Ride The Cyclone: The Ballad of Jane Doe

[@TheZizamie]

For people who haven’t seen the full video, before each characters song, the character pushes down the lever. This fills the frame of the stage with a series of baby photos before launching into a short scene of their childhood. For Jane, no photos show up, which is why the audience laughs and she tries the lever a second time.

[@princessjoypalcone199]

OK now that makes me even sadder

[@dvankamp5]

iiiiiiiii>iii>iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

[@lukemckenzie0121]

NOOOO 😭

[@lukemckenzie0121]

So her current look is supposed to be based off of the doll she holds right? Since she doesn’t have an actual head?

[@noemarin4143]

@@lukemckenzie0121 yup she's apparently using the dolls head

[@hii7500]

fun fact: ballads are normally made anonymously! so this being called The Ballad of Jane Doe really emphasizes the fact that she had no identity

[@jaydflay4809]

@Saiki K Fann and Karnak’s line is also tied to Noel’s lament, which is funnily enough, a ballad.

[@andrewsparkes6275]

"The Ballad of..." as a song/poem title almost always has a name, though?

[@jaydflay4809]

@@andrewsparkes6275 the name is a character name or story-esque name that deals with the song, not the writer’s name

[@andrewsparkes6275]

@@jaydflay4809 Then what has the title of this song got to do with anything?

[@jaydflay4809]

@@andrewsparkes6275 the same thing as other song titles

[@notdipperpines6626]

Just realized Jane's hair is so aestheticly different is because she's using the dolls head to substitute her own missing one. That's why the doll she held was headless

[@littlekaro2005]

That's why every time she makes a sudden movement her head wobbles

[@-Commit-arson-]

It’s also why she doesn’t have eyes Or at least pitch black eyes

[@Justasykoseashell]

That actually makes so much sense.

[@41k0o0]

OH

[@Pandemonioxo]

OH MY GODDDD THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE

[@cheerios7264]

She’s upside down, spinning, flying, jumping around and not a single voice crack. God her talent is unmatched.

[@thenoiseunderyourbed3404]

FRR

[@anonymousaccount6445]

The amount of breath support has me in awe and envious tbh

[@katrealz]

@@wertaisdoingsomething4818 obviously because they don’t want to interrupt the signing and they want to enjoy the experience 😭

[@katrealz]

@@wertaisdoingsomething4818 ah, that makes sense. It was pretty weak but it is an off broadway audience so idrk 🤖

[@planetariummascot4252]

YES WHEN I WAS WATCHING I WAS IN ABSOLUTE DISBELIEF LIKE SINGING THOSE NOTES WHILE TWIRLING IN THE AIR

[@FAEDOODLE]

Her skirt is genius. Preventing flashing, and giving her an even more ghostly appearance by literally defying gravity.

[@Justasykoseashell]

She actually left stage during Ricky's song (space age bachelor man) to change her skirt to one that had some boning and technical stuff in it so it wouldn't fly up while she was upside down!

[@Ren_2024]

@@JustasykoseashellI actually did notice that 🥲

[@BeansproutGames]

WICKED

[@MissCocoRosco]

It’s extra chilling if you consider the parts where she’s in the air the path the coaster took, and her arpeggio notes are her screaming

[@Originality_Is_Dead]

What! I never knew this!

[@Kaybri0526]

WOAH

[@yaboi8924]

I totally see it especially when it looks like she’s landing on her head at 5:11

[@Panzystubbedtheirtoe]

Its so cool how they did that theres so much little details in this musical you almost never notice in the first watch its amazing!!!

[@allindanieli855]

I noticed that the first time I watched the musical lol

[@serenityskies09]

"some believe she was never in the choir at all" proceeds to have the best vocals out of all of them (imo)

[@aspen4351]

Truuuuuuuue

[@KattluvsInky]

Also how did the choir lose to themselves when they were alive??? Like everyone is a godlike vocalist 😭🙏

[@marsxidoe]

​@@KattluvsInky probably since there were no other choirs in uranium

[@bluebloodbash]

The fact that she's hitting those notes while literally spinning through the air is fucking astonishing

[@marsxzn]

RIGHTT??

[@caittails]

I find the “John and me” line devastating. There’s no John Doe in this musical, obviously, so referring to “John” is basically referring to the concept of every unidentified male person in history. The “and me, eternally Jane Doe” is her having to lump herself in with every single other Jane Doe in history. You can’t be an individual, you’re forever part of this whole, single entity. Not only did she lose her personal identity, she lost her human individuality. She essentially has dissolved into just a concept. It’s devastating and terrifying.

[@bramslamm]

I think it's really interesting too because in a twisted way it's what she wants. Jane's whole song is about how badly she wants to have a life and be connected to people, and as she is the only person she could ever be connected with is a hypothetical John Doe as her partner.

[@Lavenderismyfavourite]

i feel like because she mentions st peter perhaps the john she mentions is john doe but also st john who was beheaded like jane

[@1tz_Rav3n]

John Doe is what male unidentified bodies are referred to as. Maybe there was a boy on the ride that wasn’t found at all?

[@leejullo]

I remember when she's born as Penny Lamb she gets a brother, I don't remember his name tho

[@z3e_.x]

​@ellojullo her brother is ezra lamb

[@thesparechannel6580]

I really love the line "Time eats all his children in the end", bc it works on two levels 1. A reference to the myth of Kronos eating his children in Greek mythology 2. A reference back to her catchphrase, the tale of the lion eating his children out of jealousy for the attentions of the lioness

[@chansdevon9443]

Yessssss

[@sejsuper4660]

yeah but they got the refrence confused because kronos (with a k, the guy who ate his children) wasn't god of time, he was a harvest god. the time god in greek myth is chronos (ch. they are completely unrelated) they get confused very often

[@thesparechannel6580]

@@sejsuper4660 Ohh, I didn't realise, thanks for clearing that up!

