{"id":128401,"date":"2026-04-23T16:07:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T22:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-high-school-troupe-1096-gets-ready-to-ride-the-cyclone\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T16:07:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T22:07:38","slug":"durango-high-school-troupe-1096-gets-ready-to-ride-the-cyclone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-high-school-troupe-1096-gets-ready-to-ride-the-cyclone\/","title":{"rendered":"Durango High School Troupe 1096 gets ready to \u2018Ride the Cyclone\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cast
Cast Coaster, from left: Eric Petersen, Angel Safari, Judah Azulai, Valentine Kuntz and Finn Bone, rehearse ahead of Durango High School Troupe 1096\u2019s production of \u201cRiding the Cyclone.\u201d (Courtesy)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

If you had to, could you make a case for your life?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what six high school students stuck in limbo after dying in a roller coaster accident are faced with in \u201cRide the Cyclone: Teen Edition.\u201d The six are members of a Canadian choir who are offered the chance for one of them to return to life by Karnac, a mechanical fortune teller. The catch? The students must decide among themselves who gets to live.<\/p>\n

\n

If you go<\/h4>\n

WHAT:<\/strong> Durango High School Troupe 1096 presents \u201cRide the Cyclone: Teen Edition,\u201d book, music and lyrics by Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond<\/p>\n

WHEN: <\/strong>7 p.m. April 30, May 1-2, 7-9; 2 p.m. May 2 and 9<\/p>\n

WHERE: <\/strong>Durango High School, 2390 Main Ave.<\/p>\n

TICKETS: <\/strong>$5-$15. Available at https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/3hf8uyws<\/p>\n

MORE INFORMATION: <\/strong>Visit https:\/\/troupe1096.weebly.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Durango High School Troupe 1096\u2019s production of \u201cCyclone\u201d will open April 30 and is staged by the troupe\u2019s upperclassmen. It\u2019s also divided into two casts of eight actors \u2013 Cast Roller and Cast Coaster \u2013 that will each take separate performances during the show\u2019s run.<\/p>\n

\"In
In the background: Valentine Kuntz, Angel Safari and Sadie Hanson, and in the green: Finn Bone and Eric Petersen. (Courtesy)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Junior Clio Bendell, publicity manager for the troupe, said showcasing the group\u2019s upperclassmen in the production is an important way to honor the work they have put in during their years as student actors at DHS.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really meaningful to the seniors, because it\u2019s their last musical with us before they graduate,\u201d said Bendell, who has been with the troupe for three years. \u201cSo it\u2019s all super fun for them to just get to sing and dance together.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the ensemble has put together a strong production, especially given the fairly quick turnaround after 1096\u2019s most recent show, \u201cThe Laramie Project.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very difficult to describe the vibe of the show honestly, without seeing it, but I think especially with some of the types of songs, it\u2019s run goosebumps on your arms every single time,\u201d Bendell said. \u201cI think that the actors alone are amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Center:
Center: Judah Azulai as Ricky, and ensemble (left to right): Finn Bone, Val Kuntz, Angel Safari and Eric Petersen, all rehearse DHS Troupe 1096\u2019s production of \u201cRide the Cyclone.\u201d (Courtesy)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Two seniors \u2013 Gillian Reynolds (Cast Roller) and troupe co-President Valentine Kuntz (Cast Coaster) \u2013 are both playing the character Ocean O\u2019Connell Rosenberg. They said playing the same character in the different casts has helped their acting because they have been able to play off each other during rehearsals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dynamic of having a second cast is really fun, because then it means I get to work closely with the other person who plays Ocean, and that\u2019s been really fun,\u201d Kuntz said. \u201cI\u2019m really enjoying the group of people in this show, because it\u2019s a very small show for each cast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sadie
Sadie Hanson plays Jane Doe in \u201cRide the Cyclone.\u201d (Courtesy)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cIt\u2019s so fun to have a counterpart,\u201d said Reynolds, who also serves as choreographer for the show. \u201cAnd Valentine is the best one to have. It is so much fun. I actually got to sit down with it in my own time and look at all the individual songs and choreograph them and then teach them to all my castmates. I feel like I\u2019m just really embedded in this show right now. It\u2019s a very wild show, there\u2019s just so much going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having just come off the production of \u201cThe Laramie Project,\u201d which was about Laramie, Wyoming\u2019s response to the murder of Matthew Shepard, a show dealing with a heavy topic, \u201cCyclone,\u201d while its story is heavy, is more thought-provoking, the students said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think our \u2018Laramie Project\u2019 was a lot tougher when it comes to tough topics,\u201d Kuntz said. \u201cI think the show does a good job of keeping the topic light. Obviously, it\u2019s six choir students who die, but I think it ends in a very sweet way.\u201d<\/p>\n

What makes the show challenging, Reynolds said, is that the actors are playing students who are their age going through this impossible predicament.<\/p>\n

\"Finn
Finn Bone plays Noel in \u201cRide the Cyclone.\u201d (Courtesy)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cIt is heavier than I think it may seem, it\u2019s really difficult,\u201d she said. \u201cPutting ourselves in these positions knowing that we\u2019re actually the same age as these characters and we\u2019re at the same point in our lives that they were actually \u2026 it\u2019s a weird feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

And for Reynolds, there are some pretty big lessons that can be taken away from \u201cRide the Cyclone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that the audience should take away how valuable friendship is and how valuable connections are,\u201d she said. \u201cYou don\u2019t know how special a moment is until it\u2019s a memory. You don\u2019t know how special time is until it\u2019s already gone. Life is very valuable. Also, you might have more in common with someone you think you don\u2019t know very well. You might have more in common than you think. So kindness is key.\u201d<\/p>\n

katie@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Upperclass student actors will open new production next week<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":128402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6427,6426],"tags":[1060,1820,592,28,2401,910],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-128401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts-arts-and-entertainment","category-performing-arts","tag-arts-entertainment","tag-dh-trueanthem","tag-durango-high-school","tag-headlines","tag-musical-theater","tag-theatre"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128401"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=128401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}