Minnetonka Theatre Presents 'Chicago'

Tickets sold out so quickly for first-ever Student Summer Stock performance of "Chicago" that two dates have been added. 

Tickets are available for Wednesday, Aug, 17, at 10 am and Thursday, Aug. 18, at 7:30 pm.  Seating is very limited for all of the performances because they take place in the Art Center on 7's Studio Theatre with only 100 seats. At each of the shows, a handful of tickets will be releases at the door one hour prior to each performance. 

This production of "Chicago" is the result of an open invitation for students from throughout the Twin Cities to join a Minnetonka High School-based company of performers. For six weeks, the 45 member cast and crew (including students from Hopkins, Bloomington, Orono and Eden Prairie) were immersed in theatre production, working to develop and strengthen their performance and technical skills.

“We like to think of our summer stock as a high-energy, theatrical ‘boot camp’ for high school actors,” said director Trent Boyum about the summer intensive program. “Our goal is to give students from diverse backgrounds and experiences a chance to learn from each other and work together to put on a high caliber performance.”

About Chicago
The musical Chicago is true story originally written by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, who was assigned to cover the 1924 trials of murderesses Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner for the Chicago Tribune. Watkins' sensational columns documenting these trials proved so popular that she decided to write a play based on them. The show received both popular and critical acclaim and was later made into a Hollywood movie titled Roxie Hart that starred Ginger Rogers.

In the 1960s, Gwen Verdon asked her husband, Bob Fosse, about the possibility of creating a musical adaptation. John Kander and Fred Ebb began work on the musical score, modeling each song on a traditional vaudeville number or performer. This format made explicit the show's comparison between the power of the press, the court system, show-business, and contemporary society.

The Minnetonka Theatre Chicago cast
Velma Kelly: Katherine Fried
Roxie Hart: Emilee Hassanzadeh
Billy Flynn: Eric Sargent
Amos Hart: Matt Sumners
Matron "Mama" Morton: Erika Wichmann
Mary Sunshine: J. Lahammer
Hunyak: Steph Hanson
Mona: Abbie Leone
Liz: Heidi Boulden
Annie: Ellen Schwartz
June: Maddie Garces
Go to hell Kitty: Lily Wilson
Fred Casley: Tom Guyn
The Judge & Sergeant Fogerty: Will Hoverman
Clerk/Bailiff: Gabe Sell
Martin Harrison & Harry: Ryan Fargo

Dance Captains: Ryan Fargo, Steph Hanson

The Chicago Ensemble: Kaitlyn Anglum, Isabella Barberena, Portia Bartley, Sophie Carlson, Mallory Du Bois, Olivia Hoff-Golmen, Kela Jankowski, Gillian Molland, Rachel Molland, Giselle Montminy and Shelby Nyman.

Fact Sheet
Show: Chicago
Tickets: $10, general admission
Produced by: Minnetonka Theatre’s Student Summer Stock
Directed by: Trent Boyum
Minnetonka Theatre Artistic Director: R. Kent Knutson
Location: Arts Center on 7, Studio Theatre
Box Office: 952.401.5898 or online at www.minnetonkatheatre.com
Minnetonka High School Campus
               18285 Highway 7 (Corner of Hwy 7 and 101)
               Minnetonka, MN 55345