley’s music direction and Jett Meisel’s choreography. Ley had a tough job ahead, as this production utilized tracks, which is a challenge when the show contains a capella singing and lots of transitional music between dialogue and song. I did feel that there were several moments that could have been more thoroughly rehearsed in order to tighten up the timing and musical entrances. However, the individual actors sounded nice on each of their songs, which is no doubt due to Ley’s vision and direction. Meisel’s choreography was quite simple, which was a wise choice given the small space the actors had to work with. 

Dorian Bean was energetic and passionate as Mischa Bachinski, the Ukrainian rapper who yearns to unite with his online girlfriend Talia. He did a fine job with a fairly difficult accent – there were a couple of moments that it dropped off, but for the most part it was consistent without being so strong that I couldn’t understand him. Samuel White portrayed Ricky Potts, the formerly mute choir member (who plays the tambourine) with a complex fantasy life. White did a nice job juxtaposing his initially quite nerdy character with the interstellar hero he became during his song – and his voice fit the role wonderfully.

Cristina Duffey’s Constance Blackwood was sweet and awkward (exactly as it should be), and her performance culminated in a powerful final monologue. As someone familiar with Ride the Cyclone, I always look forward to Constance’s monologue, as it can really showcase an actor’s ability, and I’m happy to report that Duffey nailed each emotional beat. Her vocal performance was also notable – “Sugar Cloud” was another production highlight of mine.

The actor who portrayed Jane Doe (whose name was redacted from the program as a nod to her anonymity in the story – although I wish I were able to credit them!) was wonderfully creepy, from their stiff, doll-like movements to their haunting soprano melodies. The character of Jane Doe has risen to a certain degree of notoriety following the show’s virality on TikTok and other internet platforms, so I can imagine that it’s a nerve-wracking role to take on. In this production, she made her entrance through the aisle in the audience, and I was pretty spooked. Over the course of the show, the audience comes to understand just how heartbreaking her story is, and I think this actor did a great job of creating a character that was both disturbing and incredibly sympathetic. A job well done!

Ride the Cyclone is undoubtedly one of the weirdest musicals I’m personally aware of, and therefore requires a cast of actors who are unafraid to be fully committed and incredibly silly in front of an audience. This is something that I myself sometimes still struggle with as an actor, so I applaud each member of the cast and crew for buying into Cyclone’s upside-down world. It certainly paid off in the end.

Ride the Cyclone runs on October 31st at 7:30 pm and November 1st at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm. Tickets here: http://www.barnstormerstheater.com/tickets.html