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Mickey Jo (14:44)

Now it Seems only fitting that we begin with the amazing Karnak himself, portrayed by Edward Wu, since he is the first character that we meet in the show, this production. I don't know if this is always the case. He is stationed above the playing space, looking down on all of them as well as on the audience, which gives him this sort of godlike quality. He delivers all of his lines in a very robotic monotone and adopts a similar physicality as well to go along with that, looking like a sort of a clunky animatronic, but with just enough inflection in his vocal delivery to indicate wit and sarcasm. It's all a really fantastic performance from Edward Wu. And sometimes I think these are some of the hardest characters to play because you're sort of prohibited from misspeaking or reacting with too much humanity. It's. It's not unlike the Mary Poppins's of this world, because it all has to be very sort of perfect in a way. Now, Ocean o' Connell Rosenberg, portrayed by the fantastic Bailey Carson, is the sort of de facto leader of the St. Cassian Chamber Choir, at least she believes herself to be. And she is, I guess, something of a high school bully behind the guise of being a high achiever. Lest Regina George think more. Paris Geller from Gilmour Girls. She is determined upon discovering that only one of them has the chance to win this competition, that it ought to be her, that she is the most deserving, that she will lead the most successful and prosperous life out of anyone. She articulates this by not only saying that clearly she is one of life's winners, but that everyone else is doomed to mediocrity, singing about how each of her friends and schoolmates are losers and inevitable organ donors. And there's a little bit of depth to Ocean's identity here, more so than I first realized when I was listening to this as a cast album. And I love that her name gives us a little bit of a clue as to her character, because she comes from this very liberal background, hence being called Ocean. But she's also o' Connell Rosenberg. She tells us at one point that she had a Catholic confirmation and a Jewish bat Mitzvah in the same week, all of that under the. The umbrella of high achieving. And she begins to wrestle with a conflict during the show between wanting to have a life for herself, but also wanting to truly do the right thing, rather than just being a performative activist, which is sort of what she's been up to this point. And because she is so focused and so Studious. Her song is entirely on point. It's sort of the pee point, evidence, explanation, presentational version of what this could be, an argument for your life over everybody else's. Almost immediate afterwards, we start to go a little bit off topic with these songs because next we hear from Noel Gruber, who is introduced to us as, I think, the most romantic boy in town. He's played by Damon Gold and Noel believes himself to be the only young queer person, the only gay man in Uranium City. He is obsessed with French New wave cinema and has an alter ego that he has crafted based on a Marlene Dietrich character, one which he sings about and then portrays as he, in this very Sally Bowles esque kind of musical number, idealizes is as this beautifully miserable existence. And if Noel has been freed of his earthly inhibitions by the sweet embrace of a violent, violent death, that only continues for our next couple contestants. Next is Misha Bachinsky, portrayed by Bartek Krasiewski. Misha is a Ukrainian born Soundcloud rapper described to us as the angriest boy in town. We, before he begins his song, have heard about his fiance Talia, who Ocean at least believes to be fictional. And in initially somewhat less than sincere lyrics, Misha forms a rap number with the support of everyone else. Like in six the Musical, everyone does each other's backing vocals and it becomes very heightened and theatricalized, which, because it's a musical, doesn't necessarily require a robust explanation or justification. But there is a moment when we see Karnak manipulating all of them and moving them around against their will. So the idea here is that he just, he just wants to see an hour of good, compelling musical theater. Truly, I can think of no better way to die. His song, though, metamorphosizes into more of a romantic space as he reflects on Talia, his beloved. And that is not the only amorous inclination that we encounter in the show when we move on next to Ricky Potts. Now, Ricky's character has had something of a shift since earlier versions of the show because I believe he was initially written to be physically disabled, which was later amended to trauma induced muteness. When Ricky begins to speak upon their arrival to wherever it is that they are together, they are surprised that Ricky is talking because he didn't do this when he was participatory in the I will remind you chamber choir where he played the tambourine. Ricky is portrayed in this production by the very talented Jack Maverick. It's his professional debut, I should point out. Actually, for about half of this cast, it is their professional debut, which is very exciting. Jack is an actor of short stature, which I feel lends some degree of authenticity to the portrayal of Ricky and to this idea of his disenfranchisement, certainly this sense of being othered within this group. Ricky is also an arguably, I think, the character who has experienced the most significant transformation beyond death. Not only newly able to speak, but very eager to articulate and portray the fantasies that he has been exploring about his life as a sexy, swinging, space age bachelor man on a science fiction planet made of cat people. A race who he, I believe, and I hope