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"The best show in the city right now isn’t at the Princess of Wales or the Royal Alex, but in the cramped bowels of the Theatre Passe Muraille. Ride the Cyclone, an irreverent and buoyant musical from the relentlessly innovative Victoria troupe Atomic Vaudeville, has a small cast and minimalist sets. But through word of mouth and ecstatic reviews, this little show has become the hottest ticket in town—it sold out the entire second half of its run, meaning only a few people will be able to snag rush seats at this Saturday’s matinee."

Read the full article

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Ride the Cyclone creator Jacob Richmond on The Morning Show!

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Photos from the Afterparty

Missed our afterparty this weekend with Slut Revolver and Hank & Lily? Or, were there and want to re-live it? Check out these photo by Po Wang Chow! 

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How Can I See the Show?

Suppose you didn't heed our earlier warning and haven't bought a ticket yet. The advance tickets at artsboxoffice.ca are all sold out, so what do you do? 

Fortunately, a few options are still open: 

1. Go to the student matinee on Nov. 30 at 2 pm. Tickets are $15 and not available online; call the Theatre Passe Muraille box office at 416-504-7529. 

2. For the Saturday matinee performances (Nov. 26 and Dec. 3 at 2 pm), 50 tickets have been set aside per show for at-the-door PWYC sales. Get in line early and cross your fingers. 

If you need a Cyclone fix but don't necessarily need to see the show (perhaps because you've already seen it twice?), there's a post-show cabaret at Theatre Passe Muraille this Friday and Saturday (Nov. 25 and 26)! Tickets are $10 and available at artsboxoffice.ca. 

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Warning to Procrastinators

We're almost sold out of the remaining Toronto performances of Ride the Cyclone, closing next Saturday (Dec. 3). If you've been reading the reviews and hearing friends gush about the show, but haven't quite gotten around to getting tickets, you should be buying them NOW.

Here's where you buy them.

If you miss it you will be sad.  

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Ride the Cyclone is "an outrageously fun show performed by young artists you’ll be hearing lots about in years to come."

- Glenn Sumi, NOW Magazine

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Imagine this: you’re nearing the top of a roller coaster, about to go over the edge. That feeling in the pit of your stomach is Ride The Cyclone — a suspenseful, emotional, perilous whirlwind of excitement (with a killer soundtrack)...This soon-to-be cult classic will spin you like a merry-go-round and leave you wanting more.

- Theatromania

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We're Blushing!

It's been wonderful to receive so much support from Toronto critics and audiences, and thrilling to read the reviews. Here's a sampling: 

From J. Kelly Nestruck at the Globe and Mail:

"Critics and crowds don’t always concur, but when they do, you’ve potentially got a very powerful show on your hands.

"I was terribly impressed when I first saw the show at the SummerWorks festival in 2010, but after a second ride, my love for it is beginning to exceed the bounds of critical propriety. Like other early adopters, I’ve grown so attached to the quirky characters Richmond and Maxwell have created, it almost feels as if they’re my children too – and I just want them to go out and conquer the world."

From Carly Maga at Torontoist:

"Not everyone is a 'theatre person,' even fewer consider themselves a “musical theatre person,” but really you just have to be a “person” to enjoy this undeniably strange yet completely endearing concert from six deceased choir kids from Uranium, Saskatchewan...

 "The cast, meanwhile, brings the Uranium City choir to life with gusto. Their talent is evenly spread across the board, tackling genres from Bowie glam-rock, to gospel, to high-energy kicklines, to operatic ballads. When not singing, dancing, or doing the worm with never-before-seen limberness, they give their characters the right mix of indignation and disappointment at their loss of life, pride in their plans for the future, and ultimately acceptance of their fate in one last raucous roof-raiser led by the usually quiet Constance.

"If there is one show to say you “saw it when…,” it’s Ride the Cyclone. So skip the ring toss and the deep-fried butter, and get in line now for this roller coaster of a show."

From Lynn Slotkin & The Slotkin Letter:

"RIDE THE CYLCONE is a blast.

It’s a total blending of a hugely creative story, an interesting mix of musical genres, lyrics that dazzle with their wit and irony, and a strong cast that can do everything from sing, dance and act."

The Toronto Star interviews creator Jacob Richmond: 

"Q. What made you decide that all the victims would be teenagers?

A. The thing I like about adolescence is that it’s a very emotionally open kind of age. They don’t have professions yet. They can only describe themselves in terms of their dreams.

Q. Did you put a lot of your own feelings about your generation into the fate of this one?

A. I certainly do think along with my generation. We all share a confusion as to what our purpose is. Do we even have a purpose at all? Would anyone notice if we just vanished? That’s why I had them all killed off. I like the idea of a generation that just disappears."

From Praxis Theatre:

"Ride The Cyclone is quickly becoming a Canadian indie theatre legend. Exploding onto the Toronto stage at SummerWorks, it is already selling out houses at Theatre Passe Muraille with a show that opened on Monday night with more buzz than any indie-produced musical in recent memory.

"Cyclone creator Atomic Vaudeville is engaged in a robust social media strategy with a convincingYouTube Trailer, Storify for production-related tweets, a recent live twitter chat with the cast via #AskTheCyclone, and apparently their own video game."