[@matilde_5]

@@sejsuper4660 They are kinda the same though. I mean not but kinda? Chronos is a primordial form of Kronos

[@adeleaslan8182]

@@thesparechannel6580 it’s ok everyone ends up making that mistake, and it would’ve been a really cool correlation if it was true

[@ultraballstudios5221]

The fact that it is unknown if she was even in the choir and how she was the only one who was really mutilated is really creepy. I also think the fact that her high notes while she is flying are supposed to represent her screaming before her death is absolutely terrifying.

[@spiriox]

THAT THEORY… WHY DOES IT WORK

[@koishrooms]

omg pls share more of that theory its so mhmmm i love ittt

[@okvictoria]

I love that those extreme high notes after 4:35 are sung as if they're meant to represent the screaming of jane when she flew off the coaster

[@mjsfjshdhfhdy2498]

i think in a tiktok she said it was an accident because she was supposed to say 'why' but because of adrenaline she didnt

[@justsomeguywithhalfamustac6837]

​@@mjsfjshdhfhdy2498 do you have a link to it?

[@Sidgirl5]

I like how she sounds kind of angry at, "and I'm asking why lord" because it's kind of like she gets upset over not having a story and almost demanding an explanation

[@Sidgirl5]

I also like how they reference funerals as a kind of celebration, I can definitely see a character like her getting upset over no funeral for them

[@Just_A_Deity]

Fun fact, Emily Rohm isn't actually hooked up to anythin on the stage, shes truly just flying around. We love to see a beuitiful method actor don't we?

[@richardgoranski]

wow! so talented! 🤩👐

[@jelly_lori]

a truly dedicated actor 🤭🤭🤭

[@Mediocrity_]

SUCH dedication.

[@maapauu4282]

That's real talent

[@ImGyokkoTF]

OMG YALL ALMOST HAD ME BELIEVE IT 😭 💀

[@nails8647]

absolutely obsessed with how her skirt doesn't move when she's flipped upside down. It makes it all so much more mechanical. She trapped in place and so is her skirt lol!

[@Panzystubbedtheirtoe]

Fun-fact: during space age bachelor man they actually swapped out her skirt so the audience wouldn’t be flashed when she went upside down! :)

[@phoebaleeb6129]

I know there are a lot of theories that she wasn’t on the rollercoaster but I just love how those scales she sings mirror the slow incline on the ride and the sudden, uncontrollable drop. That feels like a very intentional parallel especially when her hand drops to symbolise her death after the fall.

[@nathaniellee5277]

What theories?

[@pastelplayzz]

@@nathaniellee5277 sorry for being 2 hrs late! but there are rumors about her not even being *on* the rollercoaster- that she was next to it and was hit by the actual car derailing and crashing into the park pathway

[@CrazyGamerDude17]

It would make sense for the car to hold only 4, but with all this representation it seems like she was on, he pitches, her hand motions, the moment where she’s floating symbolizing how she flew threw the air after it derailed

[@maapauu4282]

​@@CrazyGamerDude17But we already know that even if Jane wasn't on it, there would be 5

[@novabakugo7733]

When she flips upside down the first time it represents the first loop in the ride and the second loop when she stopped halfway she falls

[@robinpilley5923]

OMG THAT MAKES SM SENSE

[@novabakugo7733]

@@robinpilley5923 ik right😭

[@WatatsukiNoToyohime]

5:08 "Is this how I die Lord" BROOO

[@achillendimond2124]

She has this almost doll like quality, making her seem not quite human, like a shell of a person. The carousel-esque quality and the fly adds to it for me too. It’s so fitting for her character, because she is in a sense incomplete, without a name or a story.

[@erinmyers2375]

If you see the beginning you realize she’s stolen the head of her doll cause she doesn’t have one. It so cool

[@bingbong1355]

THE WAY HER VOICE CHANGED AT THE “and im askin WHY LORD?” IS INCREDIBLE. and as someone who’s trying to learn this song for fun, i am flabbergasted by this preformanceee

[@nandomations]

THAT IS WHAT I AM SAYING THIS MUSICAL HITS BULLSEYE NEARLY EVERY TIME

[@bingbong1355]

@@nandomations IT DOES!!!

[@Ren_2024]

@@bingbong1355 I love how it like growls or whatever, it's just awesome!

[@sillypsy]

it’s so awesome, it’s like all of a sudden she just becomes so much more emotional!

[@lauelamb646]

The way she literally did acrobatics in the air while belting soprano notes for the mildest applause I have ever heard…

[@JellyHeartstopper_leaves]

I heard it was a dress rehearsal that only a few people went to but idrk

[@cheeseeeeeee--]

no its cause the mic couldn't pick up the audio of the clapping so im sure it was more than we heard

[@Ren_2024]

@@lauelamb646 EXACTLY. She deserved so much more applause

[@twointegerreal]

@@cheeseeeeeee--hi clock (itft pfp found)

[@jxy_cee]

the audio is from the actors’ mics, so it didn’t pick up any of the clapping unless it was SUPER loud

[@엘리를_바보있다]

I just realized that Jane is the only one whose fortune wasn’t read, meaning she’s the only one who could have lived, because Karnak saw that everyone would die, but did not know about Jane’s fate.

[@pizzanachos101]

so her fate was to live?

[@pizzanachos101]

wait nvmd i cant read

[@Ren_2024]

@@엘리를_바보있다 exactly! Her fate wasn't supposed to be the roller coaster accident, especially since she took the place on the roller coaster of father Marcus.

[@noromantichero]

even creepier how her high pitched "aahhs" are implied to be screams

[@Tsuyudoesvr]

Damn really

[@musicalraven6078]

And when she falls

[@auramint]

Fun fact: Apparently the "Oh why"s were originally supposed to be an octave lower but emily accidentally sang them an octave higher.

[@delphinium113]

An octave lower would make singing this song so much easier 😢

[@marsbars7791]

somthing that no one really notices is that noels lanment is in the style of a ballad and the ballad of jane doe is in the style of a lament!

