REVIEW: Vibrant, Satirical Chicago Sends Up Celebrity Justice (Latté Da) Arts Dance Music Theatre by Basil Considine - September 23, 2019October 8, 2019 Britta Ollmann and Michelle de Joya in Theater Latté Da’s production of Chicago. Photo by Dan Norman. You never know what you’re going to get with Ebb, Fosse, and Kander’s musical Chicago. Some productions are downright joyful, some are dark, and others morbid. Theater Latté Da’s new production, which opened last night at the Ritz Theater in Minneapolis, whacks the satire button with a hammer and then machineguns it for good measure. If the goal was to highlight parallels between the show’s plot and contemporary’s celebrity justice injustices, director Peter Rothstein has indubitably succeeded. Whether or not this vision factored into the rather limp, overly slow opening isn’t clear. However, the song tempos in Chicago generally got faster as the evening went by, which suggests that this may be a temporary issue as the show settles in. More of a lasting concern are the many ensemble excursions into the audience, most of which feel so brief that they’re perfunctory. Latté Da’s recent Hedwig production used this interaction well, to great imminent and dynamic effect. This time, however, it’s generally more distracting than engaging in this production. A device that works better are the on-stage seats, which are definitely where it’s at and the best seats in the theatre. Choose your seat wisely and you can practically stare down into the pit and see music director Denise Prosek and the rest of the pit quintet in a whirlwind of work. Britta Ollmann (cetner-left) and Robert O. Berdahl (center-right) as Roxie Hart, a celebrity murder client of the greasy lawyer Billy Flynn. Photo by Dan Norman. The dueling female leads in this production are Britta Ollmann (as Roxie Hart) and Michelle de Joya (as Velma Kelly). Ollmann slings biting zingers like nobody’s business, and de Joya shines especially in the growing desperation of “I Can’t Do It Alone”. A steal-the-show performance is delivered by Reed Sigmund as Amos Hart, Roxie’s much-taken-advantage of husband. Sigmund’s “Mister Cellophane” will make you tear up and reminds you that, yes, there are real people caught up in the devastation and repercussions of celebrity justice. If that’s an argument for making musicals resonate with contemporary events, this is a winning one. Roxie Hart (Britta Ollman, right) makes her opinions known as only bullets can. Photo by Dan Norman. — Theater Latté Da’s production of Chicago runs through November 3 at the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis. About Latest Posts Basil ConsidineBasil Considine was the Editor of the Twin Cities Arts Reader from 2018-2022. He served as Performing Arts Editor and Senior Classical Music and Drama Critic for the Arts Reader's first five years, before succeeding Hanne Appelbaum. He was previously the Resident Classical Music and Drama Critic at the Twin Cities Daily Planet and remains an occasional contributing writer for The Boston Musical Intelligencer and The Chattanoogan. He holds a PhD in Music and Drama from Boston University, an MTS in Sacred Music from the BU School of Theology, and a BA in Music and Theatre from the University of San Diego. Basil was named one of Musical America's 30 Professionals of the Year in 2017. He was previously the Regional Governor for the National Opera Association's North Central Region and the 2021-2022 U.S. Fulbright Faculty Scholar to Madagascar. Latest posts by Basil Considine (see all) REVIEW: Moving, Funny, Striking English (Guthrie Theater) - July 22, 2024 REVIEW: The Time for Newsies is Now (Artistry) - July 21, 2024 PREVIEW: Behind the Story – Before Out of the Box Opera’s Suor Angelica - June 24, 2024 Share on Facebook Share Share on TwitterTweet