Stage Review - Ride the Cyclone (SecondStory Rep)
Stage Review - Ride the Cyclone
Presented By: SecondStory Repertory - Redmond, WA
Show Run: June 14 - July 07, 2024
Date Reviewed: Thursday, June 20, 2024
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
Ride the Cyclone is quickly becoming one of my favorite musicals. There are a lot of reasons for this, not the least of which I find it very Canadian, more specifically it feels like the perfect piece to come from Northern Saskatchewan. It’s quirky and it’s fun, and just a little bit odd. It’s also very observational in its view of humanity, which is perhaps the most Canadian thing about it. It’s also a showcase piece for choreographers, music directors, and of course actors, given the nature of the piece, but more on that later. I first saw Ride the Cyclone last season when the Lesser Known Players performed it both on Bainbridge Island and here in Port Orchard. Needless to say, and given the LKP awards performance, I was intrigued when I saw this come up on the calendar as the closing production in SecondStory Repertory’s (SSR) season. Their version of the show runs through July 7 and is directed and choreographed by Harry Turpin with support from Music Director Mark Rabe, costumer Krista Lofgren, and master of all technical trades (set/sound/lights/projections) Mark Chenovick.
The reason I say it’s a showcase is evident in how the story unfolds. The setting is somewhere between the town of Uranium, Saskatchewan and the afterlife, a group of St. Cassian High School Choir members having just crossed over following a freak accident on a carnival roller coaster, the ill-fated Cyclone. Upon entering this limbo, the group of six are met by a mechanical fortune teller, The Amazing Karnak. They’re also joined by an unrecognizable maybe-classmate, as she is wearing a school choir uniform, but not a head, but none of the group recognizes her and this Jane Doe, by way of missing her head, has no recollection of anything about her life, much less her name. The gist of the tale is that Karnak has the ability to send one person back from this limbo, back to life while the others are left to move on to whatever the next stage is. But time is of the essence, Karnak is facing his own demise at the hands of Virgil the Rat, who has been gradually chewing on the fortune teller machine’s wires for some time, and Karnak, having the additional ability to tell when and how people will die (when he’s not in family friendly mode), knows that his fate is nigh. So, he gives the group an assignment, each of them must do their best to convince him that he or she should be the one deserving of the grand prize in this contest, to be sent back to the land of the living. It seems like he makes some of the rules up along the way, though it may just be that he’s short on time so he wants to keep the game moving. Regardless, each student takes a turn, each commencing when Karnak introduces the student by name, then proceeds to describe their past before handing the proverbial microphone over to the students themselves so that they can defend their past, personality, and actions, usually involving a song or two, in order to gain the favor of Karnak. And while the audience learns about each student, each student learns a valuable lesson about life and humanity that helps the musical reach its conclusion. There’s nothing overly risky, complicated, or unique about the overarching plot, but like the title indicates, in the case of Ride the Cyclone, it is all about the ride.
The ride that Director/Choreographer Harry Turpin sends the audience on is exceptionally entertaining and enjoyable. Each student is uniquely human, they’ve each got an engaging backstory, and the songs that they sing to defend themselves are as varied as the teenagers are. This is the challenge for the choreographer and music director, every song is done in a style different from the last, which requires a good deal of versatility in style and design. Music numbers include the opening ensemble song “The Uranium Suite”, which is the closest to what could be a classic Broadway musical style song, the cabaret stylings of “Noel’s Lament”, the rock and roll “Space Age Bachelor Man”, the auto-tuned rap of “This Song is Awesome”, the sweet ballad “Talia”, and the song befitting of the mysterious girl “The Ballad of Jane Doe”. Harry has created a vision for each student’s defense that tells their story in an engaging way, providing unique, creative, and challenging choreography for each musical number and blocking that seems to flow so that the entire show is in motion from start to finish. In fact, there is a nice fluidity to all the movement in this production of Ride the Cyclone. Each character tells their story, involving all aspects of the creative team, unique costuming from Krista Lofgren, and projections that provide an additional level of movement. And on the music side, Mark Rabe’s direction takes full advantage of the actors’ abilities and range in each of their individual and ensemble pieces.
