Here we go again! The newest AVPA Theatre production, “Mamma Mia!” is coming up! It will be showing March 7th-10th and March 14th-17th from 7pm Thursdays through Saturdays and 2pm on Sundays.
“Mamma Mia!” is about 20-year-old Sophie Sheridan (played by Ella Kendall and Natalie Cayetano) who is getting ready to marry her fiancé, Sky, when she comes across an old diary belonging to her mom (Donna Sheirdan, played by Lux Amaya and Annelise Reilman), which could answer the question of who Sophie’s father is. She narrows it down to three suspects and invites them to her wedding in hopes that he can walk her down the aisle, much to Donna’s surprise. Set to ABBA classics like “Dancing Queen” and, well, “Mamma Mia”, AVPA provides a show stage manager Ayla Moses describes as “a party onstage.”
With such an exciting show coming up, AVPA seniors are ready to do their last performance of the year. “Mamma Mia!” is a great send-off for theater students in their last year, and as senior Annelise Reilman states, “There is plenty of singing, big dance numbers, heart-wrenching, happy endings; pretty much anything a show could have, this one does”, ensuring that this production will give the audience what Reilman calls a “story of family, friendship, love, and so much more.”
The show’s director, Will Pellegrini, remembers directing shows at the Robert Frost Auditorium “20 years ago, back when AVPA was just getting off the ground”. He says that it was “[his] idea for this production was to pay homage to ABBA […] and we’re really leaning into this show being all about the 70s, which means there’s a disco ball…and who doesn’t love a disco ball?” This year’s musical promises to be a powerful one, with actors and tech crew giving their all to put on the best show possible.
Moses says that “the arts saves lives and watching people who may struggle in other ways at school get to let free and party on stage dancing to iconic ABBA music is the reason I do what I do.” Reilman added that “we have created a family and all of the energy you see onstage is a reflection of what we all have for each other behind the scenes.”
“Mamma Mia!” is directed by Will Pellegrini, produced by Lee Margaret Hanson, choreographed by Carol Zee, with orchestra direction by Tony Spano, vocal music direction by Brett Rybak, lighting design by Bosco Flanagan, prop design by Hope Parish, set design by Nick Caisse, costume design by Laura Loo, and technical direction by JD Sargent. Tickets can be purchased for $15 for general admission, $10 for faculty, staff, and CCHS students without ASB, $5 for CCHS students with ASB, and elementary/middle school students, and free for children under the age of 5 or people with an AVPA season pass. More information can be found online at the AVPA website.
