RIDE THE CYCLONE, asap

Quick, my Toronto readers, pick up the phone or go to your computers and book to see "Ride the Cyclone," at Theatre Passe-Muraille. Though it may already be completely sold out. This summer, when I spoke with my friend Janet Wright after her star turn in "Grapes of Wrath" at Stratford, she told me to be sure to see the show. Her son Jacob Richmond is the writer and co-director.

And what an extraordinary talent he is and has. It's a superbly imaginative production - about a choir of high school students from a small Saskatchewan town who die one night on a roller coaster and come back for one last concert, to sing about their own lives. The music goes from gospel to hip hop to a pure Kurt Weil. I saw it with my daughter Anna, who's a hip 30, and she loved it too. A true inter-generational masterpiece. I'm sure it will end up in New York, and you know my theatrical predictions - "War Horse," "Jerusalem" - almost always come true. So see it locally, now, I urge you.

Before the show, Anna and I had dinner at the Epicure nearby; what joy to see my daughter eat. She has always had a hearty appetite, unusual in a young woman from our society - once on a dinner date, she told her beau she was sure she could eat more than he could, and she did. But she has been afflicted with terrible morning sickness for many weeks, almost unable to keep down water, let alone anything else. It has finally passed, and she ate with gusto, looking - yes, radiant, so extremely beautiful. Inside her is my grandchild, a little bigger, now, than a peach. We love you, little peach. I hope you too enjoyed the show.