Art Hounds: Life, death and roller coasters

Prop maker Brooke Nelson recommends seeing the musical “Ride the Cyclone” at the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis. The story begins when six teenagers die in a gruesome roller coaster accident; they find themselves in limbo and must compete for the opportunity to return to life. Nelson says the show is a funny, touching look at what it means to value your life while you have it. Performances run through Oct. 20.

Theater artist Paul Coate took his family to New Prague, Minn., to check out Daleko Arts production “Ghost Tour.” The audience takes a walking tour of downtown Daleko’s haunted history, only to have it hilariously interrupted by a series of mishaps. Coate enjoyed the combination of walking about a small town while laughing heartily. Performances run through Oct. 12.

As the director of the emergency medicine department in an east metro hospital, Richelle Jader says she’s thrilled to see a theater production that features the lives and work of small-town first responders. Population 485 is based on the book of the same name, and is inspired by Michael Perry’s experiences working as a volunteer firefighter in New Auburn, Wis. Performances run through Sept. 29 at The Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, Wis.

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