Decapitated in the accident, Jane Doe wanders the stage like a broken doll with vacant, pitch-black eyes. In a roster of treasures, arguably the most memorable number is "The Ballad of Jane Doe," performed by Emily Rohm as the sole unidentified Cyclone rider. But before the vote, the teens will each get a chance to argue their case in song. And whoever wins the election can return to world of the living. At the close of the 90-minute show, there will be a vote among the choir members. One of them, Karnak announces, won't stay that way. Karnak describes, in his thoroughly creepy monotone voice, the impending roller coaster derailment while the six teens stand by, dazed and confused at finding themselves dead. The story begins with the Amazing Karnak (voiced by Karl Hamilton), a mechanical soothsayer locked in the booth of a seedy traveling carnival with his cheesy crystal ball. But director Rachel Rockwell also highlights the sheer joyousness inherent to the show. Darkness abides under the carnival lights that illuminate the show's fun-house atmosphere. Rather, it is a profound rumination on death that's never pretentious, and a celebration of life that's never sentimental. It deals in familiar teen tropes - the outcast, the mean girl, the angry trouble-maker - but it never dips into cliché. Still, it's unfair to compare Ride the Cyclone to anything, because it is so original. Think Waiting for Godot (which is excerpted in one hilarious scene) meets The Breakfast Club and you'll have a tiny idea of this show's sensibility. Cocreators Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell have written a piece that is both enthralling and unnerving. Though it might sound Plaid-ish on the surface, it is wholly its own beast. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, the show's Vernon, B.C., run was announced with ads blaring, "If you loved Forever Plaid, Come See Ride the Cyclone!" premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Ride the Cyclone was in fact once marketed with a nod to Forever Plaid. A synopsis of Ride the Cyclone sounds not unlike a variation on the musical Forever Plaid, where six teenage choir members are killed in a freak accident, meet in the afterlife, and explore their lives in song.
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