ROLLING THUNDER Off-Broadway Partners With THE BEAST
Riders will be able to experience the ride set to a playlist of the greatest hits of the 60’s and 70’s featured in Rolling Thunder.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Aug. 14, 2025
The Off-Broadway rock musical Rolling Thunder has partnered with the jet-powered speedboat thrill ride The BEAST and will initiate Rolling Thunder Thursdays at the new Downtown BEAST location at Pier 16 in the Historic Seaport District. For the 5pm, 6pm, and 7pm cruises on Thursdays, August 21st and 28th, riders will be able to experience the ride set to a playlist of the greatest hits of the 60’s and 70’s featured in Rolling Thunder, including “Born to Be Wild,” “Magic Carpet Ride,” “Bridge over Troubled Water,” “Gimme Shelter,” and more!
Riders on those voyages will also have a chance to win tickets to see the show. The series will kick off with a special cast preview ride on Monday, August 18th.
The BEAST rocks down the Hudson and East River at 40 knots (45 mph) departing from Pier 83 and Pier 16, the 70 foot long, 1, 400 horsepower speedboat blasts down the New York Harbor delivering a splash-filled, adrenaline pumping journey to the Statue of Liberty. Along the way, riders experience wild turns and fun-all set to pounding music and NYC-style comedy from the crew. In just 30 minutes, The BEAST transforms New York’s sightseeing experience into a full-blown rush.
Part rock concert, part documentary Rolling Thunder is a musical journey which tells the heartfelt stories based young soldiers caught in the abyss of the Vietnam War and the galvanizing protest movement that sought to end it. The show brings together legendary songs of the period with the raw and potent storytelling inspired by actual Vietnam veterans and their families including the draft, combat, civil rights movement, and their homecoming.
The cast includes Drew Becker, Cassadee Pope, Justin Matthew Sargent, Daniel Yearwood, Courtnee Carter and Deon’te Goodman. Understudies for this production are Ethan Hardy Benson and Erin Ramirez.
Tickets for the special Rolling Thunder Thursday Rock Nights on the BEAST are available now at thebeastnyc.com or at the Circle Line Box Office at Pier 16.