[@polarisphobia]

This is actually a really cool observation

[@winterwithawhyknudsen5166]

Kinda shows how confused they are

[@Dont-put-rice-in-a-toaster]

it made me really sad when i realized the song represents her fall off the cyclone. she reaches her hand up as she falls, and the high notes are supposed to mimic her screams as she descends. and the last "ah" when she hits the bottom.

[@carla-1208]

oh my god i never thought about that. that’s so sad and smart of the creators

[@ketaminepoptarts]

to me, her spinning and floating through the air represents her being flung from the cyclone when it derailed

[@CiloAngel]

I just realized. Jane Doe's eyes are meant to mimic a dolls eyes having fallen out. Empty sockets.

[@Ass-eater-h3y]

It's probably meant to mimic black button eyes, like her hair is styled like a doll. The doll's head is being used as a stand in

[@justicecasto3901]

omg i love that cus eyes are the window to the soul

[@F4cad3.]

Her head is meant to represent her dolls head. Since hers is gone, it was replaced with her dolls, hence the reason her head is more perfect and pleasant. I think her eyes are meant to represent that she has no soul because of the saying, "the eyes are the windows to the soul"

[@Actually_insane_af]

I believe that when her head came off, after she lost consciousness (so after half a minute at maximum), her eyes popped out of the sockets. She took the head of a doll maybe one without the eyes or maybe button eyes and attached it to her body, and the doll was probably given to her by some outside force to mimic her body after death.

[@oreoyin-yan8414]

This is why attendance lists are important

[@tinytinkergacha7747]

Lmao fr

[@RileyRoss-lh8vg]

DUDE-

[@WhatDoIUseForHandle]

LMAO

[@imadino2603]

YOU DID NOT

[@Misty_Grey744]

Welp now I’m scared

[@RubyRider_62442]

If I attempted this while spinning in the air then I would become part of the Cyclone accident

[@dreamy_landd]

LMAOOOO BEST COMMENT

[@annaplayz6714]

OH NOO 😭😭

[@Starrrycandy]

💀

[@tanjirofromkny]

LMFAOOO

[@jkuhn2006]

Her casually hitting those notes while literally spinning in the air- her vocal clarity is so satisfying

[@Casazza1316]

The fact that she sounds identical both live and in the studio recording is just incredible. Her voice is mind boggling

[@ratqueenbee]

3:22 this part alone is confirmation enough to me that Jane Doe WAS actually at the fair that day, when the music switched to typical funfair music, the fear sets in immediately- she remembers it

[@madam-mint]

THAT’S why she’s gasping like that!

[@Avdeyy]

not to mention: "I hear the anguish of the street" It is scientifically proven that a decapitated head remains conscious for about 10-15 seconds, so she likely heard people screaming shortly after her head hit the ground

[@CrowlessSunbathe]

@@AvdeyyThe Maximum is 30 seconds I believe! So she likely had heard at least a couple of the others die before she had officially lost consciousness

[@ICE-CUBES-NUMBER-1-FAN]

Something intresting to note, "The BALLAD of Jane Doe" is actually in the style of a "Lament." Whilst the song "Noel's LAMENT" is in the style of a "Ballad." Ballad : a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas. Traditional ballads are typically of unknown authorship, having been passed on orally from one generation to the next. (a slow sentimental or romantic song.) Lament : a passionate expression of grief or sorrow ( for example Jane Doe's song is not telling a story, she is singing about her sorrow of dying being practially unknown as if she wasn't ever there in the first place. unlike Noel's Lament where it tells an actual story. ) Just something that I thought was cool.

[@Miss_Yuriko]

Jane Doe’s Lament sounds pretty sick

[@889.]

The Ballad of Noel Grueber what we thinking

[@arthuradelaide1266]

actually, I think this was done on purpose! Noel's Lament, while a ballad, is him lamenting the life he wished he had. He *wanted* the story he told, but could never have it. The Ballad of Jane Doe, while a lament, has a lot of visuals that represent the accident itself that fell it's own story (her moving through the air to possibly mimic the coaster's path). She said it herself, she has no story, so acting out the story of her death while lamenting what she doesn't even remember is the closest to a story she has.

[@graysonsk4448]

It was purposeful 😎

[@BAGELBURGERMEAL]

Noel's Ballad and The Lament Of Jane Doe sound so good.

[@therodentcollective]

the way her voice sounds when she says "and im asking" will never stop giving me chills, this whole song is a masterpiece and the way she sings it is beautiful

[@sydnoehal]

fr! it’s crazy how easily she flips from a soft, operatic sound to a harder, jazzy sound.

[@kim8665]

I love it, it’s so unhinged which makes it perfect.

[@justanotherchannel117]

Dear god, I thought it was crazy enough when she started floating, but that spin she did absolutely shattered my brain, dear lord shes so talented

[@sparklycrayonz]

i think they used wire but it looks like shes floating

[@npc-333]

@@sparklycrayonz they forsure used wire but its insanely hard to keep a note going when not on the floor, especially impossible when spinning

[@clefairytails2842]

@@npc-333 its actually not wire, theres a tiktok by the lady who plays jane doe that shows how they did it, its a big mechanical arm thing shes strapped into c:

[@clefairytails2842]

obviously still crazy impressive tho

[@ciphique]

@@clefairytails2842 could you try and find the tiktok? I'm super interested in seeing it now o:

[@heartsfromamara]

OKAY BUT WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THE SET DESIGN???? LIKE SHE WAS SINGING UPSIDE DOWN FLYING IN THE AIR??!??? AND THE LED UMBRELLAS TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE THE STARS???? HELLLOO???

[@Chrysalis-Bellflower]

And the audience was literally so quiet

[@emered5885]

Wait what stairs???

[@Chrysalis-Bellflower]

@@emered5885 the umbrellas had lights on them to look like stars in the sky at night

[@emered5885]

@@Chrysalis-Bellflower I thought it said stairs lmao

[@Chrysalis-Bellflower]

@John Pirroni oh cool!

