RIDE THE CYCLONE to Kick Off Hangar Theatre's 2024 Mainstage Season This Month

This June, the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York, will kick off the first of its Mainstage 2024 productions with Ride the Cyclone.

The opening performance of Ride the Cyclone will take place on Friday, June 21, at 7:30 p.m., preceded by a preview performance on Thursday, June 20, at 7:30 p.m.; matinee and evening performances will run through Saturday, June 29. On Tuesday, June 25, members of the creative team will participate in a post-show Talkback following the 7:30 p.m. evening performance.

Ride the Cyclone—with music, book, and lyrics by Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond—stars Madelaine Vandenberg (as Ocean O'Connell Rosenberg); Owen Harrison (Mischa Bachinski); Christian Maxwell Henry (Noel Gruber); Stephen Blauch (Ricky Potts); Colette Élan Caspari (Constance Blackwood); Madison Hertel (Jane Doe); and Chris “Red” Blisset as the Amazing Karnak.

In addition to Blisset, who also serves as musical director, the production's creative team is anchored by director Shirley Serotsky (who is also the Hangar's Producing Artistic Director) and choreographer Aimee Rials. Joining them are Jason Simms (set designer), Andrea Mejuto (costume designer), Elizabeth M. Stewart (lighting designer), Stephen St. Francis Decky (projections designer), Colten Langfitt (sound designer), and Jeremy Pletter (vocal coach).

More about Ride the Cyclone

The show centers on six teenagers from a Canadian chamber choir whose lives 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.

Ride the Cyclone had its world premiere at Atomic Vaudeville (Victoria, British Columbia) in 2008. That debut was followed by a 2011 production at the Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto, where it won three Toronto Theatre Critics Awards including best new musical. It has continually evolved in the 16 years since its debut, with entire characters and songs being periodically reworked and reimagined.

Its American premiere took place at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 2015, with other notable stagings including an off-Broadway production in 2016 and at the McCarter Theatre Center (Princeton, N.J.) in 2022. Its early 2023 run at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., was extended due to popular demand, with the Washington Post calling it “[an] ingeniously dark and funny musical.”

Director Serotsky first learned about the show during that Arena Stage run. After listening to the soundtrack, she programmed it in the Hangar's historic 50th 2024 season. “I was pretty enamored with the music, which spans a wide range of styles—pop, rock, traditional musical theatre, French chanteuse, hip-hop—and approaches them all in a way that is both innovative and celebratory.”

Moving and memorable, Ride the Cyclone will remind the audience to seize each and every day of a thrilling, unexpected, wacky, and joyful existence. “There is a moment in this show that inspires an emotional response in me every time I hear or read it,” Serotsky shared. “Without giving too much away, it speaks to the idea of recognizing the joys and delights we have in life, no matter how small or seemingly mundane. This idea lands very squarely with me, and I think will resonate with audiences of different generations in specific and meaningful ways,” added Serotsky.

Additional Information about the Production

Ride the Cyclone will take place indoors on the Hangar Theatre's Niederkorn Stage. Please note: this production is recommended for audience members ages 13 and up, and contains strong language and some scenes that deal with mature themes and subject matter. 
The Hangar's production of Ride the Cyclone is made possible in part thanks to our generous Partner in Hospitality, Nest Communities. The production is the first in the Hangar's 2024 Mainstage season, followed by Ragtime: The Musical (July 11–25) and Todd vs. the Titanic (July 27–Aug. 3).

Ticket Information

Tickets are available individually or as multi-ticket “FlexPass” subscriptions, and there are many ways to save! With a 3-Ticket or 6-Ticket FlexPass subscription, YOU get to choose the performances that best match your interests and your schedule. Please visit hangartheatre.org or call 607-273-ARTS (2787) to purchase tickets and learn more.

The Hangar Theatre also offers discounts for groups of 10 or more; gift subscriptions; “pay-what-you-will” tickets; and other ways to save. Please contact the theatre at boxoffice@hangartheatre.org or 607-273-ARTS (2787) for further details.

Performance Schedule

Thursday, June 20, 7:30 p.m. (preview)*
Friday, June 21, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 22, 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 23, 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, June 25, 7:30 p.m. (followed by Tuesday Talkback) **
Wednesday, June 26, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, June 27, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, June 28, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 29, 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

* Preview Performance (Thursday, June 20): Previews are shows performed in front of an audience prior to their official opening. This gives the director and creative team a chance to experience the production with an audience present, while adjustments can still be made.

** Tuesday Talkback (Tuesday, June 25): Members of the creative team will participate in a live Q&A following the 7:30 p.m. performance. No registration is needed; if you have tickets for another performance of Ride the Cyclone, you are welcome to join us for the Talkback!

About the Hangar Theatre

Celebrating its 50th season in 2024, the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, N.Y. serves as a venue for a variety of performing artists and community organizations. It is home to the Hangar Theatre Company, which each summer presents a series of Mainstage performances as well as a season of KIDDSTUFF productions. Its historic building — once part of the Ithaca Municipal Airport — is located at 801 Taughannock Blvd. (Route 89) on the shores of Cayuga Lake, just minutes from downtown Ithaca. Learn more at hangartheatre.org.

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Parking
There is a small lot at the Hangar, and parking is free. Overflow parking is available at Cass Park across the street.

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