A major new entertainment experience got rolling Sept. 30th with the launch of THE RIDE, a new multimedia production that moves you through midtown Manhattan on custom-built vehicles, while an ever-changing show featuring actors, performers, and everyday citizens unfolds on the streets before you. THE RIDE operates year-round from its home base at the New York Marriott Marquis in the heart of Times Square (1535 Broadway btw. 45th & 46th Sts.).
THE RIDE draws on a variety of creative talents from New York City who provide a delightfully wry, satirical, and ultimately loving look at the city in all its fabulous, unvarnished glory. Created by Brooklyn-based director, designer and entertainment entrepreneur Michael Counts, THE RIDE features a script by award-winning writer and producer John Bobey (Late Night With David Letterman, Saturday Night Live), and writers Kim Gamble (The Colbert Report) and Jack Helmuth (May the Best Man Win).
Equipped with stadium-style seating that orients riders sideways to look through massive windows, the vehicles encourage you to view city streets and building façades as if they were the most expensive and authentic sets ever built. On-board hosts entertain and comment on New York’s history and its iconic sites and structures, while also incorporating actors and performers along the route who interact with the vehicle and its passengers.
“Finally, a game-changer has arrived in New York entertainment,” says THE RIDE President and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Danforth. “This is a completely immersive, completely original creation that puts a spin on the way people experience New York by turning the city into an ever-evolving performance.”
Performers on THE RIDE vehicles, and those posted along its 4.2-mile route, are drawn from the worlds of stand-up and improvisational comedy, ensuring a unique experience on every trip, and guaranteeing entertainment even when traffic, weather, visiting dignitaries, or other unexpected things tie up city traffic.
Nothing in New York is spared from THE RIDE’s comedic send-ups, from traffic and tiny apartments to Wall Street executives and the food-cart vendors who feed them. Surprise guests and characters show up unexpectedly along the route. Iconic New York sites east and west are featured too -- from the Chrysler Building and Grand Central Terminal to Times Square and Columbus Circle.
“THE RIDE is about experiencing the fabric of New York -- honestly and unflinchingly -- through the eyes of talented and truly funny people who love the city and its history, and who have chosen to be life-long residents here,” says company founder Michael Counts.
THE RIDE vehicles provide entertainment on their own -- inside and out. Measuring more than 13 feet high, 45 feet long, and eight feet wide, the custom-built vehicles encompass millions of dollars of custom seating, audio, video, and wireless technology that together provide mindboggling environments to enhance both the external vistas and the content of each performance. Powerful directional speakers and exterior lighting allows on-board performers to make everyone on the street part of the experience.
“The fun and magic of THE RIDE is the interaction between the riders and people on the street,” says writer/director Bobey. “People smile, wave, blow kisses, and, well...other things happen too.”
Engineers from LDV Bus Converter Company who designed and built THE RIDE vehicles say they met the challenge by reshaping and “amping up” rock-star-size tour buses, developing custom fiberglass molds so unique, three are now patented.
Above and beyond the technical wizardry designed to wow riders and spectators alike, CEO Jonathan Danforth says THE RIDE’s unique perspective on New York -- and the people who make it come alive -- will indelibly bond you with the world’s greatest city.
ickets are available three ways: online at experiencetheride.com; by phone at 866-299-9682; and in person at THE RIDE Box office located at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel (1535 Broadway btw. 45th & 46th Sts.).
For more information on THE RIDE, visit experiencetheride.com.
