It is no secret that Ride the Cyclone is by far one of my favourite musicals. A quirky little musical about a choir group who meets their fate a la Final Destination and competes in a competition for resurrection is something exactly up my alley. If you haven’t, I definitely recommend watching a slime tutorial; if not for the technical brilliance and magic that is incorporated into the show: a technical brilliance that I see reflected in Lost Baggage’s production!

This is the first time this show has been put on in Ottawa and LBMT has done a stellar job introducing it to the theatre sphere of Ottawa. For me, this has been by far their most technically challenging and ambitious project. Co-directors Lili Roussakis and Euan Wheaton were able to capture that same whimsy and quirkiness that I’ve come to love from this show.

Where this show shined the most is in the technical design aspects of the show. Ride the Cyclone can be carried alone by the story and the character development; however, to transport us into a carnival limbo requires a lot of imagination. The set design alone was astounding, couple that with the LFX that complemented it *chefs kiss*. Gillian Hosick, Miles Chow, Kitty Dubue, and Haileigh Simpson all working in near perfect unison to deliver some of the tightest transitions makes the show move so seamlessly. I also have to do a huge shoutout to projection design. The main crystal ball being used as the projection screen was an absolutely peak choice and design. Add to that, the one scene that always takes my heart, “Talia”. Them being able to have projections for that song absolutely killed me. Definitely look this one up so you can see what I mean. 

One of my biggest letdowns in this show is the choreography and movement in the show. A lot of the movement felt unrefined and unpolished, and with no real connection between Point A and Point B. A good example would be during “The Uranium Suite” where during Karnak’s exposition, the cast mimic rollercoaster ride photo moments. The problem for me was that each moment didn’t flow into the next and looked more like walking to pose at a point. There were moments where the movement was absolutely astounding, like in “Sugar Cloud”; however, that’s where the biggest drawback was: the inconsistency in quality of the movement. 

Ride the Cyclone has some of the most unique songs in a musical with themes ranging from Ukrainian rap to sultry French Cabaret to space-pop Cats. I think this is where I was slightly let down with this production. The songs have such unique instrumentation using only 5 instrumentalists means that when one thing is missing, it’s very noticeable. Each character also gets their own solo to further build on their personality. Jane Doe (Catherine O’Farrell) delivers a haunting and beautiful ballad that was by far the best solo in the show: slowly back-bending on the last high notes was truly a display of raw talent. The music for this show really shined in songs where everyone was singing “The Uranium Suite” and “It’s Not a Game/It’s Just a Ride” all sounded so harmonically dense and cohesive. With support from the swings, it rounded the sound out and created some hair-tingling moments. That being said, a lot of the solos lacked personality and energy. In a show where a lot of the depth of the character is shown through their spotlight song, I was found wanting more. 



There’s absolutely no hiding in this show as each role is singular and important to the story. Constance Blackwood (Llewyn Kinney) plays a perfectly cheery and innocent-seeming character that paired well with the creepy comedy provided by O’Farrell. The Amazing Karnak (Kendra Thompson) was dry and witty, with excellent comedic timing. Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg (Emily Ramdyal) played their role excellently in being that annoying overachiever we’ve all met before. I think my favourite interpretations of a character were for both Noel Gruber’s (Gil Skoll and Eli Rutherford). They both played a different version of Noel that fit them, and both versions were fantastic. Mischa Bachinski (Dominic Perrin) and Ricky Potts (Ace Corbin) made their mark in playing some of the most eccentric characters in the show: diametrically opposed energies that played well with the rest of the cast. 

Altogether, this was by far the best show I’ve seen Lost Baggage put out. From the technical aspects to the casting, this was the best premiere of Ride the Cyclone to Ottawa I could’ve asked for. I hope other companies came out to see this show and saw just how amazing this show could be.