“Ride the Cyclone” was a musical that debuted in Canada in 2008. It wasn’t highly successful; however, its fanbase grew over time, and it now holds a large popularity online.
The musical varies in watch time and the number of tracks based upon what variation of the show one watches. The most common version, however, has 13 core songs and a run time of approximately 1 hour and 36 minutes. The musical takes place around the early 2000s and features six teenagers who tragically passed after a roller coaster accident. It is a comedy that features mature content and messages about mortality, legacy, identity, living in the moment, along with others. The show opens with the character Karnak, who was a “precognition machine”or a fortune teller. He gathers the six teens together and tells them he could bring one of them back to life. The six proceed to sing either about why they should be the one given the privilege of a second chance, or they sing about themselves in general until a decision is finally made and one member of the choir gets to come back while the rest must cope with their own deaths.
An interesting aspect of the show is the soundtrack itself. The songs are all extremely unique. As a comedic piece, a lot of the songs don’t take themselves seriously and aren’t the most appealing; however, they are humorous even if not pleasant to hear. This isn’t to say the whole soundtrack is like this though. It also features songs such as “The Ballad of Jane Doe,” a song that is impressive vocally and also captivates an audience because of its interesting composure. Another track that is appealing is “What the World Needs.” This song is sung by the narcissistic character of Ocean. She not only has a song that is fun to listen to, but it is also comedic because of her overt narcissism bleeding into it. Overall, the soundtrack has a fun mixture of a lot of types of songs, and it is appealing even if not every song would be listened to outside of the show.
Another intriguing aspect is the visuals. To start, the costuming is complimentary of everything occurring. The musical is a weird piece of art and the costumes don’t stray from that fact. They choose flashy outfits; some not completely visually appealing, but they are entertaining and only build upon the comedic nature of the show. Furthermore, the costuming even plays into the choreography at times, which was also impressive. The choreo kept the viewer from being able to look away. There was always something to look at, and it was never boring. Especially during “The Ballad of Jane Doe” when they utilize a harness to flip Jane upside down. Overall, every visual in the show keeps the audience’s attention, and contributes to the comedic way the musical is entertaining.
Moreover, the dazzling comedy was a 4/5 because it was extremely entertaining due to every visual provided and the soundtrack was enjoyable due to the comedic lyrics and talented singers. However, due to the mature themes and content, viewer discretion is advised.