I'm getting this right, is expected to save from extinction via sexy space cat times. And after five years of working in education, it would be disingenuous for me to tell you that there aren't any students who are having daydreams with, you know, similar themes. But it's a great number and it really cements the lunacy that we have found by the time we arrive at this moment in the show. Jack also interpolates a handful of impressive acrobatic stunts into his performance and plays this resentment that he can finally express against Ocean really well. That's one of the great things that Damon and Bartek are able to play. Damon has some brutally savage, sarcastic line readings, and Bartek is very, very funny, but also has this very real exposed heart and vulner vulnerability behind the bravado of his characterization. Readying us perhaps for this shift into the slightly more sincere and emotional. And this is maybe one of the shortcomings of the material. I don't know whether there's a production that could manage it in such a way that this doesn't feel like something of a whiplash inducing corner turn in a bumper car. But essentially what we're about to move towards is a space with a little more honesty and vulnerability that we're kind of ill placed for because of the last three songs that have just happened, everything gets increasingly more bizarre. And in the giddy haze of all of that insincerity, it's a little bit difficult to grasp at something real. Which isn't to say that it doesn't play well. It does. And next up, we have perhaps the most loved song of the show, which is the Ballad of Jane Doe. And a big part of the original appreciation of this on social media and its virality was the way in which it has often been staged with a performance flying through the air and doing somersaults and spinning upside down, recreating their death flying off of the Cyclone roller coaster. While they are singing and sustaining these high notes like Christine Daae and this production at Southwark Playhouse, Elephant does not necessarily have those capabilities. Instead, we have a series of illusions. And I can tell you who on the creative team was responsible for these. That's Richard Pinner, illusion designer. Which actually began in the earliest moments of the show's exposition when we, a headless figure, arrive on stage on this revolve brought into the playing space. It's a nice little one, two surprise. Because they're standing so still, we assume that it's just a sort of a mannequin statue. And then they begin to walk and push around this pram while singing this haunting vocal that we will hear again later once Jane Doe arrives. She is portrayed by Grace Galloway, who sounds absolutely fantastic, has the most impeccable vocal control over this most audacious song. It's a huge sing. And while she doesn't fly or get tilted upside down while she's singing it, there is a moment when she disappears back into a box and we see her disembodied head rise mysteriously above her body. I think that's a really well achieved illusion. I dare say the production would benefit from just like one more thing. If something else had happened first, perhaps she could be like physical theater, lifted into the air for the most part. I think it's a really innovative and clever production that doesn't rely on, you know, big impression, impressive set pieces. It's all in the staging and the physicality and the movement to tell this story and to create each of these different numbers. Grace is great though. I had no doubt that she was going to sing it brilliantly. Bailey Carson also needs to be shouted out for vocals as well. Lots of lovely tone and great control in the upper vocal ranges. I do think in terms of the sound design of the whole thing, I wanted to be impacted by vocals just a little bit more. I just wanted a little bit more. More strength in the mixing. Like the vocals were present, there was clarity, they were distinguishable. I just wanted them to hit me more than they did. Alongside singing, though, Grace Galloway also really great in the scenes as Jane Doe in these comedy moments of being terrifying and the way that she was utilizing her face, just this wide eyed, disembodied stare that she had. Really great stuff. Finally, then, another professional debut for Robin Gilbertson as Constance Blackwood. Constance is the nicest girl in town, one who, unlike just about everybody else, is actually proud of where she comes from and is finally able to really come to terms with that in the moments before her death when she is flying over the uranium city that she realizes she unapologetically loves, even if that doesn't seem cool to anyone else, Constance's journey is very sort of Sister Mary Robert from Sister Act. She finds her own strength finally to be able to stand up to Ocean, who though her friend is very dismissive of her her and expects this unfailing loyalty while not really offering her any kind of a mutual respect. But as we begin to reach the end of the show, it's very satisfying to watch Robin as Constance pull down that lever and then finally feel like she can speak honestly and then sing honestly about her life and her perspective on it. And coming out of the Ballad of Jane Doe, which is this utterly morbid reckoning of an individual who wonders if they even still have a soul in their body or if it is lost somewhere with their missing hair, Constance sings about how happy and giddy she feels now on this metaphorical sugar cloud, really just hammering home this show's utterly unique point of view when it comes to death and life. Finally, then, you may know Ride the Cyclone. You may have seen Ride the Cyclone before, but you might not know about this production. Let me tell you about the new UK premier production at Southern.

