“Mamma Mia!” is a jukebox musical classic by Catherine Johnson and based on songs composed by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of the Swedish band ABBA.
The story takes place on the fictional Greek island of Kalokairi and follows Sophie (freshman Eliana Law) as she tries to figure out which of three men—Harry (junior Teddy Dodd), Bill (junior Calvin Davidson) and Sam (senior Linus Nielsen-Mathews)—is her father so he can walk her down the aisle for her wedding.
In a note in the program, theater director Miller Shor described the musical as a respite from the current political situation, which often feels hopeless. Certainly, the show is bursting with joy, which is especially apparent in the music and dance. A live orchestra played for this production, directed by orchestra director Dan Valdez. The upbeat, high-energy music paired with emotional choreography to produce a fun and memorable night.
“It was a pretty dance-heavy show,” sophomore Ella Wagar, a principal dancer, said. “It was really fun to incorporate the disco moves from the ‘70s.”
Choreographer Natalya Czosnyka worked with the actors to help build the story through its dance numbers.
“She has very interesting choreography,” freshman Eliana Law, who played Sophie, said. “She always has a reason for everything.”
One example of Czosnyka’s intentional choreography can be found in “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight),” in which Sophie’s three possible fathers end up in her bachelorette party.
“We talked a lot about how it showcases female power because it kind of switches the perspective,” Wagar said. “Like, a lot of the time guys are the ones making girls uncomfortable, and we talked a lot about how now girls are in a position of power where we can make the three dads uncomfortable.”
Aside from the music and dance, the costumes also reflected the high-energy nature of the show. Most of the costumes were relatively minimalistic, speaking of summer in Greece and the perfect white wedding that Sophie dreams about. However, these are contrasted with a few very maximalist, sparkly outfits which reflected the disco dance and music, including the costumes worn by Donna, Rosie and Tanya (senior Natalie McManus) during “Super Trooper” and by the whole cast in “Waterloo.”
The set, like the costumes, contrasted a simple blue-and-white color palette and floral decorations with some flashier elements that highlighted the energy of the music and dance, including a disco ball which was lowered at times.
Throughout the show, there were multiple moments where the audience was brought into the show. During “Money, Money, Money,” fake dollar bills rained down on the audience, and during “Take a Chance on Me,” Davidson and sophomore Ciana Johnson, in their roles as Bill and Rosie, ran through the aisles. This further contributed to audience engagement and kept the show exciting.
Another way that the show kept up the energy was with physical comedy in much of the acting, particularly in “Does Your Mother Know?” where senior Ryan de Forest, as Pepper, shared the stage with McManus. The strong personalities of the characters came through perfectly through the skilled acting of both de Forest and McManus.
Pepper as a character was much more notable in this stage production than in the movie, in large part because of de Forest’s comedic acting. The stage production also does more to develop Donna’s relationship with Sam, largely through the inclusion of some musical numbers not in the movie.
“I think the actual stage musical is better,” Law said. “It also incorporates more of the original songs of ABBA.”
Since ABBA’s music is such a defining part of “Mamma Mia!,” the inclusion of more of their music is a plus for the stage musical.
This show was a fun escape from the world, and it meant a lot to many, including Wagar.
“‘Mamma Mia!’ is probably one of my favorite musicals,” Wagar said. “It means a lot to me, to me and my mom specifically, because I remember watching the movie when I was really young,”
This musical, as well as the movie adaptation and the music that features so prominently in both, has brought comfort to many for so long, and in light of recent issues it did the same for this school.
