![]() The six teensKarnak doesn't singperform the hell out of the spirited tunes, which channel rap, R&B, close-harmony, pseudo-folk and "Up With People" pep, among other musical flourishes. Their private identities are far-flung in spirit and stylethe gay boy sees himself as a female French slut, the disabled boy as a great alien lover, Jane Doe as someone with a name and familythereby inspiring an excellent pastiche pop musical score ( music director Doug Peck, orchestrations Brooke Maxwell ). The teens include a straight-A, self-absorbed girl the only gay boy in town a disabled youth walking with braces ( discarded once he's dead ) a rapping immigrant tough-guy a girl who's tired of being "the nicest girl in homeroom " and Jane Doe, a student decapitated in the accident and left without any ID. It's a style that can be too precious, but isn't in this instance. The style is theatrically self-referential and tongue-in-cheek, which is popular these days in shows as diverse as Urinetown, Matilda and A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder. ![]() Itself soon to die as a rat chews through its power cord, Karnak ( the Amazing Masked Karl Hamilton ) asks the newly deceased six to reveal their inner selveswhich they do in a series of can-you-top-this songswith one teen selected at the end to return to life. The tale is narrated by a sentient fortune-telling machine, The Amazing Karnak ( nod o' the mechanical head to Johnny Carson ), which predicts the date of someone's death and, therefore, isn't a family-friendly carnival attraction. There have been many real coaster disasters, but this one is fictional and timeless: It could be set in the 1950s, rather than the present, with its celebration of old-style amusement parks. With Ride the Cyclone, Chicago Shakespeare Theater abandons classical drama to debut a reworked and expanded 2010 Canadian musical with a wonderful score and cheeky attitude, based on a macabre premise: six teens killed in a roller-coaster accident. At: Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Navy Pier. Playwright: Book, music & Lyrics by Jacob Richmond & Brooke Maxwell. This article shared 2432 times since Wed Oct 14, 2015
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