What makes a life worth living?
That’s the question at the centre of Ride the Cyclone, the upcoming musical being put on the Broadway Theatre stage by Saskatoon Summer Players (SSP) on Nov. 12-15.
The show, written by Saskatoon-born playwright Jacob Richmond, follows six teenagers involved in a fatal roller coaster crash – and a mysterious mechanical fortune teller who gives them the chance to compete for one of them to return to life.
As the teens take part in a musical competition for a second chance, they are forced to grapple with many big questions about their own existence.
Winslorbless Lumapas, one of the actors in the production, said while the premise of the show feels “bizarre,” it cuts to a very core thought that most people have – what you would want to do with a second chance, and how to let go.
“It’s weird, it’s funny. Every song is so different, and explores different genres – and then by the end it becomes so solemn and wholesome,” she said. “You only have one life, and you need to enjoy it while you can.”
It’s a unique show for SSP – a Saskatchewan-written, Saskatchewan-based production (the show is set in Uranium City) that all takes place in one act, with the entire cast on stage for essentially the entire production.
Lumapas said it has been a fun challenge to take on with her fellow cast mates, and gave credit to director BJ Dyck for creating an environment where people felt comfortable exploring pointed and poignant topics like death and grief.
“BJ really focused on working with the characters,” she said. “He really dove into what makes the characters work, and everyone has been so supportive through this whole process… this whole cast and crew has made this a safe space, for me.”
Dyck became interested in Ride the Cyclone through his daughter, and was struck by both the comedy in the writing and how it highlighted Saskatchewan.
“Knowing it’s about small-town Saskatchewan and thinking about what that means to be exposed to the world at large. It’s sometimes how we feel, hidden, forgotten. It’s fun to uplift that,” Dyck said in a media release.
Lumapas said the audience of this show would be struck by some of the creative choices they’ve made, including the costume and design for the strange and omnipotent mechanical fortune teller Karnak (played by Catlin Hogan), and the big personalities of each teenager striving for another chance at life.
She said that the show has a lot of valuable messages for the audience about not taking their lives for granted – and that the entire cast has really dug deep into finding the genuine emotion in those messages.
“Live your life, because you never know when you’ll go,” Lumapas said. “I want the audience to be able to feel that, feel happy, feel sad – feel all of that.”
The SSP production of Ride the Cyclone runs Nov. 12 to 15 at the Broadway Theatre. Tickets can be purchased online at saskatoonsummerplayers.ca.
