Podcast Summary: MickeyJoTheatre – Ride The Cyclone (Southwark Playhouse Elephant, London) - ★★★★ REVIEW

Main Theme / Purpose

Mickey Jo delivers a comprehensive, spoiler-light review of the UK premiere of Ride the Cyclone at Southwark Playhouse Elephant, London. The episode explores the show’s blend of morbid humor, its cult status thanks to social media virality, the cast and characters, the production’s creative choices, and its appeal for younger theatre audiences.

Overview of the Musical & Review Structure

• Ride the Cyclone is a cult musical by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell, featuring a chamber choir of teenagers who die in a rollercoaster accident and find themselves in purgatory.
• The show’s popularity on TikTok, particularly around "The Ballad of Jane Doe," built anticipation and attracted a devoted young fanbase.
• Mickey Jo brings a professional theatre critic’s lens, comparing it to other competition-based musicals and situating it within the current theatrical landscape.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Premise, Tone, and Structure

[02:10 – 06:16]

• The narrative follows the St. Cassian Chamber Choir from Uranium City, Saskatchewan, after their fatal accident. The group is greeted in purgatory by the Amazing Karnak, an animatronic fortune teller whose own fate is at risk.
• Mickey Jo praises the opening as “a great job at reframing our perspective, perhaps on death, because it’s something we’re going to have to get used to.” (05:25)
• The story structure: each character gets their own moment (and song) to argue why they deserve a second life, reminiscent of the narrative format in Cats or The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

2. Approach to Death, Adolescence & Style

[06:16 – 09:40]

• The show leverages absurdism and black comedy to explore themes of mortality and self-discovery. Mickey Jo considers it “very Starkid familiar… that kind of sort of black comedy, irreverent and bizarre thing that later Millennial and Gen Z audiences really enjoy.”
• He observes that despite the show’s macabre themes, the material ultimately emphasizes “coming to terms with themselves and each other,” with the characters becoming “more alive in Death than they ever were before.” (09:32)

3. Musical & Staging Variety

[10:20 – 11:50]

• Each number has a distinct musical identity, moving from burlesque to rap, to operatic, reflecting the personalities and internal worlds of the various characters.
• “It balances this compelling, lively, uptempo quality with an ethereal feel, switching between these two moods… moving between legitimately kind of haunting and spooky and life affirming, sort of weirdly life affirming.” (11:22)

4. Character & Cast Breakdowns

[14:44 – 26:04] Mickey Jo goes character by character, detailing both performance and narrative function:

■ The Amazing Karnak (Edward Wu)

• “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.” (14:54)
• Praised for robotic monotone and subtle wit.

■ Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg (Bailey Carson)

• Self-appointed leader; “something of a high school bully behind the guise of being a high achiever.”
• “She had a Catholic confirmation and a Jewish bat mitzvah in the same week,” indicative of her high-achieving liberal background. (16:10)
• Battles between performing good versus genuinely doing good.
• Her song is described as a “pee point, evidence, explanation, presentational version of what this could be—an argument for your life over everyone else’s.” (16:46)

■ Noel Gruber (Damon Gold)

• The “most romantic boy in town,” believes he’s the only gay student.
• Channels French New Wave cinema and Marlene Dietrich, delivering a Sally Bowles-esque number.
• “Damon has some brutally savage, sarcastic line readings.” (22:07)

■ Misha Bachinsky (Bartek Krasiewski)

• Ukrainian-born Soundcloud rapper, “the angriest boy in town.”
• His number shifts from braggadocious rap to romantic sincerity regarding his fiancée Talia, with notable staging involving projections and ensemble support.
• “Bartek is very, very funny, but also has this very real exposed heart and vulnerability behind the bravado.” (23:41)

■ Ricky Potts (Jack Maverick)

• Character updated from earlier versions; portrayed as non-speaking in life due to trauma, but now talks in death.
• Jack Maverick is noted for professional debut and authenticity, playing both “resentment that he can finally express against Ocean” and executing “impressive acrobatic stunts.” (21:16, 21:51)
• His number: a “sexy, swinging, space age bachelor man on a science fiction planet made of cat people… expected to save from extinction via sexy space cat times.” (21:12)

■ Jane Doe (Grace Galloway)

