From October 30th to November 2nd, Wittenberg’s Theater and Dance department debuted their mainstage show of the fall semester: the dark-comedy musical “Ride the Cyclone,” written by Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond and directed by Witt’s own Adrienne Oehlers. By the fact that all four performances were sold out, it’s safe to say that the show was a success.
“Ride the Cyclone” (RtC) follows six high-school choir kids from the fictional town of Uranium, Saskatchewan, who died in a fatal rollercoaster accident. Through the show’s 90-minute runtime, they compete through wacky musical numbers for the chance to be brought back to life by the narrator: a semi-magical mechanical fortune teller named Karnak. Ultimately, though, the show sincerely reflects on what it means to live and what constitutes a good, well-lived life.
Though first created in 2009, the show had a pop-culture revival thanks to several songs, including "Noel’s Lament" and "The Ballad of Jane Doe," going viral on TikTok in 2022. Its popularity has only continued to climb, leading to it being chosen as a mainstage performance at Wittenberg.
Acting
All of the acting performances in RtC were, unsurprisingly, exceptional.
Theater mainstays Ellah Smith and Antwan Terrell—the latter of whom was performing for his senior capstone—shone brightly in their roles as overenthusiastic, overachieving Ocean and dark, dramatic Noel, respectively. Their energy on stage was explosive, perfectly reflecting both the hyper girl who feels simulaneously superior to her fellow students and afraid that her life might end up meaningless, as well as the queer boy who wanted to live a tragedy to make up for the boring, numbing life he was born into.
Abby Lanhart’s beheaded Jane Doe, the other senior capstone performance, was also fantastic. Her stilted movements captured the doll-like, puppeted-corpse feel perfectly, and her deliveries, though dark and deadpan, were often quite hilarious in contrast to her "normal" peers. Still, the tragedy of her character was never forgotten, demonstrated strongly with her song aptly titled The Ballad of Jane Doe.
Jules Bigl and Bailey Smith were Mischa and Ricky, and they too were phenomenal in their roles. Bigl pulls off a Ukranian accent to perfection for Mischa, performing an angry masculine boy who often hides a sweet and sentimental side; Smith, on the other hand, wonderfully encapsulates a once-mute boy who is not afraid to show off the limits of his imagination and desire when he finally has the opportunity.
Arguably the biggest props must be given to theater newcomers Honeybee Smith and Kate Sesler, who acted as Karnak and Constance. Smith is a Witt transfer student who makes Karnak into a snarky, dark-humored, but well-intentioned narrator for RtC, and Sesler steals the show as Ocean’s best friend who grows tired of being just "nice," but also begins to see that it’s okay for a life to be small, because there is so much about it to enjoy.
Production
Beyond the performances, the production of RtC was nothing short of spectacular.
The scenery was creative and thoroughly on-theme. Staging including sloped set pieces flanking the main area to mimic a rollercoaster track, a replicated fortune-teller’s booth for Karnak to judge on high from, a broken sign with the name of the doomed ride, and a colorful painted floor to maintain immersion.
The costumes were also well-done, both in the subtle characterization with how each character wore their school uniform to their new or modified outfits that they reveal mid-number to fully embrace the identity they never could when they were alive. A few of the notable ensembles are Ricky’s "Space Age Bachelor" cloak, Noel’s entire post-war French hooker outfit, and Karnak’s colorful and sparkling fortune-teller’s outfit.
Lighting and sound were also well-utilized and balanced across the show. The light effects were especially good during the musical numbers and the ending sequence, emphasizing the emotional beats with appropriately dramatic lighting.
“Ride the Cyclone” was a wonderful ride from beginning to end, and it was the perfect mainstage performance to truly propel Wittenberg into its 2025-2026 season. Up next is the student lab theater’s “I’m Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire,” opening November 6th!