Patrick Schwarzenegger (26:04)

Hey guys, I'm Patrick Schwarzenegger, the founder of Mosh, which is a protein bar made specifically for your body brain. Our bars are not only nutritious, but they are absolutely delicious and they are loaded with up to 13 grams of protein, only 3 grams of sugar and amazing ingredients that support a healthy brain like lion's mane, Ashwagandha, vitamin B12, vitamin D3 and so much more. But the best part is every time you purchase one of our bars we donate to Alzheimer's research. So if you want to find ways to give back to others and fuel your body and your brain, Mosh bars are the perfect choice for you. Head to moshlife.com pod20 to get 20% off plus free shipping on the Bestsellers Trial Pack or the new plant based trial pack. That's 20% off plus free shipping on either the Best Sellers Trial Pack or the plant based trial pack@moshlife.com pod20 taking.

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Mickey Jo (27:32)

Playhouse. Now, before we talk about the creative choices made on stage by director Lizzy G and team, I have to really shout out everything they're doing in the foyer space of Southwark Playhouse Elephant because I've never seen the venue so transformed. Not only do they have a fun and novel photo opportunity in front of a board where you can sit in a bumper car with the ride the Cyclone logo behind you, they also have have fairground games and you can try and toss a hoop onto a ring or you can hook a duck. They have funhouse mirrors. They've added in a popcorn machine. More merchandise than I've ever seen for an off West End show before. You can get specialty drinks and themed snacks. There is this little booklet here for it's called a choir practice logbook, but it's for repeat visits to the show if you go back to see it more than once. A very smart thing for the producers to be implementing for a musical that before it even began to previews already had an audience of eager die hard fans. And you get prizes for claiming these stamps from your second visit to the show onwards, which is fantastic. I have said before that given how often a lot of audience members go back to see the same show over and over and over again, more of them should be implementing loyalty schemes. And it's not like a full KitKat club style immersive experience beforehand. It's a handful of fairground games and some cute ideas in terms of what they can sell at the bar and some great merch that's been put in put together. But it makes the difference and I think especially when you're entreating a younger audience to come into the theater, it's great to be able to deliver those kind of things in a theater going experience. This is a one act show. You know you're not going to be in the building for as long because there's not an interval. And if you have a lot of great experiences and photo opportunities and ways to engage with your evening beforehand, then I think people are going to be less inclined to try and film or take pictures during the show, but also so it gives you a more well rounded evening. I love going to the theater and I love when that gets to be an activity and a celebration in and of itself rather than just the part where we sit in the dark and watch something fun happening on stage. But let's talk about what's happening on stage. And I really enjoy this production. The best off western musicals are the ones which are staged innovatively and creatively. And don't get me wrong, there is a gorgeous and full set here, probably the best I've ever seen in. In this slightly challenging space that doesn't offer you much by way of depth and which plays to a very wide audience with some sat at a very wide angle to the stage on three sides and on an upper level. This has been designed, as are the costumes by Ryan Dawson, late, who is just brilliant. And we have a revolve that can bring things on stage from behind a curtained area on that curtain when it's closed. There are various projections that show childhood pictures of the characters on stage as well as little bits of information about them. Sets, different scenes. Ostensibly, the entire show is taking place in just one singular, eerie location. But as I've mentioned, these shows take us to various different extreme places. We go to smoky, post war France, we go to cat space. And director and choreographer Lizzie G. Makes brilliant use of the space, makes great use of this revolve and makes great use of this compact for very exciting physical storytelling. One of the first things that I really noticed about Six the musical when I first saw it on the fringe in an inflatable cow years ago, was how each of these numbers felt like a knockout. And that wasn't just because the writing was fantastic and the performances were fantastic. It's the way in which each of them had a slightly distinct feel in terms of the staging. And it was the backing vocals and the group choreography that helps to really land that and ride. The Cyclone has that as well. Spelling bee and a chorus line and even 6 itself all realize that they have to switch up the structure a little bit. And we can't just do it's your song. Now it's your song. Now it's your song. We need some sense of variety. And Cyclone, which is in many ways a smaller show than any of those, engages with that idea a little bit. But it also finds variety in the tonal and musical shift between each number that is very well realized by this production itself. And we get very different visual identities to each of these songs. There are some moments I think could be pushed a little bit further. I don't know that Misha's song and the transition from his first moment to his reflections on Thalia are necessarily realized as meaningfully as they could be. Because we do a lot with projections of Talia on the back screen. I'm also very aware of the fact that if you are sat on those seats that are the most wide to the stage, you may not be appreciating the full benefit of that or necessarily everything that Karnak is doing up above the playing space. I also think there are probably a few