• Unidentified due to decapitation; Galloway draws praise for “impeccable vocal control” and chilling physicality.
• Illusions substitute for aerial stunts often seen in viral clips. “There is a moment where she disappears back into a box and we see her disembodied head rise mysteriously above her body… a really well achieved illusion.” (24:55)
• “She was utilizing her face, just this wide-eyed, disembodied stare that she had. Really great stuff.” (25:59)

■ Constance Blackwood (Robin Gilbertson)

• The “nicest girl in town,” unique in her pride for her origins.
• Her journey is described as “very sort of Sister Mary Robert from Sister Act—she finds her own strength finally to stand up to Ocean.” (25:36)
• Finale numbers draw contrast between Jane Doe’s existential anguish and Constance’s literal and metaphorical “sugar cloud” of happiness.

5. Staging, Audience Experience & Creative Team

[27:32 – 33:32]

• The Southwark Playhouse Elephant foyer is praised for immersive, themed experiences with fairground games and unique merchandise: “More merchandise than I’ve ever seen for an off West End show before.” (27:44)
• Mickey Jo commends the set and costumes by Ryan Dawson Laight, noting clever use of a revolve, projections, and physical storytelling to convey different worlds.
• “The best off-West End musicals are the ones which are staged innovatively and creatively… there is a gorgeous and full set here.” (28:32)
• Observes some limitations in sightlines (for audience members at far angles), a sense that more could be done with certain visual effects, and that some transitions or choreography could be even tighter.

6. Suitability for Transfer

• Speculates about a possible West End transfer: “I dare say that’s something the producers might be exploring after the great reception that the show has had so far…” (31:23)
• Considers the broader impact of online trends on box office success: “When something becomes very popular online… that doesn’t necessarily mean it is going to have the same kind of excitement at the box office in person.” (35:15)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the show’s opening tone:
  “Not only do their lives hang in the balance, so does Karnak’s... there’s a brilliant line here where he says, ‘Since there’s nothing more based than death this evening, Virgil will play the bass. Loved that.’” —Mickey Jo, (03:30)

• On Cats comparison: “If this is sounding a little familiar, it’s because it’s startling to the plot of Cats…Only in Cats, they’re already all alive to begin with. Unless Cats this entire time has been taking place in a purgatorial realm.” —Mickey Jo, (05:08)

• On audience engagement:
  “You get prizes for claiming these stamps from your second visit to the show onwards, which is fantastic… more of them should be implementing loyalty schemes.” —Mickey Jo, (28:00)

• On the cast:
  “Actually, for about half of this cast, it is their professional debut, which is very exciting.” —Mickey Jo, (19:51)

• On thematic impact:
  “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…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 on death and life.” —Mickey Jo, (26:00)

• On generational appeal:
  “It does feel like it’s a show with [young people] in mind…some of them are able to become more alive in Death than they ever were before.” —Mickey Jo, (09:32)

• On transferability:
  “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.” —Mickey Jo, (33:39)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:26] — Review Introduction & Show Background
• [03:00–05:40] — Show’s Premise, Setting, and Comparison to Cats
• [06:00–10:20] — Tone, Black Comedy, Millennial/Gen Z appeal
• [14:44–26:04] — Detailed Character and Actor Reviews
• [27:32–33:32] — Southwark Playhouse Experience & Creative Choices
• [35:15–37:32] — Reflections on Popularity, Potential Transfer, and Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

Mickey Jo emphatically recommends Ride the Cyclone as a vital, fresh, and distinctly offbeat addition to London’s musical landscape, especially for its younger audiences. The combination of a committed cast (many in their professional debuts), innovative staging, and resonant themes of mortality and self-discovery makes for “an utterly unique, unique premise and story… It is refreshing too to see something like this that has its own voice that is so offbeat…” (35:57)

While not flawless, this “rollercoaster” of a musical delivers a singular theatre experience and is well worth catching in its UK premiere run.

“I 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… If you desperately want to see it, you need to get yourself to its current run at Southwark Playhouse.”
—Mickey Jo, (36:00)

For the full review, insights into specific performances, and thoughts on the future of Ride the Cyclone in the UK, listen to the episode or visit MickeyJoTheatre’s channels.