Feature: MAMA MIA! at Mount Pleasant High School

Chris Turner, the Stage Director for Mama Mia! at Mount Pleasant High School, clearly makes the audience aware that the show is “outside of the box” for the school’s Drama Department because it usually stages musicals with “challenging themes.” Turner states, “However, very rarely have we gone forward with a play or musical that has the sole purpose of providing an evening of pure entertainment.” And, entertaining it is.

Mama Mia! isn’t the type of show that stretches your mind, confronts a moral dilemma or delves into one’s psyche. Rather, it’s a jukebox musical conceived by Judy Craymer with a book by Catherine Johnson set to the music of Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, that makes you tap your toes, hum along, and smile while watching a very simplistic story of a young bride-to-be searching for her unknown father so that she can be walked down the aisle in proper fashion. The story tries very hard to be engaging but the story isn’t why you go to see Mama Mia!  


I attended the final dress rehearsal in order to pen this promotional piece. This is in no way a review!! The reason for this piece is to widen the reach for audience attendance because Young Artists MUST be supported in order to keep their love of theater alive and growing. One of the best forms of validation an Artist can receive is an appreciative audience. The Mount Pleasant High School production of Mama Mia! deserves your attention for many reasons.

When you walk into the theater you’ll see a terrific set that evokes a Greek island’s local taverna. When the set needs to change, it morphs fluidly into other spaces. The stage is pleasantly illuminated throughout the show with each scene nicely crafted. The show is performed with a live band led by Brian Drumbore which ups the ante for both performers and audience members. Costumes are various and colorful, and the iconic jumpsuits make their appearance in usual fashion.

The lead players Zadie Rogers (Sophie), Scarlette Eggleston (Donna), Stephen Rice (Sam), Yeriel Aracena (Bill), Christopher Burslem (Harry), Landon Reeves (Sky), Paz Becker (Tanya), Celia Corbin (Rosie), Maya Kortz (Lisa), Vera Travis (Ali), Brendan Culley (Pepper), and Kaya Obi (Eddie), all inhabit their characters with gusto. Ensemble Members Makayla Burslem, Ezra Costas, Tessa Fusco, Katie Hubbard, Isabella Huerta-Venuti, Dayanara Irizarry, Jacqueline Korn, Ll Louissaint, Aidan McBride, Erin Moist, Jessica Sankey, Bridget Schneider, Logan Spangler, Joseph Sparacio, and Lexi Turner fill the stage with high-energy singing and dancing. Some of the Ensemble Members are actually students at Talley Middle School. Kudos to Vocal Director Chrissy Stief and Choreographer Michael Bly for getting everyone into tip-top shape.

Mama Mia! at MPHS only runs for one weekend (and by the time this is published, it probably only has two more shows). Go for the fun. Go for an evening of pure entertainment with the chance to sing a few ABBA songs. Go to support Young Artists. Go because you’re twelve and your parents make you. It doesn’t matter – JUST GO!
 

Mama Mia!
Music & Lyrics by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus
(Some songs with Stig Anderson)

Book by Catherine Johnson
Originally Conceived by Judy Carpenter
Additional Material & Arrangements by Martin Koch

Mount Pleasant High School
5201 Washington Street Extension
Wilmington DE 19809
(302) 762-7125
https://sites.google.com/site/mphsdramade

Runs March 26 to March 28