Ride the Cyclone is a 2009 musical with music, lyrics and book by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell. It is the second installment in Richmond's "Uranium Teen Scream Trilogy", a collection of three theatrical works, one not yet written, that take place in the exaggerated Uranium City.
The story revolves around members of the St. Cassian High School chamber choir of Uranium City, Saskatchewan, who have perished on a faulty roller coaster called The Cyclone. Each tells their story, in song form, to win the reward from a fortune teller machine: the chance to return to life.
Productions The world premiere production by Atomic Vaudeville took place in Victoria, British Columbia at the Metro Studio Theatre on March 11 2009. It was directed by Britt Small with production design by Hank Pine and James Insell. A production played at the Theatre Passe Muraille, Toronto in 2011, and there was a tour of Western Canada in 2013.
The American premiere took place at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Directed by Rachel Rockwell, the production opened on 29 September 2015, playing a limited run until 8 November. With Rockwell again directing, the show opened Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre with an official opening night on 30 November 2016, ending its limited run on 18 December. Taylor Louderman was initially cast in the production but withdrew during previews, citing creative differences. She was replaced by original Chicago company member Tiffany Tatreau. The cast also included Alex Wyse and Gus Halper. Charles Isherwood of The New York Times praised the show, stating "this delightfully weird and just plain delightful show... will provide the kind of thrills we look for in all musical comedies, however outlandish their subject matter: an engaging and varied score, knocked out of the park by a superlative cast, and a supremely witty book." The same production went to Seattle in 2018 in collaboration with the 5th Avenue Theatre, operating in the affiliate ACT Theatre. Following the death of original director/choreographer Rachel Rockwell, a production based on Rockwell's direction opened at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta in 2019, directed by Leora Morris and featuring much of the same cast and creative team.
The show made its European premiere in London at Southwark Playhouse Elephant from November 14, 2025, with an opening night on November 19, until January 10, 2026. Lizzi Gee directed and choreographed the production. The production returned to Southwark Playhouse Elephant in the summer of 2026.
Synopsis A mysterious, headless girl in a school uniform sings about an unending dream-like state ("Dream of Life").
The Amazing Karnak, a mechanical fortune teller, introduces himself as the show's narrator and explains that he is able to predict the exact moment and cause of a person's death; however, the carnival in which he operates set him to "Family Fun Novelty Mode," rendering him only able to repeat vague predictions and fairground advertising. Karnak reveals that a rat— whom he has named Virgil— has been gradually chewing through his power cable and will soon kill them both. "As there is nothing more base than death," Virgil is enlisted to play the bass.
Karnak conjures the memory of five teenagers from the Saint Cassian Chamber Choir, who will soon die in a crash on a malfunctioning rollercoaster, The Cyclone ("Uranium"). As they derail, the teens lament their lives in Uranium City, a once-boomtown that declined drastically with the closure of its uranium mines ("Minor Turn"). Guilty over his inability to prevent their deaths, Karnak has summoned the teens' spirits, allowing them to compete for a chance to return to life. Karnak reads a prophecy: "The one who wants to win it the most shall redeem the loser in order to complete the whole."
Karnak announces the presence of a mystery contestant. The headless character who opened the show arrives, revealed to be another victim of the crash. Since no family came to claim her body and Karnak never read her fortune, her identity is unknown, so she goes by the name given to her by the coroner: "Jane Doe" ("Jane Doe's Entrance"). Jane has replaced her head with that of a doll, whose body she carries around with her. Though Jane's appearance disturbs the others, the competition begins.
The first contestant is Ocean O'Connell Rosenberg, an overachieving perfectionist who grew up among "far-left-of-center humanists" ("Ocean's Bumper"). She attempts to convince Karnak that she is the worthiest of life compared to the others, as she has the highest chance of succeeding in the world ("What the World Needs"). To Ocean's dismay, Karnak reveals that the choice will be made by group consensus. Though she clumsily attempts to take back her words, the others, including her best friend Constance Blackwood, are extremely offended by her social Darwinist rant ("I Love You Guys").
The next contestant is Noel Gruber, the only gay boy in Uranium and "an aspiring poet laureate" who was stuck working at Taco Bell ("Noel's Bumper"). He sings about his desire to live the tragic, loveless life of his alter ego, French prostitute "Monique Gibeau" (inspired by Marlene Dietrich in The Blue Angel), who dies of typhoid flu at the end of the song ("That Fucked Up Girl (Noel's Lament)"). Ocean expresses annoyance that Noel's song did not have a moral ("Every Story's Got a Lesson") and enlists Constance to help her perform one of their anti-drug improv PSA's, which Ocean has scripted in advance. When Constance tries to ad-lib, Ocean scolds her.