[@chacha_rouge]

The break in her voice when she sings "isn't there anyone to tell me who I am?!" always hits me in the gut with emotion

[@lunatheluma3804]

It might have to do with the fact that she gets jerked up right at that part lol

[@ramendoodles3008]

​@@lunatheluma3804true, but it really adds to the emotion as well. Regardless, that note still sounded great despite being upside down and then jerked up lol

[@lordofshibainus]

This musical has some of the strongest wigs Ive ever seen. First Noel’s managing to stay in place while constantly moving and twisting his body. Now Jane’s stays in place while she’s floating and upside down.

[@mischr13]

literally what I was wondering, how does his wig stay on?? hers I understand, they can glue it on, but his just gets plopped on him. I wonder if there's some kind of tape inside the cap that holds in on??

[@arsgoetia.8126]

@@mischr13 I think its just VERY tight

[@noemarin4143]

I may be like with her skirt where they had wires to keep it in place

[@whats_ur_damage7879]

@@arsgoetia.8126someone who likes wigs here! if it were too tight it’d fall of just as easily as it would if it were loose! so it really must just be that this cast is full of magical people

[@foxiewithamoxie]

WHY IS NOONE TALKING ABOUT THE FACT THAT WHEN SHE SAY, "Time eats all his children in the end," SHE POINTS TO THE AUDIENCE?!?!?!?

[@rowanswann1545]

FR

[@C4LL1ST0-k7l]

I think Jane doe sang that since it’s a greek mythology fact where Cronus ate his children

[@Flanexia]

@@C4LL1ST0-k7l nahh, its a reference to the beginning of the musical, where every characters ‘catchphrase’ is said. Jane talks about how when a lioness has cubs, the lion will get jealous of the attention the cubs are getting because the lioness will now refuse to make love with the lion again, so the lion eats the cubs. You might think the lioness would mourn the children, but no, the lioness makes love with the lion again as if the cubs never existed, and Jane talks about how that idea is terrifying to her.

[@C4LL1ST0-k7l]

@@Flanexia ohhh ok ty! Someone has told me it was a Greek mythology fact, sorry!

[@yuri-tang7885]

@@C4LL1ST0-k7l It's both actually!

[@Bumpusking]

It’s crazy that they got an actual siren for this role

[@fithedemon4581]

That made me spit my water, 10/10.

[@vexedpoem]

The fact that Jane's shadow looks like wings is fascinating. I don't know if the costume designer or the director thought of it or if it was just a coincidence.

[@raspberrycrowns9494]

Pretty sure it's intentional. Fits with her story, falling to her death + those biblical references and all

[@vexedpoem]

@@raspberrycrowns9494 now that you mention it, it makes sense now

[@tall_and_angry]

I just realized that when she is in the air flying, she moves freely and not at all stiff like a doll unlike when she walks around. I’m sure that it has some meaning but I don’t know what

[@MaxiiSMP]

I feel it has something to do with the lyrics during the flight sequence. It's the humanity that's still in her wondering who she is, and why she doesn't know whe she was.

[@DetectiveGoggles]

It may also be because everything else is afterwards when she doesn't remember who she is like an empty doll of a person, but the flight sequence feels like a re-living of the moments of her death where she is falling down from the ride.

[@ka.BLAMM0]

It looks like she's a doll being played with

[@autismcreatureirl]

her flying is supposed to represent her falling through the air after she fell out of the cart- and when that happened, she was still human and (probably) alive, so it would make sense for her not moving like a doll anymore, but moving like a human, what she was while falling.

[@spoofrog]

ive got no clue but what i do know is that her singing is still angelic while UPSIDE DOWN

[@LELOLELOLASH]

Fun fact, the high notes of the song are meant to represent the screams of Jane doe as she was being decapitated on the roller coaster

[@Coffees_Cats]

Wait really?

[@Hey_Im_Melz]

@@Coffees_Catsyup yupppp they’re right

[@Rosiecheekz]

Hpw did they not find her head??

[@pauamo5308]

​@@Rosiecheekz Two options: it got lost under the rumble and the "from the ground, beneath my feet, i hear the anguish of the street" means that she somehow hears what the head would be hearing, it is close enough to hear the outside but is buried. Or two, it literally got smashed and destroyed to the point that there weren't any parts that could get identified as a head

[@laurendunn0809]

@@Rosiecheekzhonestly considering the speeds of roller coasters, her head could have been thrown anywhere.

[@t1redartist]

I think we can all agree that the applaud from the audience was not NEARLY as loud as it needed to be.

[@riff_raf]

Agreed

[@autismcreatureirl]

recordings often muffle applause, so the applaud was probably a lot louder than what we heard

[@A.N.G.E.L.Z_VODS]

i think this was a press recording, so there wasnt an actual full audience!!

[@Jay-fc1nv]

3:01 oh my god i just realized that this part represents the roller coaster going up and up! and the tumbling down phenomenal

[@themantisdances]

Why is nobody talking about how hard it would've been to sing like that while spinning around and flying

[@valhatan3907]

We already did 1 year ago

[@misslycoris]

how did they manage to make the flying parts so seamless?? It almost looks like the singer is genuinely floating and flying around like how a ghost would,, major props to everyone involved in this musical

[@mint2574]

Do you remember the account name? Edit: found it

[@hannahfaith_valley]

I’m pretty sure it’s that she’s sitting on a bicycle seat and attached to a harness at the torso, which is why her legs are pretty much always hip width apart or wider.

[@Fionnnnna]

@@hannahfaith_valley im pretty sure its a machine with an arm that attaches to something in her waist that's why it looks so smooth

[@hannahfaith_valley]

@@Fionnnnna yeah it is! But she’s also sitting on something so she isn’t just hanging there and is more stable whilst singing

[@CrystalKarma]

@@hannahfaith_valley The actor posted a video that showed how she did it!

[@Nonothankyou-hd8jj]

I just realised that Jane floating is representing her falling from the rollercoaster, with the umbrellas being other rides.

