The Marblehead High School auditorium has been transformed into the Greek island of Kalokairi ahead of the MHS Drama Club production of “Mamma Mia!” which is set for a four- show run May 1-3.
“I’m very, very excited for people to see all of these elements come together,” said director Ashley Skeffington, who also teaches 11th-grade English at Marblehead High School. “Our tech crew really stepped up their game this year and our sets are really, really beautiful… I think the choreography is really next level and we have a lot of student talent this year. I’m really excited for the final product to come together and to be able to share it with the community.”
The jukebox musical is filled with classic songs from Swedish pop legends ABBA, including such hits as “Waterloo,” “Dancing Queen” and, of course, “Mamma Mia,” with the book written by British playwright Cathrine Johnson in 1998 ahead of its premier in London’s West End in 1999.
The plot follows Donna Sheridan (played by Lucy Key) after her daughter Sophie (Lilya Gurevich) invites three men from her mother’s past (August Belf, Grey Collins and Theo Hains) in hopes of finding her biological father to walk her down the aisle at her destination wedding in Greece.
“This is my first time doing ‘Mamma Mia!’” said Key. “It’s a really popular show and I love the movie. Meryl Streep is amazing, but it’s just a really fun show. It’s a comedy, but it has a few moments sprinkled throughout that are really heartfelt. Playing into those with my cast members is just so amazing.”
Choreography for the production has been handled by Elloree Jennings with help from dance captain Liv Niles, a senior who has filled the role for the last three years.
“I have been fortunate enough to help with parts of the choreography,” said Jennings. “I do a lot of the ‘Dynamos’ choreography, especially in ‘Super Trouper.’ I learn the dances early and then help teach them later on. I write out all the formations myself as well.”
“Because it’s all the music of ABBA, it requires this level of showmanship with the choreography,” Skeffington said. “ABBA writes dance music. You have to be able to dance. You have to be able to get on stage and have fun with that.”
Above the stage, lighting directors Lucas Rosen, a senior, and Fiona Barr, a sophomore, are now in charge of newly installed movable lights that will make their debut during the spring musical.
“We had the opportunity to rent some moving lights for this show which really opened up a whole lot of new opportunities and allowed for a lot more creativity,” said Rosen. “They change colors and they move, of course. They allow us to do a lot of out of the box things that we weren’t able to do with conventional lights previously.”
On stage, the cast will be wearing costumes designed by seniors Mollie Farber and Monica Pechhold.
“There are some really fun pieces for this show,” said Farber. “Specifically, for Donna and the Dynamos, they have really fun sparkly disco outfits. That’s probably one of our favorites this year.”
When it comes to the technical elements of the production, Skeffington hopes that theatergoers recognize the hard work put in by the students in the sound, lighting, set and costume departments.
“From an audience perspective, they don’t always appreciate the amount of work and time that goes into these effects,” Skeffington said. “To have a core group of technical seniors that have really stepped up over their four years here and to come up with all of this on their own… I’m really proud of them.”
Finally, Skeffington said that the elements of the show that she is most excited for are: “The flippers and the disco ball.”
Opening night is Friday, May 1, at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at ticketstage.com/T/MHSCHOOLS. Adult tickets are $20, with seniors (65+) and students getting discounted prices of $15 and $5 respectively.
