Students behind the University of Rhode Island’s production of “Ride the Cyclone” said the darkly comic musical about death, identity and second chances has done more than entertain; it has given them a language for their own lives on and off the stage.
For third-year student Parker Frenze, an assistant director, the show has been a long time coming. He first worked on “Ride the Cyclone” during its Rhode Island premiere and said he immediately wanted to bring it to URI Theatre.
Over the summer, he emailed the director and offered to take any role behind the scenes to be part of the production.
Frenze said the musical’s appeal comes from its mix of perspective and compassion.
“This production is about perspective and understanding where we are in the universe,” Frenze said. “It’s about understanding that it’s okay to love one another. It’s okay to love yourself. There are so many people growing up younger than us that see a lot of themselves in these characters.”
He said that theater can provide relief from the isolation many people experience.
“I hope that they take some time to smell the roses, take a deep breath, and look at their loved ones and where they are in life,” Frenze said. “I hope they enjoy a night out away from a screen. I hope they leave feeling more whole than when they came in.”
Frenze urges anyone who has not experienced live theater to give it a chance and see how it makes them feel.
For second-year theater and criminal justice double major Cecilia Savage, who played Constance Blackwood, the show’s afterlife setting felt grounded. She said she connected with a character who is often talked over but gradually finds her own voice.
“I’ve done a lot of roles that are very big and bold characters,” Savage said. “Constance is so shy, and she lets people talk down on her. I think I’m just able to connect with her in those ways.”
The small cast built the show piece by piece, through rehearsals, from music to choreography to staging, according to Savage.
Savage said one line from the show stayed with her: “Yeah, we died young, but we shouldn’t discount the years that we had.”
First-year theater major Calum Collard, who played Ricky Potts, said the musical pushed past his personal horizons.
“I knew the character and the musical in general is very weird, and I was going to have to really stretch my comfort zone,” Collard said.
The small cast also shaped the production’s relationships. With only a handful of performers, individual relationships could stand out more strongly and help shape the show, Collard said.
Fourth-year student Ethan Clarke, who played Noel Gruber and is closing out his final URI production, said “Ride the Cyclone” helped clarify why he has stayed with theater since elementary school.
“There’s nothing I would rather do in my entire life than do this,” Clarke said. “This fulfills me more than anything I’ve done.”
Clarke said Noel, who performs a drag number centered on self-acceptance, was both relatable and demanding.
“It was really a matter of bending toward the character and not having the character bend toward me,” Clarke said. “Specificity is the actor’s friend. Generality is the enemy of the actor, always.”
As the production entered its final performances, Clarke said each show feels sharper even as goodbye approaches. He said he has valued working with the same people throughout college and, while optimistic about future connections, is sad to see his time at URI come to an end.
For Frenze, Savage, Collard and Clarke, the lesson of “Ride the Cyclone” is simple: a short life can still be full if you give everything you have to the time you get.