[@----Skelly----]

The music at this point sort of sounds like carnival music if you listen closely. I think this is so cool

[@miller77777]

omg u just gave me crazy shivers. i didnt realize that at all

[@agens5753]

It just makes sense that jane doe's head is a doll. It's just a substitution, it would be hard to portray a character with no actual head, and it be weird theatre visual wise

[@autismcreatureirl]

yea she carries around a doll w/out a head thru the whole show, implying she took the head of her doll as a substitute (its also likely she won the doll at the carnival)

[@speedytempo3819]

​@autismcreatureirl I never even considered that she won that doll in a carnival game 🤯. Makes me wonder how its head got big enough to replace her head though...

[@vanessawootten6554]

Idk if this is just me but in the recording she sounds much sadder at the “and I’m asking why lord” part. But in this performance she sounds almost angry and frustrated.

[@iamliterallyjustaaloeverap1495]

maybe it's because in the recording she's sitting in a studio and in the performance she's actually moving

[@clouddzzzz_.]

Jane/Pennys story actually scares me. Like she fell off a rollercoster and got beheaded. That’s fucking terrifying, and just the way they got that through in a song just makes it more terrifying, the way she gets pulled in the air waving her hands around like she’s falling is just dark

[@Good_luck_.]

The scariest part is this is a song that could be for anyone. Anyone could be Jane doe

[@clouddzzzz_.]

@@Good_luck_. that too, it’s just so bizarre to think about

[@Good_luck_.]

@Fayesnotthatcool4398I think that it will take her to before she got on the roller coaster and stop her somehow

[@jeniferesparza7770]

@Fayesnotthatcool4398I just assumed that she would be reincarnated into a new life.

[@jeniferesparza7770]

@Fayesnotthatcool4398 I watched a synopsis video of the musical, it’s pretty good.

[@samhaddad7456]

The way she gasps for air at the end honestly makes the song even more beautiful and I can't even explain it

[@BloodyRainbowOtaku]

This song just constantly punches me in the gut. Constantly thinking of all the people over the years who were dubbed John and Jane Doe. Stripped of their personhood in the end. A forever mystery.

[@GhostFan4Life]

It's very sad. I hope they're resting in peace.

[@emilypotts3246]

I want to give the lighting and stage directors a soft smooch on the forehead for this whole musical, but the way jane's hair makes angel wings on the backdrop makes me go insane. if anyone knows of a wideview angle of this song I'd love to see it!

[@meganhash7840]

OMFG I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO SAW THAT

[@RonaldDotCa]

I like the theory that she was added so the other kids would vote for her and they could accept their own deaths, and that he couldn't actually bring anyone back. She was the main reason Ocean was able to accept her death in the end, afterall.

[@kayleemae-z4n]

emily rohm being able to sing like that while moving around in the air like that on the harnesses always stuns and impressed me

[@rattheww]

i’d like to mention how at 4:39 when she starts spinning, people have mentioned that the direction she goes in is supposed to be the rollercoaster track, but when we remember that they all died at the apex of the loop-de-loop and went flying in the air, i think the track is going backwards in an attempt for her to recollect her memories

[@maggythemagician770]

also the fact that she might of hit everything going down

[@rolanslide8509]

Her vocal performance is obviously incredible, but I think Emily Rohm deserves just as many flowers for her physical acting. Even before shes doing air-acrobatics, her movements rarely cease being uncanny and unnatural. Her head is jerky and almost disconnected from the rest of her body in the way it moves. She's stiff in most instances, standing stock-still while her head moves in an almost bird-like fashion. It's like something unsuccessfully trying to imitate human movement, but in a way that's more curious and childlike than sinister. Jane Doe is creepy, yeah, but looking at her I never fear once that she may be dangerous. It very well conveys the idea of a living doll, or someone who's completely disconnected from their body and humanity, but in a way that feels specific to the character instead of just being generic "creepy girl" fare.

[@corrupterror404thatonekidt3]

FINALLY someone pointed it out!

[@joefruits]

why are we not talking about the fact that she sang half of this song IN THE AIR AND UPSIDE DOWN SPINNINGG ???? like oh my god I love Emily Rohm so much I aspire to be as good as that one day. incredible incredible song and performance. the audience was so underwhelming, I would've been standing, screaming and applauding like there was no tomorrow.

[@m0useb0nes]

It's actually theater etiquette not to applaud after each song, just at intermission and at the end, but a lot of people don't follow that rule

[@mushroomsupremacy2081]

you've totally got it! practice makes perfect! When your a big-shot and the best singer, remember me 🫶🏼 no, but actually. You can do this!

[@autismcreatureirl]

@L-M they were exaggerating

[@glibbergloop]

We are

[@flitsman5954]

OH MY GOD "TIME EATS ALL HIS CHILDREN IN THE END" IS A CALLBACK TO HER CATCHPHRASE!

[@finleyforevermore]

OH MY GOODNESS I NEVER REALIZED THAT-

[@junkosgossipcorner]

IM SO HAPPY THAT U SAID THAT- EVERY1 IS SAYING “GREEK MYTHOLOGY” LIKE NO-

[@bladeandkeeperyt]

Elaborate

[@flitsman5954]

@@bladeandkeeperyt In her catchphrase, Jane Doe says that a lion will sometimes get so jealous when the lioness has children and stops making love to him that he eats the children

[@trinityanderson9123]

While it is also her catchphrase, it does also relate back to Greek mythology. Kronos the King of Titans and the god of time is best known for eating his children which is meant to signify that no one can beat time. So both sides are correct. Honestly I was just geeking out over a greek mythology reference so sorry for the info dump.

[@7TS4D4NGEROUSG4M3]

She doesn't remember anything, so at the "I hear the anguish of the street" line, it's what she _hoped_ was true she *_hoped_* that people knew, or cared that she died.

[@IceDragon-2261]

I care🥺

[@gradstudentUCM]

Or she could hear from her decapitated head on the ground.

