Coming soon to a theatre near you - a new Canadian musical about six teenagers killed in a roller coaster tragedy in small-town Saskatchewan! Atomic Vaudeville brings a revamped version of Ride The Cyclone to the Arts Club Granville Island Stage under the auspices of the PuSh Festival. It's the second stop on a major Western Canadian tour from Calgary to Vancouver to Edmonton to Winnipeg to Saskatoon to Nanaimo. Not too shabby for a recent group of mostly UVIC grads led by Jacob Richmond (writer/director/music/lyrics), Britt Small (director), Brooke Maxwell (music/lyrics/music director) and Treena Stubel (choreography/staging).
I’ve made a decision. I’m tying the course of my life to the fate of a musical. If Ride The Cyclone achieves the massive success it deserves, I will continue to work hard, seek wisdom and make sound choices. If it peters out and leaves its contributors on E.I., I will make all significant decisions on the basis of where darts hit the board. I’ll play Russian roulette. I’ll buy lottery tickets. Because if this show does not become a phenomenon causing obsession, there is no rhyme or reason in the world.
Let me say preface this review by saying that I saw Legoland three times, and still believe that it’s one of the best pieces of whimsical theatre we’ve seen nationally in recent years. The pressure for Atomic Vaudeville’s latest Ride the Cyclone to at least live up to its predecessor was huge.
