“Aristotle said in the ‘Poetics’ that there was nothing dramatic or interesting about an accident or natural disaster. This always struck me as an unfair sentence to those who fell prey to the horrific event. We have all lost a loved one through some meaningless stroke of bad luck: a fire, a car accident, a freak brain aneurysm, etc. The initial seed for writing ‘Ride the Cyclone’ was our desire to dramatize the undramatize-able.”

- Jacob Richmond

Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond are a duo you are going to want to know. They are the creators of the thrilling musical Ride the Cyclone, which begins performances in the Kreeger Theater on January 13th (a Friday, appropriately enough for this delightfully dark show).

Based in Victoria, British Columbia, Maxwell and Jacob joined forces in 2008 and began their journey with the quirky cult musical

Brooke Maxwell (left) and Jacob Richmond (right)

Maxwell is a freelance musician, composer, and educator—talk about a triple threat! He has scored as well as created the sound design for multiple works, his most recent being Gruff for Puente Theatre, described as “A rollicking musical for two goats and a troll.”    

Richmond attended both Concordia University in Montreal and the University of Victoria, where he studied acting and playwriting. From there, he co-founded Atomic Vaudeville, a Victorian-based performance company that has produced new work worldwide, including Ride the Cyclone. Richmond’s other plays include The Qualities of Zero, Small Returns, and Legoland.

You can also watch their track-by-track commentary of the Ride the Cyclone album here!

Part comedy, part tragedy and wholly unexpected, this pair’s wildly imaginative musical delivers surprises at every turn. Get your tickets for Ride the Cyclone now, and find out how the future unravels for six teenagers