MY ANTONIA
Theater Latte Da

"The music simply drifts across that expansive, endless prairie we have all constructed in our imaginations. This is a true tapestry musical, with a relentless ensemble where each performer takes on multiple characters, weaving their individual voices together to tell a singular, unified story of a life well lived. Structurally, the set design is a marvel of minimalism: a series of reconfigured coat trees that transform into everything from a makeshift dressing room for the always-present troupe to a humble Christmas tree and a bountiful orchard. The production intentionally leaves it up to the audience to see the horse and buggy, the beds, and the stoves so lovingly detailed in the text."

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Jerrod Sumner, Minnesota Monthly

 

"While every performer impresses with their multiple characters, you’ll rarely find three actors passing off a character from one stage of life to another as seamlessly as do Lillian Hochman, Sara Masterson and Emily Gunyou Halaas. Also deserving of kudos are the memorable characterizations of Sally Wingert and Em Adam Rosenberg, the simple yet imaginatively employed set of Benjamin Olsen, Sarah Bahr’s costumes and the high-energy choreography of Joey Miller."

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Rob Hubbard, St. Paul Pioneer Press​

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"Benjamin Olsen's set is composed of blonde wood benches and tables, frequently rearranged to form kitchens, railroad cars, and other locations, with a surrounding background of boards of different shades and textures, natural and processed lumber, fitted together like the assemblage of rough and polished individuals that created Ántonia's world."

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Arthur Dorman, Talkin' Broadway

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"The use of the stage was one of the most impressive parts of the production. Benjamin Olsen’s scenic design made the Ritz Theater feel much bigger than it is, almost like the prairie was stretching out in front of us."

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Rachel Engstrom, Eden Prairie Daily News

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"From there the story continues, the actors rarely leaving the stage, sitting on benches on the side watching if not in the scene, grabbing clothes (practical but chic prairie skirts, working clothes, and boots) and props from a dozen simple and graceful wooden coat racks. Set pieces are minimal, just a handful of long wooden benches, a higher bar, and a table, moved around to represent a bed, or a car, or a horse. The stage of the Ritz Theater is open to its beautiful historic walls, with a patchwork panel that evokes the prairies in our imaginations."

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Jill Schafer, Cherry & Spoon

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"At the Ritz Theater, the stage resembles an open barn, spare yet inviting and furnished with movable benches and coat racks. Ensemble members flow in and out of multiple roles, their shared labor mirroring the production’s larger faith in collaboration. Even in stillness, they remain visible, seated in silhouette along the edges of the stage like witnesses to memory itself."

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Rohan Preston, Minnesota Star Tribune