Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...I suspect this 90-minute show, penned by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell and newly directed for Chicago by Rachel Rockwell, will be off-Broadway — if not eventually on the main stem itself — almost as fast as the teenage members of the St. Cassian chamber choir of Uranium, Saskatchewan, fell to their deaths after a fateful axle broke on an ill-maintained amusement park ride called The Cyclone. If you're planning on riding in Chicago, don't wait. This show will be sold out faster than you can say "decapitated.""
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...“Ride the Cyclone” the eerie, tragicomic, dizzyingly talent-filled musical vaudeville – born in Canada, and now receiving its U.S. premiere on Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Upstairs stage – possesses elements reminiscent of such shows as “Forever Plaid” and “The 23rd Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” But it comes with a whole different level of sophistication."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Ride the Cyclone starts as eerie fun, introducing us to six more or less goofy teenagers killed in a roller-coaster mishap, and to the swami-like mechanical fortune teller (think Big) who can return one of them to life. We get to know the dead through a series of truly marvelous musical numbers directed and choreographed by Rachel Rockwell, and hear about the swami's troubles as well. But the authors are too intent on quirky amusement. They don't push hard enough, and the show is finally an exceedingly cool but empty thrill."
Gapers Block - Highly Recommended
"...Overall, Ride the Cyclone is a twisting, turning adventure through musical genres and a lighthearted romp with dark humor in its heart. Fans of musicals, former showchoir geeks and theater lovers will be taken in by the piece's utter charm, relentless originality, stellar performance and outstanding production values. Highly recommended--and this would be a great show to see around Halloween, without falling into the typical Halloweeny zombie/vampire/spooky madness."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Tiffany Tatreau effectively annoys as the group's overachieving perfectionist, Ocean, while Lillian Castillo's Constance, who spends most of the evening as Ocean's BFF/punching bag, gets the show's joyful, cathartic climax number. And Kholby Wardell, who's played small-town gay boy and Marlene Dietrich worshipper Noel in Cyclone's every production, kills in a fantasy number in which he imagines a very different life for himself. 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."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...If you were an artistic director, and somebody pitched to you the idea of a musical about teenagers who died in a rollercoaster crash, even for the Halloween season, you might be inclined to dismiss it. But if that person was Rachel Rockwell, you would do well to listen. Ride the Cyclone was originally a cabaret show by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell that toured in Canada. When Rockwell found it, she proposed working with Chicago Shakespeare Theater to remake it for a high-profile American production, and the result is a real triumph. With the musical direction of Doug Peck and a first-rate design team in Chicago Shakespeare’s intimate upstairs space, Ride the Cyclone has the backing to deliver its sad, sweet, and very funny story to a mainstream audience."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Writer/Creators Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond probably watched a little too many episodes of Glee before creating our last two characters. There is the token disabled boy Ricky Potts that Jackson Evans gives life to, convincingly transitioning from a non verbal teen on crutches with a degenerative disease to a David Bowie Space Boy doppelganger in silver platforms anda purple lame cape. (The costumes by Theresa Ham are magnificent.)And finally we have our closer Constance Blackwood, whose niceness is a mask to black thoughts, whose favorite phrase is I’m Sorry. Lillian Castillo gives Constance a dimensionality that is not necessarily in her lines, and she brings down the house with her song “Sugarcloud”"
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...The show itself is difficult to explain, but try to think of a recipe that contains elements from the film “Big”, the musical review(s). “Forever Plaid” and “Plaid Tidings” (its sequel) and “The Putnam County Spelling Bee” all rolled into one musical piece."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...These days an original musical, not based upon a book, a movie or another play, is a real cause for celebration. This new, 90-minute show is as unique as it is both funny and heartbreaking. The writing/composing team of Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell have created an original play that’s peppered with exciting dialogue and songs. Rachel Rockwell has staged, choreographed and guided her talented cast to a production that’s as thrilling as any Broadway experience. “Ride the Cyclone” is a wonderful, touching and memorable roller coaster ride of a theatrical experience, for teen and adult audiences alike. With the show’s supernatural atmosphere, it’s especially timely with Halloween just around the corner. This is, quite simply, a beautiful “Dream of Life” come true."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"..."Ride the Cyclone" may give a nod to other shows in the modern musical and dramatic canon, but that doesn't lessen its abundant pleasures. The ensemble radiates talent and enthusiasm in every scene. The score by Richmond and Maxwell gives them one opportunity after another to bring the house down and the actors have seized their moment. Rachel Rockwell presides with her usual creativity, molding a production that could be cutesy or corny in less sensitive hands. The result is a fun show with narrative substance, presented withloads of high octane talent in front of the footlights and behind the scenes."
The Fourth Walsh - Highly Recommended
"...This CYCLONE ride is entertaining on multiple levels. The look is authentic. Scenic Designer Scott Davis creates a vintage carnival framework. On either side of the stage, the Cyclone's tracks stop hinting at the mishap, especially the halted track suspended above the fortune teller kiosk. The placement is eerie. On Davis' muted midway, the singing and dancing is a lively spectacle. Not only are the songs wonderful, the singing is top-notch under the musical direction of Doug Peck. And Director and Choreographer Rachel Rockwell keeps the dancing and merriment playfully moving with seamless transitions. There are no speed bumps on this thrill ride! Although promotional materials boast the descriptor, "Glee meets Survivor", I would not use the same comparison. I never liked either of those shows but I absolutely loved RIDE THE CYCLONE."
