American critics heaped praise on Ride the Cyclone following the Victoria-grown musical’s U.S. debut in Chicago.
In a five-star review, Time Out Chicago deemed the musical “wackily, marvelously executed” and “wittily staged” after Wednesday’s première at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre.
Critic Kris Vire added: “As irreverent as it is accomplished, Ride the Cyclone does the job of any good amusement park attraction: It makes you consider your mortality, but leaves you grinning ear to ear.”
Mike Fischer of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also approved. He wrote that Ride the Cyclone is “filled with more unexpected drops and wonderfully off-kilter moments than even the best carnival ride — as well as most new musicals.”
Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune deemed the show “quirky, bizarre, creepy, clearly commercial, emotionally hefty and generally rather tantalizing.” But he added that the musical needs “a bit more work” and found it overly frenetic and overstage in places.
However, Jones predicted a future off-Broadway production of Ride the Cyclone and noted “at least one Broadway producer” was in the house on the opening night.
Ride the Cyclone was created by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell. The latest production, which has been tweaked and rewritten, was produced by Chicago Shakespeare Theatre with direction by Rachel Rockwell.
The Dora-award-winning musical, which has had multiple Canadian productions, originally debuted at Victoria’s Metro Studio in 2009. It is about members of a teen choir from Saskatchewan who die in a roller-coaster accident.
Richmond said Thursday he was pleased with how the opening night went. “It was awesome,” he said. “My kid got to try on all the Shakespeare wigs after the show in the wig shop.”