The cast may very well be Harry’s biggest coup for this production. Each of these actors is very well cast for these roles, and it starts with The Amazing Karnak, played by Brian Pucheu. Brian’s Karnak is jaw droppingly good. Trapped in a glass booth, he is part game show host, part narrator. His movements are mechanical, and he never breaks character inside the booth. Whether he is turning to face one of the actors or the audience, or glancing at his crystal ball, he just looks like a machine, and he’s dead still when he’s not moving. He does come out of the booth, though, mainly as part of his character introductions, and in these moments, usually with crystal ball in hand, his command of the stage is top notch. And speaking of mechanical movements, I like what Harry has done with this in the flashback portions of the students’ introductions. Each movement is robotic, purposeful, and a creative way to differentiate between these scenes from the past and the present. The self-proclaimed leader of the students is Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg, played by Emily Courcy. Ocean is the typical overachiever, she’s almost too perfect and Emily plays her with an excellent self-centered arrogance. Her musical feature “What the World Needs” is her defense to why she believe she should win the grand prize, but at the end of the day, she is the one with the most to learn, and Emily’s performance is very good, her voice excellent in songs, but’s it’s the enthusiasm she carries on her face from start to finish that defines her character. Her classmates include Noel Gruber (Nicolas Main), Constance Blackwood (Ashley Rose Klimper), Ricky Potts (played on Thursday by swing Will Ehrlich), and Mischa Bachinski (Franco Weaver). Each of these actors is very good, feels perfectly cast, and perform their roles with a good deal of skill. Nicolas’ turn as Noel in his “Noel’s Lament” is superb, his movements are extremely fluid and natural, especially good in his number, but also in the delivery of Harry’s blocking. There’s an underlying sadness to his character, but in this situation, he’s able to be more of his true self and there’s something very freeing in that. Will Ehrlich has Jack Black vibe in his performance of Ricky Potts’ “Space Age Bachelor Man”, his portrayal a transformational one, going from the tambourine playing boy who can’t speak to a confident rock and roller, and his ability to step in as swing to perform at this level doesn’t just speak to the importance of this role in today’s theatre landscape, but even more so about Will’s ability. Constance Blackwood also undergoes a transformation in this space between, hers is by breaking out of under Ocean’s thumb, and it’s nice to watch Ashley portrayal slowly gain this confidence as the show progresses until its climax in her rendition of “Sugar Cloud”.
Mischa Bachinski is the Ukrainian orphan adopted by Canadian parents who covers up his soft and sweet personality with an urban rap exterior. The audience gets to see two sides of Mischa, and in doing so gets to see the range of Franco Weaver’s talent. “This Song is Awesome”, sung in autotune is hilarious, but his extremely tender “Talia” is a show stopper. And speaking of show stoppers, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Savannah Lynn as Jane Doe. Jane Doe is a mystery, but what isn’t a mystery is the quality of this performance. From an expert representation of a broken china doll to a stunning and delightfully controlled and brilliant soprano, Savannah’s representation of Jane Doe is just so good, it’s quite the wonder.
Ride the Cyclone is a quirky, funny, and very Canadian piece of musical theatre, and SecondStory Rep’s final production of its 2023-24 season is every bit the carnival ride that you’d expect from this out of this world show. There’s something we can all learn about being better humans from riding the Cyclone, and while the lessons aren’t altogether shrouded in mystery, Director Harry Turpin’s production, which features a stellar cast of versatile and talented actors, shows that regardless of the destination, sometimes the best part is the journey. Head on over to Redmond to Ride the Cyclone, you’ll laugh, tap your feet along with the catchy music, and be wholly entertained for the 90 minutes of its run time. You might actually find that you’ll learn something about yourself along the way.
Ride the Cyclone runs on stage at SecondStory Repertory in Redmond through July 7. For more information on the show, including ticket availability and purchase, visit https://www.secondstoryrep.org/. Note that due to some mature themes, the show may not be suitable for younger audiences.
Photo credit: Michael Brunk
