Congratulations Get Rich: All that Glitters isn't Gold

La Boite’s Congratulations Get Rich is ambitious, bold, and bursting at the seams. Best described as a kind of theatrical brain dump, the work embraces a “more is more” approach - karaoke interludes, narrative sidebars and enough exposition to fill a tv-miniseries are all crammed into ninety minutes. The result is a dizzying narrative rollercoaster that rarely slows down. Giving the audience a sensation of being swept up in chaos rather than guided through a journey.

It's central message, about breaking cycles of intergenerational suicide do eventually rise to the surface but are mainly addressed in the final twenty minutes. Leaving the bulk of the show consumed by asides that neither deepen character nor sharpen theme. In fact, the first half of the work could almost be shuffled in any order with little consequence.

This central theme was also handled with troubling brevity. Without interrogating causes, warning signs, or the immense weight of the topic, what should be devastating revelations felt both desensitised and confused. Especially for a story focused on cycles of loss, it’s striking that neither Mandy nor her mother are ever given the chance to fully articulate the unspeakable pain of losing two generations of women to suicide.  

Where the play does provide relief is in its theatricality. The movement sequences are some of the production’s most striking, particularly in camp, supernatural moments that lean into choreography with undeniably entertaining flair. Performers Seong Hui Xuan and Kimie Tsukakoshi take the lead here as brilliant comedic actors who can land a laugh and belt out a tune all at the same time. However, this was at the expense of forging an emotional connection with the audience and created another layer of distance between characters, infringing on their development.  

In the end, Congratulations Get Rich is undeniably energetic and full of ideas—but also overstuffed, unfocused, and unwilling to sit in the complexity of its own themes. There’s a powerful play buried inside it somewhere. It just hasn’t been unearthed yet.