Buckle your seatbelts, ‘Ride the Cyclone’ is a heart-thumping adventure

After reading a plot synopsis of “Ride the Cyclone,” Peppermint Creek Theatre Co.’s first show of the season, I was skeptical that the production would be compelling. The gist: Following a tragic rollercoaster accident, six deceased teens from small-town Saskatchewan are in a state of limbo at the carnival grounds. They meet the Amazing Karnak, an animatronic fortune teller who introduces a game of life and death in which one by one, the teens must reveal information about their life, hopes and dreams through song for a chance to live again. Karnak prophesies, “The one who wants to win it the most shall redeem the loser in order to complete the whole.” Honestly, I was gearing up for something rote and clichéd. However, this energetic and outrageous musical was anything but that.

This show would be nothing without its stunning talent. There wasn’t just one stand-out performance; everyone in the cast was stellar. Fenton High School student Izzy Edmonds-Hogan (Jane Doe) impressed with her vocal versatility and range. It was difficult to take my eyes off Zoë Schultheiss (Constance Blackwood), whose vulnerability and inner light glowed in each scene. Mason Olvera’s (Noel Gruber) shapely, fishnet-stockinged legs pulsated in time to his catchy cabaret number. Christopher Pongracz (Mischa Bachinski) dazzled with his mercurial rapping, and Robert Mueller’s (Ricky Potts) sexy space-age bachelor performance in “Ricky Sting” had the audience laughing out loud. 

After seeing “Ride the Cyclone,” I wonder if it will one day have a cult following similar to that of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” The eclectic music, ranging from hip-hop to rock to cabaret, had the audience dancing in their seats. Each performance had a campy and absurd glam-rock element but also told a story with deep emotional relatability. Under music director John Dillingham, director James Aaron Curtis, sound designer Nathan Tykocki and choreographer Karyn Perry, this production hums like a fine-tuned machine.

The theme of Peppermint Creek’s 2025-‘26 season is “Based on a True Story.”  A literal interpretation of this theme makes it difficult to see how “Ride the Cyclone” fits in with the rest of the season. However, the story celebrates the unexpected and spontaneously excellent inner lives of people you may see every day at school, work or the grocery store. As each teen tells their startling, hilarious and tragic story, we’re reminded that every life around us is just as vibrant and courageous as the next. In turn funny, poignant and tragically sad, the play depicts young lives cut short before they had the opportunity to “be.” Like the final song, “It’s Just a Ride,” “Ride the Cyclone” reminds us to embrace every beautiful, complicated, uncomfortable and sublime moment because they won’t last forever.