[@v1p3rlotus]

i always thought of the line as people reacting to her decapitated body and she could still hear as a decapitated head can still be conscious for up to 30 seconds

[@munzeviu]

i just realized the reason why her doll doesn't have a head is because she's using its head- and that's probably why she looks emotionless, she can't change her facial expressions because her face is plastic

[@shopliftedtiara]

the doll curls beady eyes and makeup

[@maiwaifu-y4x]

i heard one time that her high notes represent her screams from when the accident occurred

[@scorchinggcactus]

with fall fair suite her high notes are proof she was the last one who died. a decapitated head can live up to thirty seconds

[@se5vrs9m]

i guess she slayed those screams /hj

[@HeadphonesGal215]

I am so impressed by her ability to convey so much emotion through her voice and not use her face to show much emotion, because dolls can’t show emotion. Emily Rohm just plays this character so fantastically, all the details are perfect.

[@leoffemiruen2028]

Plus singing those notes while floating around and being upside down.

[@jkuhn2006]

I love how it says "just john and me forever eternally jane doe" referencing jane does counterpart, i didnt realize that on my first listen

[@Jhulss]

I have the theory that Jane Doe was a neglected child and this is why nobody retrieved her body. Maybe Father Marcus took her under his wing and nurtured her singing abilities. He wanted her to have fun like the others kids and gave her an uniform so she can join in, and well, the tragedy happened.

[@autismcreatureirl]

theres actually a play called legoland thats basically a prequel to rtc ab penny lamb when she was alive- your theory is similar

[@stinky6521]

spoilers i think (bc this isn’t part of the musical but spoils the ending) but her family was arrested for being a part of the largest marijuana growing ring in Saskatchewan. I assume she was sent to catholic school pretty close before the incident which is why they talk about other students not being able to recall her name or anything as well because she was new (before that she was homeschooled). there’s whole play about her and her brother getting out of there but it’s not well documented and i still need to read it lol

[@coldsoup8176]

I like how the “oooooo ooo ooo” is almost like climbing a roller coaster until “ahah ahh ahhh” is dropping over the edge

[@trashking471]

Also, the screams she heard when her head flew off

[@FandomFrenzy]

Heres everything i gathered on Jane Doe; Turns out, she was beheaded on the ride, which was the screaming vocals (minus the ones where it drops since its her falling in the coaster). So without her head she lost her memories, they also cannot identify her; which explains her being called “Jane” aka the equivalent of John doe (unidentifiable “Male”). She sings about John because they are both essentially *nobodies*. It also adds how John was a famous priest who was beheaded. She has this “perfect hair” and the wobbliness to her head because due to the fact she lost it, she had to take a dolls head (which we see her holding a headless doll at a point). She was in the last cart so she heard everyone die and then was beheaded, explaining the line “i felt the ground beneath my feet, the anguish of the street (a choir never complete)” Losing her head, means it will never be whole again. In the scene you see at one part before she *flies* there are dark shadows behind her looking like wings because she is a *fallen angel* basically. Her song is the most “choir esk” due to the fact thats all she knows about herself. other then that, shes nothing... its not a Ballad its a Lament.. she *wants* to *be*, but she can’t. Jane is the most impressionable and easiest to manipulate (which the fortune dude does) *because* of this fact. This Musical is Genius...

[@alpha_tier]

And there's another song in the musical called Noel's Lament, which isn't a lament, but a ballad about Monqiue Gibeau.

[@Rivkaaaaaaa]

RED SON??

[@FandomFrenzy]

@@Rivkaaaaaaa “Noodle boy-“

[@Alienphobic]

I also want to add the fact that her flying represents the path the Cylone followed until it fell. In [ 5:14 ] due to the shadow it really looks like Jane has no head. The umbrellas the rest of the choir has have missing parts and are incomplete because Jane is incomplete herself (also [ 3:36 ] they could be saying that because although they did meet in the afterlife, not only was Jane revived but when she was dead her head was missing, so the choir was technically “incomplete”).

[@FandomFrenzy]

@@Alienphobic oooooo, I like that analysis

[@asilly-being]

Fun fact this is actual a lament and Noel's lament is actually a ballad

[@todorokis_trauma_kettle]

And the reason they’re switched is because that’s what they want to have. A lament is a song of tragedy and a ballad is a story told through song. Noel wants a tragedy and Jane wants a story to tell.

[@PrincessAsher22]

​@@todorokis_trauma_kettlejust wanted to lyk this broke my heart in a million pieces

[@JuliaRieraMezzo]

And that’s why we train classical singing, kids. What a stellar performance!

[@arandombumblebee6536]

There's something about the way Jane sings "a forgotten name" that makes her actually sound like a child And it scratches my brain but also reminds me that they were just kids...

[@Hamilgoth2002]

This audience did not give her the applause she deserved

[@runnibabbit]

people talk about how her flying is supposed to be a sort of map for the rollercoaster ride, and I don't disagree with that, but to me it also looks a lot like a doll being picked up and played with, like she's being puppeted by invisible hands

[@the_cat_switch_blade]

5:15 THE WAY SHE SAYS "is there anyone to tell me who i am" IS SO DAMN NICE TO MY EARS BRO

[@dorist4767]

PLUS UPSIDEDOWN LIKE BRO

[@prettyboring7305]

Ik right

[@entirelybonkers1916]

Also I just realized this, is Jane wearing her doll's head? That's why her face doesn't match her hands and her hair is a classic doll haircut.

[@emberwoodruff9698]

Yep! It's why she appears with a headless doll

[@Mahathemime89]

if you look at her eyes... are they full black? like that of a doll?

[@Originality_Is_Dead]

@@Mahathemime89 yep

[@spacekiddo3034]

Yeah because she lost her head in the accident

[@thattheatrenerd1418]

@@spacekiddo3034 she really replaces it with the dolls head.

