The Arena Stage production of Ride the Cyclone opened in Washington, D.C. on January 13, 2023. It was originally scheduled to run until February 19, but was later extended to March 5, 2023 due to popular ticket sales.
Due to its extension, its run coincided with the runs of the Chance Theater and 4 Chairs Theater productions, meaning there were three different productions of Ride the Cyclone running at the same time for a brief period.
History[]
The production is essentially a transfer of the earlier McCarter Theatre production, once again directed by Sarah Rasmussen and featuring the same creative team and set. Ashlyn Maddox, Eli Mayer, and Nick Martinez reprised their roles as Jane Doe, Mischa Bachinski, and Noel Gruber, respectively, while Shinah Brashears and Gabrielle Dominique reprised their roles as Ocean O'Connell Rosenberg and Constance Blackwood from the earlier 2019 Jungle Theater production, also directed by Rasmussen. Matthew Boyd Snyder, one of the swings for the McCarter producton, took over as Ricky Potts for this production (see below).
Maddox departed the show after January 29 to begin rehearsals for the Broadway revival of Parade. She was replaced by Katie Mariko Murray for the remainder of the run.
Changes from prior productions[]
- See also: Controversies
- The most significant change is the controversial removal of Ricky Potts' disability, which had been a major aspect of the show since its inception. It is generally believed this change was made due to the firing of Yannick-Robin Eike Mirko during the McCarter Theatre production. Mirko is, to date, the only disabled actor to have played Ricky Potts, and had pushed back on some of the details of how Ricky's disability was characterized in the show up to that point – the needs of the script suggested the character could only be played by a non-disabled actor due to not using his mobility aids in the afterlife. Although Mirko was allowed to keep their mobility aids for the whole show, they have alleged mistreatment by the production team, including being continually referred to as "the chair" by the choreographer and having pieces of their costume that made it accessible cut off by the costuming department before performances. Mirko was fired from the earlier McCarter production three days before end of run due to an incident related to their disability, which the production had deemed "unpredictable."
- In the McCarter production's version of "The Ballad of Jane Doe", Jane Doe was rigged to the harness allowing her to fly during a total blackout midway through the song. In the Arena Stage production, Jane backs up into the closed curtain.