In Ride the Cyclone, the lives of six teen chamber choir singers are cut short in a freak roller coaster accident. Stuck in the afterlife, a mechanical fortune teller by the name of The Amazing Karnak gives them a chance to sing their way back to earth.
Here’s everything you need to know about our six star-crossed singers: a little bit of what they’re like, their tastes in music, and a reading of their birthday personologies, as told by The Amazing Karnak!
So, what’s a “birthday personology”? Here’s how our Dramaturg Otis Ramsey-Zöe explains it:
In Ride the Cyclone, The Amazing Karnak distills each character to their essential nature using their sun-sign astrology. Karnak’s emphasis on birthdays and descriptions of the characters suggests use of the personology system, which combines astrology, history, and psychology to understand human archetypes. Using Gary Goldschneider and Joost Elffers’ The Secret Language of Birthdays: Your Complete Personology Guide For Each Day of the Year, let’s take a closer look at what their birthdays reveal about each character.
Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg
Signature Catch Phrase: Democracy rocks!
Zodiac Sign: Capricorn, the ambitious nature
Check Out Ocean’s Playlist Here
Ask not what Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg can do for you, but what you can do for O’Connell Rosenberg! Peppy Capricorn, straight-A student, Ocean is a know-it-all overachiever!
Karnak’s Personology on Ocean: The Day of Continuity
“Those born on December 22 reserve their prophetic powers for accurately predicting what they themselves will be doing in the future based on their past track record. It’s not that they are incapable of changing course, but rather that they know well what they want in each period of their life and plan their time and effort accordingly.”
Constance Blackwood
Signature Catch Phrase: Sorry!
Zodiac Sign: Scorpio, the secretive nature
Check Out Constance’s Playlist Here
Constance Blackwood was the sweetest girl in Canada. This Scorpio’s head is filled with nothing but leprechauns, unicorns, and rainbows. But why is she following a strange man into an alley?
Karnak’s Personology on Constance: The Day of the Investigator
“Those born on November 14 manifest an urge to explore their environment down to the last detail. Though they are intensely curious about their surroundings in general, they are highly selective in their interests and have a well-defined point of view.”
Mischa Bachinski
Signature Catch Phrase: My gangsta persona is just armor to conceal that I am a naked child wandering through the wilderness, holding in my hands my wounded, fragile heart.
Zodiac Sign: Leo, sign of aggression
Check Out Mischa’s Playlist Here
If there was ever an ideal candidate to be on MTV Cribs, it would be Mischa Bachinski. He’s got that Leo energy. He’s got a 60-inch TV screen. He’s got tons of bling. He’s got the Chicken McNuggets. Most importantly he’s got his shorty, Talia, waiting for him back in his homeland, Ukraine.
Karnak’s Personology on Mischa: The Day of Endurance
“Those born on August 18 face tremendous challenges which they must meet head-on and overcome. Emotionally deep, those born on this day experience grief and adversity at a more profound level than most others.”
Noel Gruber
Signature Catch Phrase: Being the only gay man in a small rural high school is like having a laptop in the Stone Age. I mean sure, you can have one, but there’s nowhere to plug it in.
Zodiac Sign: Pisces, sign of passion
Check Out Noel’s Playlist Here
A Pisces stabs her stilettos into the dirt as she resigns her heartbreak to “The Cyclone”. Her name? Noel Gruber. Life is as dark and gray as the ash her cigarette drops. All she wants is love… she is a twisted rollercoaster of emotions in fishnet tights.
Karnak’s Personology on Noel: The Day of Heaven and Hell
“Those born on March 5 usually have two distinct sides to their personality and can be quite different people in private and are often prone to expressing dark feelings and emotions. To the world they may appear debonair and charming, sophisticated, as well as kind and considerate, while inside they are grappling with their personal demons.”
Ricky Potts
Signature Catch Phrase: Level up!
Zodiac Sign: Gemini, the dual nature
Check Out Ricky’s Playlist Here
It’s true, what they say about Geminis having two sides. To the casual bystander, Ricky Potts roams the Earth as a misunderstood boy. However, if you ask him, he traverses the galaxy as a swingin’, space-age bachelor man intent on saving the oh-so-sexy cat-women of the Zolarian race!
Karnak’s Personology on Ricky: The Day of the Brilliant Path
“Those born on June 5 are often amazed when others don’t understand them. Their ideas can be intricate, involved and occasionally out of touch with reality; their listeners may manage to follow their train of thought yet fail to ultimately grasp the meaning or intention behind it.”
Jane Doe
Signature Catch Phrase: When the lioness has children, she stops making love to the lion. The lion gets jealous, sometimes so jealous he eats the children. You’d think this would upset the lioness; far from it. They make love again like the children never existed. I find that idea terrifying.
Zodiac Sign: /// RECORD UNKNOWN ///
Check Out Jane’s Playlist Here
The Amazing Karnak
Signature Catch Phrase: Probably many things, as he’s an all-knowing robot.
Zodiac Sign: Nothing; he’s an all-knowing robot!
If you’d like to hear Karnak’s playlist, we suggest listening to the infinite void of space.
Karnak is the omnipotent fortune teller that has gathered all of the kids here. He can see into the future, but don’t worry, he won’t spoil the show for you. Although he had the power to stop the Cyclone incident, he remained silent as it happened. Why? Because that is not what mechanical fortune-telling robots in amusement parks do. Sad, isn’t it?
*Spotify playlists provided by McCarter Theatre Center
