Ride the Cyclone
Book, Music and Lyrics by: Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond
Directed by: Loriann Schmidt
Auditions: Dec. 2, 3, 4 (callbacks), 2024
Performances: Feb. 21, 22, 27, 28, Mar. 1, 2(m), 6, 7, 8, 9(m), 14, 15, 2025
In this hilarious and outlandish story, the lives of six teenagers from a Canadian chamber choir are cut short in a freak accident aboard a roller coaster. When they awake in limbo, a mechanical fortune teller invites each to tell a story to win a prize like no other — the chance to return to life. This popular musical is a funny, moving look at what makes a life well-lived!
Director
Loriann Schmidt has done theater all her life. Starting in 2nd grade with an appearance in The Music Man, the theater bug (and lighting bug) has always been with her. Her first light board was her own invention (in high school) made with rheostats and an old suitcase, a ton of soldering lead and a whiff of smoke. A long string of shows both professional and community as costume designer, light designer, stage manager, assistant director and director followed and the rest, they say, is history. Loriann has directed shows at Pentacle, Keizer Homegrown Theatre and a private school in Beaverton. She serves on the board at Keizer Homegrown Theatre and has been active in other areas of Albany Civic Theater as Lighting Manager, costume designer and all-around Helpful Person. She made her directorial debut at Albany Civic Theater last season with The Great Gatsby.
Director’s email: loriann.c.schmidt@gmail.com
Cast of Characters
Casting folks who are at least 17 by auditions.
The Amazing Karnak: non-singing role; the narrator; a mechanical fortune-telling machine.
Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg: The leader of the group, relentlessly competitive, sometimes cruel, though she sees herself as a virtuous person; high Broadway mix, with a pop quality; big range.
Misha Bachinski: adopted from the Ukraine as a teenager; he has thick Ukrainian dialect and a lot of rage; he is obsessed by Gansgsta Rap (an enormous fan of the auto-tune phenomena); there is a hidden, soulful romantic side; Bari-tenor with the ability to sing lyrical Ukrainian folk music as well rap.
Noel Gruber: the only gay kid in Uranium; never had a relationship; obsessed by French New Wave cinema, he has fantasies of dying a tragic death. Must be able to sing in the style of a French chanteuse.
Ricky Potts: Begins the play wordless and on crutches; suffers from a degenerative disease that has left him speechless and mostly immobile; he discovers at the beginning of the play that in this strange purgatory, he has regained all of these abilities. Baritone rock voice; basic accordion and/or tumbling a plus.
Constance Blackwood: Overweight, and outwardly okay with it, but there is a very deep self-loathing. Will do anything for Ocean’s friendship and allows herself to be used as a doormat; dubbed “the nicest girl in town,” a title she secretly despises. Very likable comic actress; alto belt, with a rock edge.
Jane Doe: She was decapitated in the accident and no one claimed her body; even though she isn’t headless in the piece (but often carries around a headless doll). She reacts in a literal way and largely without emotion, almost robot-like; the other contestants are totally freaked out by her. Classically trained soprano with a flexible coloratura upper range, and some grit and meat in the lower register.