After Life

When Ride The Cyclone, a musical from Victoria's Atomic Vaudeville, played at Summerworks 2010, I was blown away by the talent of the cast, the catchy music, the humour but also the underlying sadness. With their return for a 3.5 weeks run at Theatre Passe Muraille, I was eager to revisit this macabre production.

I was not disappointed. The tale of 6 dead teenagers, high-school choristers from small town Uranium, Saskatchewan, tragically killed in a roller coaster accident retains all its charm. Brought back for 1 last performance by the Amazing Karnak, a mechanical fortune-teller, they sing out their accomplishments and regrets. Ocean O'Donnell Rosenberg (Rielle Braid): ambitious over-achiever who never got to reach for the brass ring; Misha Bachinsky (Matthew Coulson): transplanted Ukrainian who hides his cultural isolation in gangster rap and internet romance; Constance Blackwood (Kelly Hudson): the fat mousy girl who is always overlooked; Ricky Potts (Elliott Goran): socially awkward nerd with a boundless imagination; Noel Gruber (Kholby Wardell): only gay teenager who longs for a life of passion and drama; and Jane Doe (Sarah Pelzer): an unknown headless girl who poses the most existential question of all: What is a life that is unremembered?

All performers have strong voices that sell the toe-tapping music: whether it's a soul number, a torch song, or over-the-top glam rock. But they are also deft actors, adding pathos to their roles as confused teenagers: the jokes can't hide their bewilderment and sadness with lives cut too short. The set is sturdier (with a bit more razzle dazzle) than last year, where it had to be quickly struck for the next Summerworks play. But with the cheesy props and snarky choreography, every song still has that "high-school production" vibe. This is a strength, not a fault; we don't lose sight of the fact that they are teenagers who like to "dress up" and put on a show because it's fun. Special mention should also go to James Insell as Karnak and Hank Pine as Virgil, the bass-playing rat.

I was lucky to get preview tickets before the reviews came in. With all the major dailies and various online sites giving Ride The Cyclone top marks, tickets became much harder to come afterwards.