Before they brought us to the land of Oz, The Speakeasy Society spent four years bringing us into the mind of Johnny, a solider during the first World War trapped in his own mind in THE JOHNNY CYCLE. The original show was in presented in three parts, and though I only saw the final one, it was truly incredible.

Now, THE JOHNNY CYCLE returns in a re-imagining of the piece, combining all three parts into one epic, multi-tracked, immersive adventure.

For those who have not seen it, the show is inspired by Dalton Trumbo’s novel novel “Johnny Got His Gun,” along with several other historical sources. The audience is each cast in the role of Johnny, a solider who loses his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and limbs on the battlefront – but is “saved” by modern technology. Because of this, Johnny is the living dead and his (and our) existence is only bound by the limits of the human mind.

Set among the gorgeous backdrop of the Mountain View Mausoleum, the audience will traverse memories, dreams, emotional and real battlefields, coming in contact with a multitude of characters. They will revisit childhood loves, family members, war room generals, soldiers, nurses, and even major religious figures–each character playing their role, intentionally or not, in sending our hero, embodied by the audience, to his destiny as he desperately struggles to be heard. The living and the dead have voices–but Johnny is trapped in between.

The Speakeasy Society has a long history with this show (which you can read on in our interview with them, reflecting back on their five years of production), and it is one that is truly not to be missed.

This iteration of the show is being crowdfunded on IndieGoGo, which you can still help out at here. Crowdfunding donor perks also include behind the scenes tours, VIP ticket access with exclusive content, and cast meet and greets.

The Johnny Cycle runs Thursdays through Saturdays Aug 22-Sept 21 at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $125, and are on sale now at: speakeasysociety.com/the-johnny-cycle