The Drama Department’s spring musical “Mamma Mia” made ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” song lyrics stand true, as members of the audience danced, jived and had the time of their lives watching the show. It was performed March 15, 16, 22 and 23 at the Performing Arts Center.
The production used songs from the 1970s band “ABBA” to tell the story of bride-to-be Sophie Sheridan as she tries to discover which one of her mother, Donna Sheridan’s, past three lovers is her father. “Mamma Mia” was in the works for months and was both directed and choreographed by Geoffrey Cascio. Behind the scenes, contributions from programs such as Stagecraft who designed the set, pit orchestra who played a live accompaniment and tech, makeup and costume crew played instrumental roles in making the show run smoothly.
The production was heavily focused on group dance numbers, which required more rehearsals in dance choreography. Cast members also practiced blocking (a theater term for planning movements on stage), memorizing lines and working on vocals. These elements played a pivotal part in bringing the show to life. Aside from rehearsing, cast bonding’s and individual character research influenced the chemistry actors shared on stage.
“I like researching the characters by watching various actors play them and seeing which acting choices I enjoy [as I] try to consider it within my own choices. It’s important for me to not only understand my character, but also [other] characters and my character’s relationship to them,” senior Aya Celine Angeles who plays Sophie Sheridan said. “Breaking down my character to what motivates them to do certain interactions with other characters on stage allows me to understand the intentions behind each move. It becomes more subconscious on stage.”
The months of time poured into the show by the cast allowed them to appreciate and celebrate the completion of their show, bringing forward feelings of excitement. Auditions for the musical took place in early December 2023, the cast took part in after-school and weekend rehearsals underway since the end of winter break for weeks leading up to the show. The “Mamma Mia” cast played two sold out shows March 22 and for their closing night performance on March 23.
“My favorite thing about performing was the satisfaction at the end; once you perform something so big you get a huge performance high and a really cumulative sense of completion,” ensemble member junior Matthew Montoya said. “After performing for the first show, I was happy along with everyone else, on a performance high, laughing, hugging, celebrating and talking about how good we did for that first performance.”
For some of the cast, the show’s morals resonated and also held special meanings. Cast members spent a lot of time together in the making of the show which later grew into new friendships and strengthened bonds. The musical has a prominent family theme which the cast mirrored off stage after coming together to perform.
“I hold a really personal connection to this musical. It was also my late grandmother’s favorite musical so it is special to me. I think we’ve built a family upon the show; we all have had to work together a lot which brought us closer together,” junior Savannah Castaneda who plays Donna Sheridan said. “I hope [the audience] takes the message from the show to live with no regrets because life is short.”
