“Ride the Cyclone” reviewed by Wayne Mell

****The Metropolis Performing Arts Centre opens their 2026-27 season with a spectacular and energetic production of Ride the Cyclone (book, music and lyrics by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell).  This musical tells the story of six high-school students who die on a roller-coaster, and the musical contest they have in limbo to see which one of the six wins a second chance at life while the rest move on to the unknown.  Older audiences will see this as the return of Forever Plaid as reimagined by Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.  But contemporary audiences are so enthralled by the witty script, the eclectic music, and the dark humor that Ride the Cyclone is turning into a modern-day cult classic.

The show is hosted by The Amazing Karnak, a mechanical fortune telling machine played by Dave Honigman, with a perfectly creepy yet humorous delivery as the herds the students on this journey of self-discovery.  Each student gets a turn to tell their story and has a musical number (or two, or three) to showcase their true selves with the group.  And the group is an amazingly strong ensemble.  Alex Merkel as Ocean the overachiever, Peyton Owen as Noel the only gay at their school, Eric Amundson as Mischa the class thug, Eldon Warner-Soriano as Ricky the introvert, Amelia Tam as Jane Doe the girl without a past, and Rylee Michelle as Constance, the nicest girl in school;  they all do a remarkable job shifting from featured performer one moment to back-up singer the next.  And although they sometimes reach further for the joke than the material needs them to, they all slide effortlessly through musical genres from hip-hop to torch songs to Bavarian folk dances and more (there’s even a nod to Up With People). They expertly pass focus from one to the other while never upstaging the character in the spotlight.

Amundson especially stands out with his perfect timing and delivery as he shifts from one comedic style to the next.  Tam’s Ballad of Jane Doe was delivered with the perfect amount of heart-break and sadness.  And kudos especially need to go to understudy Rylee Michelle.  As if being an understudy isn’t difficult enough, she blended seamlessly into this tight ensemble for the opening night performance, played the role that her Director originated in America, and delivered a complex performance that was touching and honest and grounded.

Kudos as well must also be given to the design team.  The set (Angela Webber Miller), costumes (Rachel Boylan), lights (Denise Karczewski), props (Kelli Lawrence), and projections (Tony Churchill) were 1^st class from start to finish, and so well coordinated between style and color that they cohesively function as tightly as the ensemble.  This is much harder to pull off than one would imagine.

You don’t get this type of teamwork without clear vision and leadership from the directors, so congratulations to Musical Director Carolyn Brady, Choreographer Mandy Modic, and finally to Director Lillian Castillo, an accomplished actor in the Chicago area who is making her directing debut with this production.  You all rose to the occasion while directing a smorgasbord of genres that merge together beautifully.

In the curtain speech, Artistic Director Johanna McKenzie Miller mentioned that this was the start of the first season that she got to put together in full.  Well … it’s off to a great start

“Ride the Cyclone” will continue at The Metropolis Performing Arts Centre thru October 25th with performances as follows:

Thursdays        7:30 p.m. ( exceptions, 10/1 and 10/15 at 2 p.m.)

Fridays             7:30 p.m.

Saturdays        2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Sundays        2:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

ASL performance 10/8

Open Caption performance 9/26 at 2 p.m.

The Metropolis Performing Arts Centre is located at  111 West Campbell in Arlington Heights ( free parking in the garage)

Run Time 90 minutes- no intermission  ( 14 and up suggested age group)

For tickets, call 847-577-2121 or visit www.metropolisarts.com

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click on “Ride the Cyclone”.