By Myah Schultz

Lyric Arts’ production of Ride the Cyclone is completely strange, occasionally disturbing, and utterly captivating from curtain to curtain. With book, music, and lyrics by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell, this show pulls you in with intrigue, whimsy, and pitch-dark humor before grabbing you by the heart and shoving you up against the absurd and tragic beauty of the human experience. Come for a good time; leave with a heavy dose of existentialism. 

Scenic Designer Cory Skold, Costume Designer Sarah Christenson, Lighting Designer Shannon Elliott, Projections Designer Michaela Lochen, and the rest of the talented artistic team did a fantastic job creating the “Fantastical Limbo” in which the story is set. As soon as the lights go up, the audience is plunged into the slightly nightmarish circus pastiche in which we will spend the next 90 minutes. 

Over the course of the show, lighting, costumes, and clever projections are used to pull us into the memories, fantasies, and emotional landscapes of each character as they sing for their lives. The visual feats achieved throughout the production are gorgeous and engrossing; they elevate an already epic performance to incredible heights.

Ride the Cyclone is a true ensemble piece; for the show to succeed, you really need every performer to be able to hold their own next to the rest. Fortunately, this cast delivers in a big way. 

Dezhané Antoinette (The Great Cassandra) sets the tone for the entire show with her wry gravitas. Despite playing very different characters, Erik Haering (Ricky Potts) and Jonah Smith (Mischa Bachinski) each bring a sweetness to the narrative, deftly capturing the irrepressible nature of teenage emotions and imagination. Benni Siglin has the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand as the melodramatic nihilist, Noel Gruber. 

Lexi Johnson (Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg) plays a pitch perfect rendition of the over-achiever we all know and tolerate. Portraying a character who is largely insufferable but good to the core when it comes down to it is no easy feat, but Johnson threads that needle effortlessly. 

Kaoru Shoji is absolutely outstanding as Jane Doe. Her physical performance is equal parts frightening and delightful, while her vocals are hauntingly beautiful. 

Cassie Edlund’s Constance Blackwood is the emotional center of the show. Edlund plays the role with such heart and sincerity; after watching her character be overlooked, underestimated, and brushed aside throughout the narrative, it feels like pure catharsis when she finally delivers her joyously gut-wrenching monologue. 

I can’t commend Director Marci Lucht and the rest of the creative team enough for this spectacular production. Don’t miss your opportunity to experience this bizarre and extraordinary show. Ride the Cyclone is playing at the Lyric Arts Main Street Stage from January 16–February 8, 2026. Click here to get your tickets today.  

*All Photos by Dan Norman