Life, Examined | "Ride the Cyclone" @ The Main

[cahwyguy]

If your life ended suddenly tomorrow, what would be remembered? What would you remember? Would you be remembered? What impact would you have made?

These are the questions posted by the musical Ride The Cyclone, which we saw yesterday at The Main in Santa Clarita (Newhall), and which continues for one more weekend. The story, narrated by the mechanical fortune teller Karnak (who has the ability to predict a person’s time and means of death, which who has been set to family friendly fun mode) tells the story of the St. Cassian High School chamber choir of Uranium City, Saskatchewan. When the choir visited Karnak, even though he knew it would cause their death, his “family friendly mode” instead told them their lucky number, and that they should “Ride the Cyclone”. Their mistake. A part failed, the ride failed, and they all died. They entered into a limbo, along with a headless”Jane Doe” who was found in a choir uniform. Karnak informs them they are all to have a little contest, where one will win the prize: Being brought back to life.  The show then proceeds to have each tell their life, with a bit of narration by Karnak, until the winner is chosen.

I never realized it before, but this show is a variation on Cats. This show has less dancing, but has a better plot, better music, and much darker humor.

I won’t spoil the details of the character’s stories, but if you want you can read the Wikipedia summary. I discovered the show through the cast album, which is great. When I subsequently found a production, I made arrangements to see the show and it was well worth it.

This show was mounted at The Main, an 81-seat black box operated by the City of Santa Clarita, in the space that was formerly Rep East Playhouse. A moment of silence for The Rep. We still miss that place.

Being at this small of a theatre with a community based, non-Equity cast and a small budget means the scenery was simple. But for the small budget, the talent was generally strong. Sadie Kate Gibson was outstanding as Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg, with a strong singing voice and a great humor that came across well. Jonah Deocariza was equally strong as Constance Blackwood. Also notable was Ty Pierson’s Noel Gruber, who was spectacular in their song. The choreography worked well in the small space. I also enjoyed Jeff Frame’s Karnak and the sardonic way he brought across the humor.

As I just came from the science fair, some places for improvement: Some of the characters spoke a little too fast, making it hard to figure out what they were saying. Sanya Arnold had a lovely voice as Jane Doe, but at point it didn’t seem to blend as well as it could (a clash between a more operative voice and musical theatre style). However, that could have been intentional.

This was a really fun show, and I liked the dark humor. It makes some interesting statements about what we do with our life, both in our dreams and what we do. It raises good questions: What makes a life lived one that was worth living? What impacts do we leave? It is probably not appropriate for small children.

Ride the Cyclone continues at The Main though April 19, 2026. Tickets are available through Eventbrite. I’ll note the team behind this show is doing a production of Every Brilliant Thing in September. Every Brilliant Thing is currently on Broadway with Daniel Radcliff, to be followed by Mariska Hargitay. So if you don’t mind seeing it with a local performer, that’ll be your chance.

Credits

Ride The Cyclone: The Musical. Book, music, and lyrics by Jacob Richmond and Booke Maxwell. Originally produced by Kevin McCollum and Morris Berchard. Directed by Jeff Frame. Choreographed by Jonah Deocariza.

Cast: Sanya Arnold Jane Doe; Danny Barrios Ricky Potts; Jonah Deocariza Constance Blackwood; Sadie Kate Gibson Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg; Liam Johnson Mischa Backinski; Ty Peirson Noel Gruber; Jeff Frame Karnak.

Music Department: No credits. Presumably prerecorded.

Production and Creative: Jeff Frame Director; Jonah Deocariza Choreographer; Sadie Kate Gibson Vocal Director; Kyndal Zakarian Stage Manager; Kasey Smith Asst Stage Manager; Kristi Frame Costumes; Haileigh Frame Props; Billy Davis Set Design; Phil Lantis Lighting Design; Aidan Frame Light Tech; Lindsay Gibson, Walker Gibson, & Jeremy Thompson Sound Techs; Shannon Bouknight Scenic Artist; Haileigh Frame Promotional Material Design. Presented by Outpost Media.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a retired cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, Chromolume Theatre, and 5-Star Theatricals.

Want to find a show: Check out the Theatre Commons LA show list. Other good lists are the Theatre in LA listings; the TodayTix listings; OnStage 411 (use the “shows” drop down); and Theatermania.

Some interesting shows that have caught my eye. Wisteria Theatre is doing Reefer Madness: The Musical (in April), as is Long Beach Playhouse (in October/November).  Wisteria was overpriced for a black-box; I might look into Long Beach’s production (but have to factor in the drive). Ebony Rep is doing Ain’t Misbehavin’ at the end of May into June. I love the show, but the prices are a bit high and I’m still trying to decide. I have a hold on the calendar. Casa 0101 is doing the play version of Real Women Have Curves from the end of March into May. Conundrum Theatre is doing a bunch of shows, but notably Big Fish in December 2026. And, as noted earlier, the Colony Theatre is doing Catch Me If You Can in the September/October 2026 timeframe. I’ll look into ticketing the fall shows once I know the CTG Season, to prevent conflicts. Lastly, I’ll note Group Rep in NoHo has announced their season, which includes a mounting of Applause in the July-August timeframe. That’s useful if you missed the MTG one-nighter; I haven’t yet decided if I want to see it again (although Group Rep does a great job with older and rarely done musical re-visits).

I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming

♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

• April: ♦ Flower Drum Song at East/West Players; ♦ Real Women Have Curves at Casa 0101.
• May: ♦ Falstaff at LA Opera; ♦ The Sound of Music at BIH/Pantages; ♦ Brigadoon at The Pasadena Playhouse; ♦ Hells Kitchen at BIH/Pantages.
• June: ♦⊕ Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Ebony Rep; ♦ Elegies at Chromolume; ♦ Primary Trust at CTG/Taper; ♦ Mamma Mia at CTG/Ahmanson; plus whatever I schedule from the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
• July: ♦ Mexodus at Pasadena Playhouse; ♦ The Wizard of Oz at 5-Star Theatricals; ♦ If/Then at Chromolume Theatre.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as Life, Examined | "Ride the Cyclone" @ The Main by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.