{"id":19595,"date":"2015-11-03T17:40:47","date_gmt":"2015-11-03T23:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=19595"},"modified":"2015-11-03T17:43:12","modified_gmt":"2015-11-03T23:43:12","slug":"ride-the-cyclone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/ride-the-cyclone\/","title":{"rendered":"Ride the Cyclone: Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s musical roller coaster"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Garfield<\/p>\n

You may not think that a musical can start out with six deaths and still be uplifting and funny without negating the tragedy of loss.<\/p>\n

But Ride the Cyclone manages that emotional feat. This vaudevillian musical from Chicago Shakespeare Theater<\/a> keeps you guessing until the very end.<\/p>\n

A broken roller coaster track frames the stage in a black-box theater on the top floor of Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier. The sharp chemical smell of atomized mineral oil saturates the air as mist wafts from fog machines throughout the atmospheric performance.<\/p>\n

Bittersweet and uproariously funny, Ride the Cyclone<\/a> forces audiences to consider life and mortality. The highs and lows of life swirl together in one musical number after another. The show will leave you wanting to make the most out of every day. \u00a0Ride the Cyclone is 90 minutes long and runs through Nov. 15.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Dead<\/a>
Dead choir member Constance Blackwood (Lillian Castillo) sings Sugarcloud about her love for life and her hometown. Confetti falls over one of the most upbeat songs in the show. (Courtesy of Liz Lauren\/ Chicago Shakespeare Theater)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The show opens on The Amazing Karnak, a robotic, amusement park fortune teller with the ability to foresee death. Karnak introduces the audience to six teenagers from St. Cassian\u2019s chamber choir who crashed to their death when the fair\u2019s Cyclone roller coaster derailed. The twist is that Karnak possesses the ability to bring one of them back to life.<\/p>\n

Karnak invites the six teens to compete for their second chance at life. Five use their chamber-choir skills to explain their pasts and share their hopes for the future. The choir members step forward one by one, Chorus-Line style, to tell the stories of their lives or what they imagined their lives could have been. The sixth contestant is a Jane Doe, a body found headless and never identified in the wake of the Cyclone crash.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The mysterious Jane Doe (Emily Rohm), found headless after the Cyclone crash, takes on the head of a doll with pure black eyes. Her soprano voice reverberated to create an eerie, other-worldly effect. The mechanical fortune teller and narrator, The Amazing Karnack (Karl Hamilton) observes from his booth. (Courtesy of Liz Lauren\/ Chicago Shakespeare Theater)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

None of the actors can remember her or her story. As a result, her song reflects on the nature of memory and humanity itself. Her haunting ballad paired with impeccable staging marks the emotional pinnacle of the show.<\/p>\n

While, logically, it is unlikely that no one from the choir would remember their headless friend, the aura of mystery surrounding the character is captivating enough for the audience to dismiss the issue.<\/p>\n

The score spans everything from pop to glam rock to a post-war cabaret number. One song transitions from rap to an Eastern-European folk song. Shockingly, it works. The score holds together as a cohesive unit to tell the diverse stories of the teenagers.<\/p>\n

Despite, and perhaps because of its diversity, the music is a weak spot, though. The songs don\u2019t stay in your head after the show.<\/p>\n

In contrast, the show\u2019s staging will haunt your dreams. Directed and choreographed by multiple Jeff Award-winner, Rachel Rockwell. The seven-person cast constantly rearranges itself to illustrate the worlds sung about by the teenagers. Actors play everything from Hippie parents to space cats without losing the individuality of their core characters.<\/p>\n

\"cyclone<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Choir member, Noel Gruber (Kholby Wardell), performs a cabaret number to illustrate his fantasy of what his life could have been. He re-imagines himself as \u201ca hooker with a heart of black charcoal\u201d in post-war France. (Courtesy of Liz Lauren\/ Chicago Shakespeare Theater)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Cyclone<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Over-achiever Ocean O\u2019Connell Rosenberg (Tiffany Tatreau) and the other choir members (from left, Russell Mernagh, Lillian Castillo, Emily Rohm, Jackson Evans and Kholby Wardell) young lives\u2019 are abruptly cut short by a crash on the Cyclone roller coaster. They face the uncertainty of the afterlife together while mourning the lives they might have led. \n(Courtesy of Liz Lauren\/ Chicago Shakespeare Theater)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Cyclone<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Despite the macabre subject matter, Ride the Cyclone sparkles with wit and enthusiasm to make the most of life. (Courtesy of Liz Lauren\/ Chicago Shakespeare Theater)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n
\n

The musical began as a song cycle from the Canadian theater company Atomic Vaudeville. The music acquired a cult following across Canada before being adapted into a full show by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell.<\/p>\n

And who gets their life back? You’ll never guess – until the very end reveals all.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe development of new work is essential to Chicago Shakespeare,\u201d said Creative Producer Rick Boynton. \u201cWe are thrilled to contribute to the journey of this piece, and share storytelling that is so unique.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Photo at top: Cast of six dead teenagers looks toward the future in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s new musical, Ride the Cyclone.(Courtesy of Liz Lauren\/ Chicago Shakespeare Theater)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Garfield You may not think that a musical can start out with six deaths and still be uplifting and funny without negating the tragedy of loss. But Ride the Cyclone manages that emotional feat. This vaudevillian musical from Chicago Shakespeare Theater keeps you guessing until the very end. 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