When I bought tickets for this show I was completely unaware of the fact that the disabled actor that was supposed to portray the character of Ricky Potts was fired for his disability. On top of this, I had no idea they replaced him with an able bodied actor until the actor who was initially hired, Yannick-Robin Eike Mirko ended up responding to one of my Twitter posts about going to see the production.
Had I known this information I would never have bought tickets in the first place. It was disappointing to find out that a musical I deeply care about changed its script to glaze over Ricky’s disability and make it the butt of a joke. It’s even more hurtful to know that one of the actors from the original cast, Kholby Wardell didn’t come to Mirko’s defense, but deflected the entire situation. Later Wardell deleted his post about the production entirely. Additionally, writers of the show, Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell have been seemingly silent on the topic.
To start off, I had emailed Arena Stage a day before the show to ask if I could cancel my tickets as I was uncomfortable with the disability erasure. I did not get a response, so the morning of the show I called as soon as they opened the box office. I asked if it was possible to cancel tickets and I was told "no" and that they could only exchange tickets for another date. At that point I decided just to go to the show as I had already spent over a hundred dollars on tickets and parking and I did not want to waste my money.
When I arrived at the venue my tickets were missing from my account. I called the customer service line and I was almost immediately transferred to the supervisor. I could tell they were expecting my call. The supervisor already knew me by name and told me they had not gotten a chance to respond to my email, but they had canceled my tickets for me and were in the process of refunding me. Canceled my tickets 30 minutes before the show without my knowledge?! And because my parking was included as part of the ticket, I was circling the block waiting for them to handle the parking situation too. I quickly explained to them that I had already arrived for the show and I needed my tickets.
I had to go into the box office and wait for them to reissue my tickets and parking, which took about 10 minutes (not long in the grand scheme of things, but this was about 20 minutes before curtain). After getting inside the theatre my tickets wouldn’t even scan, but luckily the usher let us in anyways. The customer service at Arena Stage is frustrating and definitely did not make my experience with this show any better.
Later I tweeted, tagging Arena Stage in my post about the poor experience I had with them and then they basically blew over the entire situation. They did not even tell the entire truth because they did not mention the fact that they canceled my tickets without my permission moments before the show began. I think it’s ironic how they basically deflected my situation, similar to how they deflected the ableism in their production by stating that they are “a leading theatre presenting and producing American works that spark conversation and inspire action”. This is what they changed their Twitter biography to after fans started to boycott and protest the production via social media.
Anyhow the original show is a well written piece of theatre, flowing seamlessly between songs. A song for each character to sing that reflects their personality, while also moving the show forward. But now it’s hard to separate the art from the artists; the writers have compromised representation for money.
The set design in this production wasn’t unique. It was very similar to past productions with the broken rollercoaster track hanging above the stage, the cloud lights in the background, the curtain used as a backdrop, and of course the typical box The Amazing Karnak resides in. In my opinion the sound design was a bit off. I wish it was a bit louder because I was fairly close to the speakers and at times I found it difficult to hear what the actors were saying. Not to mention the fact that this show is supposed to be exciting, so I wish the sound had been stronger for both the upbeat and ghostly songs.
Now let's talk about the script changes. Ricky no longer had the crutches to help him walk. In this version he could always walk. Also instead of Ricky being born with a disease that left him mute, it was said that Ricky had witnessed his father experience a snake attack. This traumatic event is what leaves him mute. This was set up as a joke, which was strange because this is a horrific accident that caused Ricky so much trauma that he stopped speaking. It was sad more than anything, yet the audience members began laughing when a giant snake stuffed animal came out attached to the neck of “Ricky’s father” (played by the same actor who portrayed Mischa).
Additionally, the line “how long has he got if we feed him through a tube” in the song “What The World Needs” was completely cut and I’m not sure if this was for better or worse. Obviously it’s a very ableist line, but the removal of it hides the ableist history of this show. And in all honesty, it wouldn’t be a shock for Ocean’s character to say something like this about Ricky. After all, she doesn’t start out as a very kind person.
I wish both Arena Stage and the creators of Ride The Cyclone would genuinely own up to their mistakes and apologize to the community of people living with disabilities. I was really disappointed because Ricky had always been one of my favorite characters and I would have liked to see true mute representation on stage. It’s not something I see very often and as someone who is selectively mute it was hurtful to have this taken away from me. I cannot imagine how others living with disabilities feel. It was completely wrong of Arena Stage to have fired Mirko for their disability, that could very well be a civil rights case. And to have replaced him with an actor who does not have a disability is honestly insulting. I continue to hope for all kinds of representation in theatre, because it matters. Cast disabled actors in disabled roles!!!
Literally was mad insane how the customer service person didn't even know how to have a conversation on the phone I was like so confused waiting on them to speak wondering what tf they wanted me to do also the fact they canceled tickets hours before the show without thinking to notify you at all... like bruh