[@alissasteinbach9945]

I love Jane's song the most. The fact that everyone else sang about their own desires/dreams but Jane could only sing about her anguish of having no identity. It's so hauntingly beautiful and I get the chills every time I listen to this. Also the way her voice was so clear and strong while flying through the air is so impressive, I'm in awe.

[@coyotix]

The worst thing is to be forgotten. Not to die, but to die without anyone knowing who you were or what you wanted. Penny Lamb (for those who haven’t seen the musical, Jane Doe) died an unidentifiable death. No head, no face, no one to tell anyone her name or story. This song hurts, because she seems so casual about her death and so angry about her decapitation. The lyric “If this is how I die, why be left with no family and no friends?” just goes to show that. And on top of that, she doesn’t know who she is either. No head, no memory. Afraid of being forgotten and not knowing who you are. Poor Penny.

[@XxsalemkatxX]

yeah :((( also wow your everywhere

[@coyotix]

@@XxsalemkatxX lmao i told you there is not a damn corner of this internet i haven’t touched

[@XxsalemkatxX]

@@coyotix mood

[@nathanpanusky2531]

It would be so much worse if she wasn’t decapitated, but still no one could identify her

[@a.w.istudios8702]

​@nathanpanusky2531 That's really sad

[@halzuun]

"Time eats all his children in the end" that line goes so hard

[@JoshuaEliLewis]

I remember seeing this in person and audibly gasped. I didn’t see it coming what so ever and I was so in shock through the whole number. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced sheer bewilderment in my life in that way. True theater magic at its finest!!

[@jackrosenfeld4713]

youre so lucky omg! i so wish i had gotten into this musical while it was still around:(

[@the-ecl1pse]

There is so much going on here that I need to say. I have not seen Ride the Cyclone. I do not know the plot or anything else about it. However, without any prior knowledge of this musical I still know so much of this character. The actress embodies her beautifully and her voice is so haunting. The way she's able to sing with such power without any effort visible on her face or in her body language, the way her voice doesn't waver even as she's flipping around upside down and all over the stage. The costume work and the way her skirt stays fixed to her legs as if gravity is a mere suggestion to it. The lyrics manage to tell you how absolutely heartbroken and lost Jane feels without her ever even saying it outright. This song is absolutely fucking beautiful.

[@spiritflame8806]

Absolutely this! I'd recommend the show, but do be warned that Jane has a shockingly minor presence despite being the most interesting character (to me, at least.) There are moments worth witnessing though. The tone can feel quite "whiplashy" at times, but it seems to be intentional with how vastly different each character's song and presentation is.

[@Silly-Slacker-Person]

I love how her shadows behind her looking like wings right before she 'flies'

[@tami7992]

Omg I didn't notice that until now.

[@_GreyHenry_]

i have always noticed that and i never hear anyone say anything about it. just makes her seem even more pure and lost all at once.

[@hesthers_lover1400]

SPOILER ALERT Is the fact that i just realized that that's not her head, it looks like it's a doll face because IT IS a doll face, she doesn't have her face because she lost it in the accident so she's using her doll face that was shown on the beginning that's why it's more white than her body, that's why the doll hair and the rare makeup and that's why the doll is beheaded 💀

[@g.m.9500]

also the other 2 girls dont have something around their necks for their school outfits!! note this is just a small detail i noticed heheh

[@artemis8083]

I just realized when she says "Like John and me" she's not talking about the Saint, she's talking about John Doe.

[@Sara.Miller.]

considering the story behind St John (I'm guessing John the baptist, IDK much about religious stories) it could be, as they both lost their heads and Jane's song definitely has some religious undertones (soul, the way it sounds like a christian funeral song, St. Peter ETC.)

[@scoliosis_core2455]

I think it’s probably just meant to have a double meaning

[@freddieday651]

Jane Doe is the name given to unidentified deceased females and when she referred to "John" in the song it has to do with the name unidentified deceased males are given which is John Smith. They are the universal names given to anyone unknown, just something common.

[@Ghostie_boi567]

@@freddieday651 I thought it was Jane Doe and John Doe not Jane Doe and John Smith

[@vexusmorpheus932]

@@freddieday651 I was taught it was John & Jane Doe...

[@DeafeningLight]

I haven’t seen anyone mention that her climbing “Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh”s matched with her arm gestures is the ride climbing (either the high before the drop to the loop, or the initial part of the loop before they hit the apex and derailed). The descending “Aah” is the scream and derailment - it sounds almost carnival-like, but also mimics that they were spinning as they fell. Then when the mourners join for her second chorus of oohs and aahs (which is also the sound one makes when looking at something impressive, like a cool rollercoaster!) they mimic but change the movements slightly. Covering their faces as it descends, not wanting to see the accident.

[@gundoc305]

Another cool thing is that I think the ways she flys and spins around is how the rollercoaster went, and all of the high notes are her screams

[@hurricanetortilla8389]

girl demolished the song in the best way possible and got the wimpiest applause what

[@Flanexia]

At the time it was a very small musical, the audience wasnt necessarily whimsey, it was just very small, and there werent a lot of people watching

[@justforfunentertainment7076]

At least we got a good clip without loud echoes from the crowd?

[@soffi07]

it find it funny it's called a "ballad" because a ballad a poem that tells a story, and Jane doesn't have a story to tell, this would be more of a lament and another thing, noel's lament is actually a ballad, since a lament is a passionate expression of grief and pain, but noel didn't actually experienced pain. he told a poem, a ballad jane wanted to tell a story, while noel wanted pain. idk if it makes sense

[@IrregularityRowan]

The Ballad of Noel Gruber and Jane Doe's Lament

[@EpicG1rl88]

Ballads where usually wrote anonymously which makes sense for Jane doe’s song to be titled the ballad of Jane doe.

[@anomaliecosmos]

Interesting bit of irony! Clever enough that I wouldn't be surprised if that was intentional...

[@stormy.cloudz]

I saw somewhere that Noel wants a lament, he wants passion. And Jane wants a ballad, she wants a story.

