(Photo provided) Top row: Clayton Sieg, Maurice Riley and Logan Hertle. Bottom row: Emma Gandor, Kynsingten McMasters and Riley Matchinga will perform in Marietta College’s production of “Ride the Cyclone,” opening Friday.

Marietta College’s Theatre Department will open the musical “Ride the Cyclone” on Friday, Nov. 14, on the main stage of the Hermann Fine Arts Center’s Friederich Theater.

“Ride the Cyclone” follows six teen members of a Canadian chamber choir whose lives are cut short in a roller coaster accident. In limbo, a mechanical fortune teller invites each to tell their story for a chance to return to life. The production is rated R for adult subject matter and strong language.

Performances are at 8 p.m. Nov. 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22. The show runs about 1 hour, 40 minutes, including a 10-minute intermission.

Marietta College students and faculty may claim one free ticket at the door starting an hour before curtain with a valid ID. Tickets for other patrons are available in advance at mariettacollege.yapsody.com.

The 2009 show by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell is directed by McCoy Associate Professor of Theatre Andy Felt, who said the production team aimed to avoid replicating a popular off-Broadway recording and instead tailored the design to the college’s space and cast.

“It’s already what I would call a ‘high-concept’ show — it’s both supernatural and a musical. In such shows, it can be really dangerous to put an even bigger concept on top of it,” Felt said. “In addition, a popular recording of the off-Broadway production is available on YouTube, so it felt like the design team was fighting against just ‘copying’ what they did. We worked hard to set up a world for the show that was specific to our space and our actors, so we could reflect our own individual artistry.”

Felt is joined by Music Director Peter Sour, Assistant Director Zeir Carpenter ’26 and Choreographer Lee Hankinson ’27. Carpenter, who is using the show for a capstone project, said the work has included blocking assigned sections and offering feedback on acting choices.

“My work has mainly been blocking my assigned sections of the script, as well as giving feedback on acting choices and other blocking based on what I’ve seen. It’s been challenging, but in a good way,” Carpenter said. “The hardest part has been adjusting to thrust staging — having audience members on three sides of the stage rather than one is difficult because I’ve never done a show staged like that.”

Hankinson said the thrust configuration forced changes to several dance numbers.

“All of my choreography has to be angled so each side of the audience can see it,” she said. “It was an easy fix, but still difficult to get used to at first. It’s been a great learning experience, though. I definitely won’t take it for granted.”

For information about the remainder of the 2025-26 season, contact department chair Casiha Felt at cas.felt@marietta.edu or visit marietta.edu/theatre-season.