The Shadowbox Player’s production of Mamma Mia!, the jukebox musical based on the songs of ABBA, continues into next weekend on the 10th, 11th, and 12th at the Fine Arts Center.
Mamma Mia! is a light hearted romantic comedy about Donna Sheridan, an innkeeper who doesn’t know which of three men is the father to her daughter, Sophie. When Sophie invites all three men to her wedding, the day takes a wild turn.
“The story is ‘camp.’ It’s fun to play such a strong female character, but this is the first show that I’ve had a romantic interest in, so that was different,” said Annie Bugbee, who plays Donna Sheridan.
The production has been in rehearsals since January, which involved teaching every cast member the songs, dances, and acting for each scene.
“I know ABBA songs like the back of my hand, so learning the songs wasn’t too difficult. But I am not a dancer, and learning those was definitely difficult,” said Bugbee.
Besides those performing, there are students hard at work behind the scenes to make sure the show always goes on. Taylor Wright, stage manager for the production, is at rehearsal every day to take attendance, oversee the crew, assist Mr. Cupo, and run music for every practice.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s rewarding work. It’s taught me a lot, and made me a better actor and leader just by watching,” said Wright, a sophomore.
While Taylor leads the crew, each member is important in getting the job done. The sets, lighting, costume design, makeup, and props are completely student run. Each Saturday, Drama Club hosts a crew day from 9 pm to 1 pm to prepare for a show. The set takes the longest to finish, since the students build each one almost entirely from scratch.
“This is the last set I’ll ever be designing here, so it took me a long time to come up with a set that I thought was big enough, impressive enough, and unique enough for this show. It took about two months to create, and I re-drew it about five times,” said Kiera Reinhard, set designer.
Right at the beginning of the production process, the cast and crew experienced a large amount of quarantines. This delayed rehearsal for a week, and set the show behind schedule early on. Drama Club did not delay the performance, though, and have continued with their normal schedule.
“Having COVID obviously delayed the process, but everyone really came together afterwards when it came to staying safe. It was like the classic ‘show must go on,’ thing,” said Reinhard.
To see what this club has been working so hard for, make sure to catch Mamma Mia! at the Fine Arts Center next weekend. Tickets are $10 at the bookstore.