As they prepared for their performances of the Tony-nominated jukebox musical “Mamma Mia!” – which began on March 7 – students at Haddonfield Memorial High School staged a free showing for senior citizens two days before.
The musical features songs created by Swedish pop band ABBA and tells the story of a young bride, Sophie, who secretly invites three of her mother’s former lovers to her Greek island wedding so she can determine which one is her long-lost father. At the conclusion of each song, the seniors applauded the student actors.
After last year’s decision to perform the musical “Chicago,” the high-school theater department sought a different tone this year.
“Last year we did ‘Chicago,’ which was like a heavier theming, and just more of a dramatic comedy,” said show director Ava Kepple. “So we really wanted to do something that was more family friendly, more upbeat, just all around more a livelier production. Not saying that ‘Chicago’ isn’t, it’s just a definitely a different, different vibe, if you know the two shows.
“And we just wanted something that was more just fun.”
“Mamma Mia!” marks the final show for set designer Bob Shindle, who has helped with productions at the school for the last 18 years.
“He definitely went all out, went big,” Kepple noted. “But Bob starts designing the minute he gets the script … He actually started doing set designing early in construction with the students before winter break … They’ve been working on the set every weekend since then. And the closer we get, they’re here like every day.
“Bob has those kids trained,” she added. “He’s passing along that art onto them, and they take it really well.”
The vibrantly colored sets include a large painted frame around the stage and several interchangeable backdrops with views of the sea and the island’s beaches, as well as a model building that is converted from the exterior of the hotel to the rooms within.
The cast is made up of 37 students who are backed by 40 students crew members. Among the actors is senior Elena Domenico, who portrays Sophie’s mother, Donna.
“My parents, my mom especially, she loves Abba,” Domenico noted. “So I’ve been listening to it since I was younger. And then, I’ve loved the movie, and I went to the second movie when it came out with my friends and, I don’t know, it’s just been such a part of my adolescence, growing up, and it’s so cool to do it for a senior show.”
“Mamma Mia!” continues this week at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday in the high-school auditorium.
“Everyone knows music and gets in and it gets fun,” Kepple observed, “but I think at its core, the messaging around identity and figuring that out, and what identity means to you, is at the heart of ‘Mamma Mia!’
“And I hope that clicks with people.”
