Mamma Mia!: The Beginning of the Process

By Mia Martin ‘29 (Reporter)

The start of the winter athletic season brings the start of the Upper School winter musical process. This year, auditions for Mamma Mia! were held from Wednesday, November 19, to Monday, November 24, in which cast members sang, danced, and read lines for the show’s staff. Rehearsals began after the break, preparing for performances on March 5–7.

Mamma Mia! is a jukebox musical, or a musical that forms a plot around existing songs. Mamma Mia! uses songs from the pop music group ABBA, which was popular during the 70s and 80s, to convey the story of a young woman named Sophie who grew up without a father. She invites the three possible paternal candidates to her wedding, hoping to figure out who it is. Originally written in 1999 and the recipient of a 2008 movie adaptation, Mamma Mia! has touched the lives of many people.

Friends’ Central theater participants know the Mamma Mia! staff well. Michele Zuckman, director of several Friends’ Central vocal groups, makes music decisions, returning choreographer Dawn Morningstar teaches dances, and drama teacher Megan Schumacher helps the cast embody their characters. Jojo Siu, the costume designer presented her ideas to the cast early this December. In the week before winter break, stage crew guru Gerard Kapral presented a model of the set plan. There are also a few newer faces on the production team.

Several members of the Mamma Mia! staff are students. For example, Cai Dunne, ‘28, and Kaelin Day, ‘27, help plan and teach dances; Daphne Yorks, ‘26, helps manage production; and Halima Ahmad, ‘28, is a stage manager. Despite claiming that schoolmates watching auditions as decisionmakers was intimidating, an anonymous interviewee believes that they make it “feel more interesting because it’s not just a bunch of adults behind all these theatrical choices.”

Auditions took place from Wednesday, November 19 to the following Monday. Actors had spent the past two weeks preparing to sing an excerpt from “I Have a Dream,” “Lay All Your Love,” “Mamma Mia,” “S.O.S.,” “Take a Chance,” or “The Winner Takes It All." On Wednesday, John McKay played the backing music on piano while they sang for Adrianna Savarese, Megan Schumacher, and Michele Zuckman, who called back select people to sing a new excerpt on Thursday. On Friday, they grouped actors to read scenes from the play. Finally, on Monday, choreographer Dawn Morningstar taught cast members a dance to perform. Actors waited all of Tuesday with crossed fingers and bated breath, and, at four o’clock that afternoon, Megan Schumacher sent out the cast list. Maya Gerstein, ‘26, plays the lead, Sophie Sheridan. Hannah Seidel-Nini, ‘26, is in the role of Donna Sheridan, Sophie’s mother. Sammi Smith, ‘26, and Olwyn Palumbos, ‘26, respectively play Tanya and Rosie, Donna’s two best friends. Henry Snedecker, ‘27, Elijah Teel, ‘26, and Liam MacLeod, ‘26, respectively play Harry Bright, Bill Austen, and Sam Carmichael, Sophie’s three possible fathers. Cai Dunne, ‘28, is in the role of Sky, Sophie’s fiancé. Other Upper School students fill supporting roles. After the Thanksgiving break, the cast members began rehearsing.

In December, Michele Zuckman taught musical parts to the cast. From backing vocals and harmonies to the leads’ solos, the cast learned all of the vocals between fall and winter break. Afterwards, starting in the final few December school days and continuing into January, Dawn Morningstar, Cai Dunne, ‘28,  and Kaelin Day, ‘27, taught stage directions and dance numbers. In the first week of January, performers had to bring costume pieces to costumer Jojo, who, with what she had and what the performers brought, designed outfits for each character in the show. Very soon, all the pieces of the show will come together.

Both the cast and the stage crew will prepare during the last week of February: tech week. Then, the stage crew, band, and actors will work together to put together the show, perform it on the stage, and work through changes like rehearsing onstage for the first time, using props, performing in costume, and using microphones. The following week, from Thursday, March 5, through Saturday, March 7, the show will finally be performed in the Meeting Room for all audiences. All those involved in Mamma Mia!—stage crew, the band, the design team, and the cast—have worked hard and will continue to do so to build the show and prepare for the performances, so prepare yourself to go and enjoy what promises to be an amazing theatrical experience.