more moments that we could incorporate the revolve just because it's used more heavily at the start of the show and it's really great when it is. The entire way that this is staged made me very intrigued about the capacity of this production to be picked up and put down somewhere else. Maybe like one of the smaller theaters in the commercial West End. I know that's something that people have been asking about whether Ride the Cyclone would be likely to get a West End transfer. I dare say that that's something that the producers are might be exploring after the great reception that the show has had so far, after the great ticket sales, especially for an off West End show. And I think while it is empowered to play very well to this unique sort of three sided thrust space, the way that the set itself is actually designed could be put on a more traditional proscenium and just plonked down somewhere like the Criterion or the Ambassadors or the Trafalgar. And it would play very well in a more traditional end on theatrical setting as well. I actually think I might enjoy parts of it more there because. Because though I loved the performers being in such proximity to us, that's one of the great things about seeing a Northwest End show and going out through the diagonal aisles, out through the audience. I think there's something about their circumstances that would be better conveyed through a greater sense of claustrophobia and feeling slightly more stuck within the playing space. I feel like the fourth wall needed to exist for them in terms of this kind of a bubble that way the tension and the anxiety of their circumstances and the whole kind of Big Brother feel of all of them still stuck together even though they didn't necessarily get on during life. And having to eventually pick someone who is going to get to return to it would really come across. Ryan Dawson Lake's costumes I really enjoyed. I particularly thought the way that Karnak was designed and that goes into the makeup as well, and the way that Jane Doe was with the makeup and with the hair, I thought really brilliant work. That's Dominic Skinner as the makeup designer really worked for me. Very spooky. And it was just another successful way in which the team designed, delivered the oddity of this show. I Do think in terms of the direction, it could have been a little slicker. There is an awkwardness in the dialogue deliberately as they are sort of brushing up against each other and there are mounting tensions. There were a couple of prolonged pauses that began to just sort of hang in the air for me. I think the whole thing could have a little bit more of a pace to it. I do think there's something of an imbalance where Ocean kind of emerges a little bit more as a protagonist among all these charact. But I think that's successful. I think it gives it a sense of guidance and structure. And she ultimately is the one who has the conviction and the confidence to engage with Karnak and reckon with the ultimate challenging choice after everyone has sung all their songs, by which point we have arrived at the end of the show and this very sort of bittersweet reflection on what life is from the perspective of these teenagers who no longer have have one. Which perhaps will speak a little profoundly to the many young audience members who have come to see this show. It was great to see so many young people in attendance. I initially thought they were teenagers and then I realized I'm old now and they're probably like uni students or even people in their early 20s. So that very quickly went from being exciting to upsetting for me. But I had a great time, had a great time at Ride the Cyclone. Now obviously shows like this don't come around very often. It is an utterly unique, unique premise and story. There is clearly an appetite for it. It's interesting to see how far that extends because when something becomes very popular online, as Beetlejuice has learned, perhaps three times now on Broadway, that doesn't necessarily mean it is going to have the same kind of excitement when it comes to the box office in person. That audience is a global one that exists around the world. It means that you can produce shows like Ride the Sun Cyclone in unexpected places and there will be someone there who is excited to go and see it. Whether there are enough people there to sustain an open ended run in a larger theatrical space remains to be seen. But I do think there's nothing to say that this production couldn't work in the commercial West End. There are a handful of theaters where I think that would be possible and it would be great for even more people to get a chance to see this show. There's so much about it in the formula in these performances, in this writing that does just one work. And it's refreshing too to see something like this that has its own voice that is so offbeat alongside a lot of other shows that are maybe beginning to feel a little bit more generic, a little bit more predictable. Ride the Cyclone is anything but. It is also currently sold very well at Southic Playhouse Elephant. There is no confirmation that it will necessarily have a further life in the UK or transfer to the West End. Fans can live in hope, but if you desperately want to to see it, you need to get yourself to its current run at Southwark Playhouse. And of course, don't forget to let me know what you thought of the show in the comments section down below. In the meantime, those are all of my thoughts about Ride the Cyclone. I'm thrilled that I finally got the chance to see this show and I am very excited to see what kind of future it may hurtle towards. Thank you so much as always for listening to this review. I hope that you enjoyed if you did make sure to subscribe, go follow me on podcast platforms and I hope as always that everyone is staying safe and that you have have a stagey day for 10 more seconds. I'm Mickey Jo Theatre oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a Stagey Day. Subscribe.

Patrick Schwarzenegger (37:40)

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