The third contestant is Mischa Bachinski, a Ukrainian adoptee who immigrated to Canada when his mother, dying from radiation poisoning while on a Chernobyl disaster clean-up crew, put him up for adoption and lied about his age. To cope with the isolating treatment he received from his adoptive parents, Mischa turned to "self-aggrandizing commercialized hip-hop," posting his own original raps to YouTube under the name "Bad Egg" ("Mischa's Bumper"). His song begins as an autotune gangsta rap track ("This Song Is Awesome") before transitioning into a passionate love ballad about his online fiancée whom he met through his YouTube comment section ("Talia"), after which he breaks down in tears, falling into Noel's arms. Ocean unsuccessfully tries to regain favor with the class, lamenting that they "all died virgins." Karnak prompts Constance to go next, calling it a "perfect segue," but she refuses.
The fourth contestant is Ricky Potts, a socially awkward boy who witnessed the killing of his Pentecostal pastor father by their pet viper JoJo, causing him to become mute. Neglected by his family and desperate to combat his loneliness in life, Ricky spent his free time retreating into elaborate science fiction fantasies based on a childhood spent with his fourteen cats, imagining himself as the intergalactic savior of a race of anthropomorphic "sexy cat women" from a distant planet ("Ricky's Bumper / Space Age Bachelor Man").
Rather than singing about her hopes and dreams, Jane Doe sings about her despair. Though she was presumed to be a member of the choir because of her uniform, her identity remained unknown following the stress-induced death of their choir director later that day. Her spirit has no memory of her life ("Jane Doe's Bumper" and "The Ballad of Jane Doe"). After hearing Jane's tale, the choir holds a makeshift birthday party for her. When they realize the traditional song would require Jane to have a name, Ocean leads the class in making something new ("The New Birthday Song").
Ricky bonds with Jane by naming her Savannah, one of the names he had been "saving up" in life, while Noel and Mischa connect over seeing each other as they want to be seen. Meanwhile, Ocean goads Constance into voting for her, while also admitting that she refuses to vote for anyone other than herself. Constance, fed up with Ocean's conceited behavior, finally stands up for herself by punching Ocean in the breast.
Finally taking her turn ("Constance's Bumper"), Constance reveals that three hours before the accident, she had lost her virginity to a 32-year-old carny in a port-o-potty, which she admits was an act of self-loathing. Frustrated with her image as the "nicest girl in town," Constance confesses that she spent much of her life resenting her parents, who lived and worked in Uranium their entire lives, but finally learned to appreciate the simple joys in life the moment the rollercoaster derailed ("Jawbreaker / Sugar Cloud"). Ocean apologizes to Constance.
Karnak suddenly changes the rules, asserting that Ocean alone will make the deciding vote as she has the highest grade point average. Recalling Karnak's prophecy, Ocean refuses to vote for herself and realizes that Jane is the only one without memories to take to the afterlife with her, lamenting that while the teenagers died young, they at least had the chance to enjoy life. The choir supports Ocean's decision, and Jane is sent back to the Other Side. Karnak reveals her true name: Penny Lamb. A home movie compilation of Penny's life from birth to old age is played as the choir watches on ("It's Not a Game"). Virgil finally tears through the rubber, killing Karnak before he can give his final piece of insight. As he loses power, he reverts to the message he gave the choir just prior to their deaths: "Your lucky number is seven. You will soar to great heights. Be sure to ride the Cyclone."
Somewhere outside of limbo, the remaining teens unite and sing an uplifting song ("It's Just a Ride"). The voice of Jane Doe echoes her opening song as the teens travel toward whatever comes next.
Characters
The Amazing Karnak – A mechanical fortune-telling machine that serves as the narrator and gamemaster. He appears several times throughout the cast album, breaking the fourth wall by directly addressing the listener. Ocean O'Connell Rosenberg – Born December 22, Ocean is a competitive overachiever who struggles to put others before herself. Noel Gruber – Born March 5, he is the only gay man in Uranium and has an obsession with French New Wave cinema. He sings as his alter-ego: Monique Gibeau, a hooker in post-war France, who is partially based on Marlene Dietrich as Lola Lola in The Blue Angel. Mischa Bachinski – Born August 18 in a small town outside of Odesa, Mischa is a Ukrainian adoptee who puts on a gangster persona to conceal his passionate nature. He sings two songs: one about autotune and money, in the style of a traditional autotune rap song, and the second song about his online fiancée, Talia, whom he met through his YouTube comment section, where he raps under the name of 'Bad Egg'. Ricky Potts – Born June 5, Ricky Potts is a mute boy with an overactive imagination. In Karnak's limbo, he gains the ability to speak and, in his song, sings about his fantasies of the 'Zolarian galaxy'. The earliest licensed libretto depicted Ricky as suffering from an unidentified degenerative illness which, in addition to causing muteness, required him to use mobility aids. Ricky's physical ability once inside the afterlife was left open to interpretation, though the original staging depicted him as becoming able-bodied. Jane Doe – A decapitated girl who is unsure of her true identity. She is revealed at the end of the show to be Penny Lamb, born April 7. It is unclear if she returns to live a full life as Penny Lamb, or if Penny Lamb has now been reincarnated as someone else.