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"Running in the cavernous space of Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace this explosive musical fills every nook and cranny of the old found space." - Beat Rice, Charlebois Post Canada

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  "There are many more moments of sheer theatrical magic - it is astounding what can be conjured up with lights, enthusiasm and a cast that seems game for anything - but it would be a shame to spoil the surprise of any of them. If you can get a ticket, go. Surrendering to Ride The Cyclone is similar to a roller coaster ride with all the twists, turns and sudden veering into unexpected places. And the end effect is just as exhiliarating - a shot of adrenaline that sticks around long after the neon Cyclone sign blinks into blackness." - Drew Rowsome, Fab Magazine

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"For a show that includes a cannon of sparkles shooting into the audience, a giant glowing-eyed rat as the bass player, and an interplanetary “Bachelor Man” singing a major set in metallic spandies, the show is remarkably understated. While the characters’ exuberant personalities and their stunning voices shine in every act, the show gleefully withholds tidy explanations, and lets viewers make what they will of Richmond and Maxell’s many well-drawn ironies on their own. For example, a character adopted by parents in Uranium City, Saskatchewan, was born to a mother who cared for victims of Chernobyl, a uranium disaster. Not simply a tragicomedy about teenagers, the tacit story being told here is about life lived around chemical industries." - Jessica Duffin Wolfe, Toronto Review of Books

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Don't forget: today from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., you can ast the cast of Ride the Cyclone any question on twitter. Use the hashtag #askthecyclone and you'll get an answer! 

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"Stop waiting for the next big thing, Toronto, because it’s finally here.

Ride the Cyclone, which opened at Theatre Passe Muraille Monday night is not only as good as all the advance hype would lead you to believe, but it’s the most awe-inspiring, truly entertaining, heart-tugging, toe-tapping musical I’ve seen in years." - Richard Ouzounian, Toronto Star

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Toronto Loves Ride the Cyclone

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The most inspired I've ever been. #ridethecyclone I'm going again. And I'm taking you with me. Yes, you.

Mark Nocent

November 10, 2011 9:15:33 PM EST

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Everyone needs to see @RidetheCyclone! Amazing performers, touching & funny script. So grateful to see it, I might see it again.

Genevieve Magtoto

November 10, 2011 9:25:36 PM EST

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Holy crap. Drop everything and go see @RideTheCyclone at theatre passe muraille. AMAZING show! @beyondwallsTPM

Vikki VanSickle

November 11, 2011 9:15:55 PM EST

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RIde the Cyclone in Toronto-young,brilliant, hilariously twisted and such talents. How wonderful that the next generation makes theatre live

Lin Bennett

November 12, 2011 11:14:25 PM EST

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Still have "Swingin Space-Age Bachelor Man" roaring through my head... #RidetheCyclone at TPM--one effed up ride--the BEST KIND!! Go.

jonathan tan

November 13, 2011 1:58:13 PM EST

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Highly recommend going to see Ride the Cyclone at Theatre Passe Muraille - it's clever oddball musical theatre at its finest.

erinletson

November 13, 2011 11:29:29 AM EST

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Congrats to @RideTheCyclone and @PeterNChrisShow for two outstanding shows last night. The west coast is killing the #Toronto theatre scene

Jay Mitchell

November 13, 2011 10:49:50 AM EST

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Go see 'ride the cyclone' at passe muraille! Original and hilarious!

Adam Kuhn

November 12, 2011 5:55:45 PM EST

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Just came from an incredible performance of @RideTheCyclone at @beyondwallsTPM. Run and get your tickets. Now.

Eden Richmond

November 12, 2011 10:43:17 PM EST

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Friends, do whatever you can to go see @RideTheCyclone. A truly beautiful and amazing show.

Kayla Elizabeth

November 12, 2011 11:49:24 PM EST

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Kelly Hudson's showstopping number in Ride the Cyclone at Theatre Passe Muraille is worth the price of admission alone! Blew my mind. xoxo

Kimmy Choi Rowland

November 12, 2011 10:07:16 PM EST

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#ridethecyclone was fucking amazing!! If you are in Toronto you MUST see this show!

Jeff Insell

November 10, 2011 9:15:43 PM EST

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@ActingUpStage @Ridethecyclone #RideTheCyclone was fantastic, bizarre and funny and touching. Congrats to cast, crew, producers. See it!

Jamie Drake

November 11, 2011 4:31:05 PM EST

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Go and @RideTheCyclone @theatrebeyondwallsTPM. Outrageous. Rock and roll recorder playing? Yes.

Anna Hardwick

November 12, 2011 9:42:14 PM EST

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So i went to this last night actingupstage.com/ and i loved it so much I just may have to Ride The Cyclone again. Go!

Max Ryan

November 13, 2011 1:48:33 PM EST

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Ride the Cyclone is a great example of how simple technology & effective staging can evoke such powerful images. Music's excellent too! #TPM

Andrew Gaboury

November 11, 2011 9:21:08 AM EST

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RIDE THE CYCLONE is great fun. If you see one musical about a group of teenagers that've died on a rollercoaster, let it be this one!

Jennifer L

November 10, 2011 10:42:35 PM EST

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Hey #Toronto do yourself a favor and go see @RideTheCyclone

Jesse Jensen

November 11, 2011 12:12:44 AM EST

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okay. verdict is in. theatre passe muraille's ride the cyclone is THE SHIT. #fb

cassy walker

November 10, 2011 9:20:26 PM EST

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I'm Alive! #RideTheCyclone

Oz Melo

November 11, 2011 12:38:30 AM EST

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so much love on twitter right now for RIDE THE CYCLONE @ Passe Muraille! loved it when I saw it at Summerworks '10, hope to see it again!

Sarah Thorpe

November 11, 2011 12:06:46 AM EST

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Elliott Loran (in character as Ricky Potts) gives a backstage video tour at Vancouver's Revue Stage! Slide whistles, Karl Marx puppets, and grains all make an appearance.