[@SkeledogX3]

Noel's greif and pain comes from never being able to live a life he wishes he could and dying with no sort of name to him, he wanted an interesting life where he could make an impact on others. ("Like him, I wish to burn out. Rather than fade away.") He died before he could even really live.

[@ethanbaker873]

This is a small detail, but in most of the time when actors play creepy characters they choose not to blink for long periods of time to make them look dead inside. Jane blinks excessively, it’s probably because those contacts are super uncomfortable and also since she has a dolls head the only thing scarier than a doll not blinking is a doll blinking a lot.

[@ttintagel]

Yeah, it reminded me of those dolls with the eyes that blink whenever you move their heads. Very spooky!

[@justdoodles9906]

I’m very glad she got picked. She deserved to live life to the fullest, for all of them.

[@opmad5593]

But I was always so confused about that- she had no head... Doesn't reanimation have limits?

[@Dr.Armchair]

@@opmad5593not reanimation! Reincarnation to another, new life

[@opmad5593]

@@Dr.Armchair oh my gosh... now everything makes so much sense. Why it's in set the future a bit, why he was able to "learn" her name all of the sudden! THANK YOU!!

[@justsojaded6776]

@@opmad5593a lot of different versions of this musical have different ideas of whether it’s reanimation or reincarnation but yeah I agree

[@reashark3987]

4:09 oceans face is so depressed here. while shes being controlled by karnak, she still shows how bad she feels for jane. out of everything in the second half of the musical this is the moment where her character changes

[@michelle.b9224]

She even moves in character!! There's this tim burton-y quality to her every movement... The professionalism is just *chef's kiss*

[@lukescutt1]

If the make rtc into a film I think Tim burton should direct and Emily Rohm to reprise her role as Jane doe

[@michelle.b9224]

​@@lukescutt1 omgg the idea of rtc getting a tim burton movie excites me way too much- ahdhajshqjjsjdjfjf

[@kaleidoscopicc9155]

live laugh emily rohm

[@sillyperson1610]

@@kaleidoscopicc9155yes😍😍😍

[@edsheerenstoes]

@@michelle.b9224 MISA PFP

[@Cj-lk6jp]

one thing i've noticed about jane's character is that she remembers nothing of her life but her death. as she was on that rollercoaster and it started to malfunction, she realized three things. one: she was going to die. two: she was going to die alone and forgotten. "and i'm asking why, lord/ if this is how i die, lord/ why be left with no family and no friends" three: the 'consolation' mentioned in the song of time eating all his children in the end. eventually, everyone was going to be like her- gone and forgotten. "i've got no celebration/ just this consolation/ time eats all his children in the end". this is just my interpretation and what i've noticed in the song, and it all adds up to how heartbreaking of a character jane doe is.

[@angelajetskie2980]

"And i'm askin...WHY LORDDD IF THIS HOW I DIE LORRDDD" Gives me chills I love it so much

[@sukanyagilling]

sammmeeeeeeeeeee

[@queenofsiam1183]

Really puts into perspective how sad all the John and Jane Doe cases really are

[@betsyb]

if anyone doesn’t know the context, this musical is about six teenagers who died in a rollercoaster accident and are now in a competition in limbo to vote on who will be the one brought back to life. this character, referred to as jane doe, lost her head in the accident and nobody came to identify her body. nobody, not even her, has any memory of who she was.

[@tillyurboi]

ty!! i wanted to get into this musical but wanted to know the summary first

[@lazykiwi272]

At 3:07 as she she sings the two behind her look like people who were watching her fall, and her singing goes down, they cover their eyes, as if to block the sight of her hitting the ground. Nice touch.

[@ManceAdventures]

I love when the whole cast is singing and you can just hear Noel's voice louder in some scenes where he like overtakes everyone minus Jane 😭 I love Noel so much 🫶

[@Whyworry_at_all]

LMAO this is why I listen to the live version his voice is so loud/pos

[@Byssa6]

The “just John and me” line is pretty clever (spoilers for number 3) 1. A Jane Doe in an unidentified female, and John Doe is the male equivalent 2. Saint John was a baptist who was famously beheaded 3. Johnny Moon from Legoland, who’s idolized by Jane’s past self and/or reincarnation, Penny.

[@sami-cw3jr]

This is very interesting! I was aware of the first fact but not the other two.

[@josephsherby]

It’s possible I’m wrong, but I thought that she was Penny before dying, not after reincarnation.

[@Byssa6]

@@josephsherby oh yeah I forgot which one

[@freddieperkins6953]

As great as the show is, Jane and Karnak just make me realise how badly i wish the whole musical was in this creepy victorian carnival style

[@MariaEduardaMendonca8]

Rightttt these two nust scratch the right part of the brain in such a delicious way, the vibes are just perfect with them! This kind of creepy, ethereal thing.

[@mistahchad220]

SAME, it was actually Jane Doe that got me to check out this musical in the first place! I initially thought that with the introduction + description of death that the whole theming of this was going to be "cast of creepy carnies tell you about their oddly fitting/ironic deaths at the carnival they worked at", with Jane being just /one/ of many spooks. All the same, I adored Ride the Cyclone. These kids made me bawl my eyes out LOL

[@fishfoo]

there are some productions that take it more in that direction! thats definitely how id direct it if i ever were to.

[@carmellikirstenecaranum2520]

how can her voice be so angelic and yet so powerful..

[@glibbergloop]

Extremely well executed vocal technique. She uses all the best parts of her voice instrument and has almost eliminated the suboptimal things

[@WeatherInOrlando]

Just one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs I've ever heard sung by an incredibly talented performer and the crowd goes mild for it

[@weebofakind2516]

Throughout the whole thing the audience is so mild it’s so annoying 🥲

[@gforcegrassy]

it was like a run through, search 'ride the cyclone slime tutorial' and you'll find the whole musical, including this.

[@Taco_cat_eater]

I love how in the start of the 2 minute time mark, the high note represents her going up the roller coaster and how her voice goes down is her falling while it was crashing