Theatre 121 Makes Its Theatrical Debut With MAMMA MIA!

Theatre 121, a brand new resident community theatre company of the historic Woodstock Opera House, is ready to take the spotlight. Their inaugural season opens on Friday, October 4th at 8:00pm with the ultimate feel-good musical, Mamma Mia. TownSquare Players, Inc. and Woodstock Musical Theatre Company, two previous resident theatres of Woodstock, recently dissolved to form one united theatre company. Theatre 121's upcoming season includes three musicals, two plays, a children's summer theatre workshop, and Project Mentor, a specialty training program for high school students interested in the technical aspects of theatre.

Under the direction of Barry Norton, ABBA's hits tell the hilarious story of a young woman's search for her birth father. This sunny and funny tale unfolds on a Greek island paradise. On the eve of her wedding, a daughter's quest to discover the identity of her father brings three men from her mother's past back to the island they last visited 20 years ago.

"Mamma Mia is the perfect show to come and enjoy music combined with dancing and acting and take you on a fantastic journey leaving you smiling and feeling good!," comments Susan Fablo, President of Theatre 121 and Vocal Director for Mamma Mia. "I'm extremely excited about the amazing talent in this production. We have many new actors making their debut at the Woodstock Opera House as well as some veterans who have graced its stage before."

Chicago actress Amber Dow makes her debut at the Woodstock Opera House in this production as the title role, Donna Sheridan. "I am impressed with the caliber of creatives tirelessly working to achieve a level of excellence that will truly wow audience members and leave them wanting more," says Dow. "The music of Abba is not only iconic but tremendously fun and at times moving... add in the sets, costumes and talent of this production and audience members are sure to have a total blast!"

Rounding out the cast is Kate Curtin as Tanya, Lisa Czarny-Hyrkas as Rosie, John Barnett as Sam Carmichael, Jeff Cook at Harry Bright, Chris Griffin as Bill Austin, Aly Blakewell as Sophie Sheridan, and Rob Falbo, Jr. as Sky.

Theatre 121 audience members can relive the nostalgia of the 1970s on Friday, October 11th's performance. Audience members are encouraged to dress in their most groovy 1970s attire.

Mamma Mia will run October 4-5, 11-12, 18-19 at 8:00pm and October 6, 12-13, 19-20 at 2:00pm. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call the box office of the Woodstock Opera House at 815.338.5300 or visit their website www.woodstockoperahouse.org.