THE RIDE...INTERACTIVE PLAY

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 4:00pm

Has anyone ever gone to this? This is sort of a moving play on a huge vehicle that goes thru Times Square and sounding area. I got a couple of tickets for this Friday and am wondering if it is worth it?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 5:15pm

Let us know.

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 5:18pm

http://www.experiencetheride.com/

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 5:18pm

Updated On: 10/27/10 at 05:18 PM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 5:38pm

I went on one for the first test runs and had a blast. Things were bumpy but I know that a lot has changed since then.

It is not so much a play as an interactive ride through the theatre district. Plus the bus is souped up beyond belief and it is really cool to ride sideways and watch the city.

totally worth the ride if you can snag tickets!

[CapnHook]

Posted: 10/27/10 at 10:41pm

I, too, was a trial test rider. It's SO worth it!

I laughed. I sang. I danced. I cried. Yes, I cried. I smiled. I thoroughly enjoyed myself!

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 10/29/10 at 7:23pm

So my 17 year old son and I went on this today and WE HAD A PHENOMENAL TIME....Such fun, we really didn't stop laughing and gawking at all the people in the street. Great idea and I think it will catch on with all. If you have a couple of hours try it, you'll like it!

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 10/29/10 at 7:23pm

Another double post! Updated On: 10/29/10 at 07:23 PM

[stevenycguy]

Posted: 10/29/10 at 11:55pm

What is the running time? Telecharge says 75 minutes but someone said "a couple hours" below?

[dave1606]

Posted: 10/30/10 at 12:44am

I did a test run focus group for this and honestly thought it was pretty bad. It is NOT an interactive play. It is a tour bus with lame dialogue from the two hosts. The random peopele spread throughout the ride is definitely a neat concept, but then we get bogged down with some awful love story involving two people we don't know. It was lame and really took away from what could have just been a fun tour.

The bus is awesome though! I just wish it didn't speak in a HAL-esque voice. It really sells it self just by driving you around. I don't know how much changed, but there is NO WAY I would pay $65 for it.

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 10/30/10 at 10:10am

In rush hour traffic it took us around 15 minutes longer, so the actually ride was 90 minutes....don't take a couple of hours so literally.

[NuMystic]

Posted: 10/31/10 at 2:32am

I agree wholeheartedly with an "interactive play" being a completely inappropriate label. That said, I totally enjoyed it for what it is; an interactive guided bus tour with improvisational comedy both on and outside along the tour route.

Can't say whether it's changed or evolved significantly since Dave experienced it, but myself, my wife and seemingly everyone else on our bus had a blast.

Worth $60? Depends.

When you compare the fact that you can see an excellent discounted bway show for that, it comes up short.

That said, when you compare it to other professional sightseeing bus tours which run ~$40 for a driver and single guide, it's more than worth it with a cast of 14+ performers by my rough count, and a bus unlike any other you're likely to ever step into.

So as an evening of "theater" it's not going to deliver, but if you have ever considered taking a paid bus tour, or might consider doing so when friends visit from out of town I can wholeheartedly recommend spending the extra 20 bucks for a much more unique ride.

Was 90 minutes for us as well.

[rgdave]

Posted: 11/3/10 at 11:12pm

A friend and I did it this evening. We had a blast! We fit into the 'jaded New Yorkers who wouldn't be caught dead on a tour bus' category. (We went because we scored a pair of free tix.) Yes, the banter between the two actors on the bus is a little cheesy, and I wish 'The Ride' (the recorded banter that the 'bus' itself gives back) was a little more HAL (2001). But that's almost irrelevant filler. The real show is what happens between the bus and the street.

People on the street are waving at the bus. In New York. And not just the tourists. New Yorkers are waving at the damn thing. And then there are the street vignettes that the producers of the bus have staged along the way. Most are really entertaining, and all come as a complete surprise. It's all ramped up because the passersby on the street don't know what's happening, and they're also entertained by The Ride performers on the street who are playing to the bus. My favorites were the "UPS guy" in brown break dancing on the sidewalk (and they've even given him a cart with cardboard boxes that he walks off with as the bus moves on), the rapper who sings as he follows the bus down a full block (he's mic'd, and what he's singing is piped into the bus), and the two dancers doing a pas de deux in Columbus Circle. (That isn't a spoiler --- a pic of the dancers is on 'The Ride' website.) And as The Ride comes back through Times Square, the bus pipes "New York, New York" through outside speakers. Us riders inside were singing out hearts out, and people on the street were gawking, with some waving back and forth to the music and even a few high kicking to it.

No, it isn't a play. But it's pretty fabulous and fun. My friend and I commented to reach other as we got off the bus about what a great time we had. Before I did it, I couldn't imagine that it could be worth $65. But then you see the number of performers involved, and the incredible coordination to pull it off (not to mention our ear to ear smiles, something my theater compansion and I haven't had in months coming out of theaters), I think it's worth every penny.

[ken8631]

Posted: 2/16/11 at 11:04am

Thanks for the reviews. Next time I see free tickets I'll go for it.....