Ride The Cyclone (Hayes) ★★★★

Book, Music & Lyrics by Jacob Richmond & Brooke Maxwell. Hayes Theatre. 23 May – 22 Jun, 2024.

Less a musical, and more a song-cycle with a basic plot, Ride The Cyclone sees the team at the Hayes pull out all the stops and boy does it pay off. When you’re having this much fun, who cares if the plot treads water.

When five (or is it six?) members of St. Cassian High School chamber choir die on a roller coaster named “The Cyclone” they find themselves in an odd limbo where a mechanical fortune-telling attraction, The Amazing Karnak (voiced by Pamela Rabe), has the power to send one of them back to the land of the living… but which one? 

Will it choose Ocean (Karis Oka) the overbearing, overconfident, overachiever? Constance (Mel O’Brien) Ocean’s compliant “best friend”? Noel (Bailey Dunnage) the gay teen with dreams of being a classic film starlet? Mischa (Lincoln Elliott), the Ukrainian kid with a love of gangsta rap? Ricky (Justin Gray) the near mute with sci-fi dreams? Or the creepy kid none of them recognise, Jane Doe (Ava Madon)?

And so we begin… or more to the point, sit very still as each of the kids sings a song revealing their true inner selves in what is basically a singing competition (kinda like Six). Richmond and Maxwell’s songs vary in quality as they mimic different genres (kinda like Six). Ocean’s opening number “What the World Needs” is an instant hit, an uptempo noughties pop hit about her own superiority, as is the shows triumphant closer “It’s Not a Game / It’s Just a Ride” and post-show “Be Safe, Be Good”. Noel’s teenage ode to French cinema sirens is good for a laugh, as is Jane Doe’s morbid ballad. Less successful are Mischa’s Snoop Dog/Eminem-inspired rap “Talia” and Ricky’s “Space Age Bachelor Man” which are less ‘loving pastiche’ and descend into clear mockery of their subjects.

The strongest role is Pamela Rabe’s pre-recorded voice of The Amazing Karnak, who gets all the best jokes. It’s the success of the script that holds the show together and stops it from, well, spinning out of control or simply becoming a song-cycle/showcase for the songwriters.

The cast are all fantastic. This ensemble is incredibly tight and under Richard Carroll’s direction keeps things moving despite the thin premise. But the true star of the show is Benjamin Brockman’s immersive set (easily the best ever seen in the Hayes Theatre) and Ryan McDonald’s kaleidoscopic lighting that manages to evoke a whole metaphysical, action packed, amusement park into the tiny space. Seriously, without them both this show would not be anywhere near as successful. 

Ride The Cyclone is a hell of a lot of fun and deserves its cult status. The tunes may be a little dated now (it’s very 2008 – and to be clear, this show predates Six by almost a decade) but they’re upbeat and catchy enough to become cabaret night staples. Get a ticket if you can, it’s already sold out but there is a wait list for returns.