The Chapel Hill High School theater program will present Mamma Mia!, its first musical in nearly three years, April 28-30 at 7:00 p.m. in Hanes Theatre.
Theater director Thomas Drago said he wanted to stage a musical that was engaging and lively, especially after being away from the stage for so long.
“When we picked this show, we set out to find a title that would just be enjoyable and low stress and just give everybody the chance to experience the program in a fun way,” he said.
The play—named after a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA, whose songs give structure to the musical—follows the story of Sophie, a bride-to-be played by junior Amelia Brinson who is seeking to determine who her biological father is so he can give her hand away in marriage.
Senior Mia Kalish plays Sophie mother’s Donna, and seniors Julian Brown and Julian Howard, as well as sophomore Walker Smith, play the roles of Sophie’s potential biological fathers.
Nearly 70 students altogether are involved in the production, including ensemble, orchestra, band, dance and tech students.
“We have had a lot of pent-up creative and artistic energy with not a lot of outlets for performing in the last two years,” Kalish said during an interview with local radio station WCHL. “I think we all just really excited to be on the stage and really desperate, almost, for that time to perform.”
The last musical the theater program was set to perform was The Wedding Singer in March 2020, but the production was cut short when the pandemic forced the closure of school.
“For The Wedding Singer, we didn’t even get to the point where we were having meals before rehearsals,” senior Grace Davis said. “It’s a lot different being able to fine tune stuff now, because we never got that chance with Wedding Singer. So this experience is new for every one—not a single person in the program has done this process before.”
Davis serves as student director for the production and oversees everything from choreography to makeup.
“I feel like we have really done well to bring everyone together as a theater program, and I hope that that just continues after this show,” Davis said. “My biggest hope is that after this show, not only will more people sign up for theater, tech, orchestra and band classes, but people will also recognize that all of those things go together.”
Freshmen Lee Win mentioned that while rehearsals have been time consuming, the community he has found makes it all worth it.
“There has been a lot of pressure juggling school work and Mamma Mia! but I wouldn’t change it for the world,” he said. “It really is fun to be around people with so much energy and have an environment where you can really relate to people.”
Senior Mary Menelik furthers Win’s praise, citing how close she feels to the cast and crew.
“I love Mamma Mia! because I have met so many people and now they are my best friends,” Menelik said. “We have this one thing in common and we’re working towards it as a team, and I love how we spend time with each other.”
Drago hopes that—given the ABBA soundtrack, the animated choreography, the colorful set and the familiar story-line—the audience will enjoy the production as much as the cast and crew have.
“I just want everybody to have fun, and, so far, that is exactly what has been happening,” he said.
The musical is approximately two hours long, and tickets are $10 each.
