“Mamma Mia!” has captivated audiences for years with its appealing plot and iconic score by Swedish pop group ABBA. The jukebox musical opened on Broadway in 2001, and eventually, high schools started performing the popular show. Now, the production is hitting the ETHS stage for the first time.
“Mamma Mia!” takes place over one summer in Kalokairi, Greece when a young girl, Sophie Sheridan (played by freshman Sasha Weyeneth in the ETHS production), gets married at the hotel that her mother, Donna (senior Emilia De La Torre), owns. Sophie does not know who her father is, but wants him to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day. After reading her mother’s diary, she discovers that she has three potential fathers and invites all of them to the wedding.
In addition to being an audience favorite, the cast loves the show as well.
Weyeneth, who will be playing Sophie, says, “To be able to work with so many wonderful people has been super fulfilling for me. Everyone is working so hard to make this show amazing.”
While the cast memorizes their lines, the crew works behind the scenes to make sure the musical looks and sounds great.
“The crew has been hard at work building the set, making props and costumes, as well as designing the lights and sound for the show,” comments David Polish, the show’s stage manager. “Everything you see other than the acting and orchestra has been made possible by this talented group of stage crew members.”
Musicals can bring on different challenges than plays. On top of acting, the director of the show, ETHS theater teacher Timothy Herbert, says that directors have to focus on many other components, such as the timing of underscoring (background music), microphones and making sure everyone properly fits on stage. Despite these challenges, musicals can be incredibly rewarding.
“I’ve always thought that the musical is the way for all of the fine arts to come together in visual art,” says Herbert. Musicals allow people to blend their many talents for singing, dancing and acting together.
This show is definitely one to look forward to. The joyful, summery ambience of “Mamma Mia!” is something that makes it so well loved, and it’s part of the reason that it was chosen as this year’s musical.
Herbert comments, “Really, the goal was to create joy.”
“Mamma Mia!” will last about 2 and a half hours, with an intermission. It will be playing in the upstairs theater April 17th-19th and April 24th-26th.
Tickets can be purchased on the ETHS Theatre website.
