OLDS — Mamma Mia!, the École Olds High School’s (ÉOHS) latest drama production, wrapped up performances at the TransCanada Theatre over the weekend.
The musical is based around songs by the Swedish band ABBA, who were big stars in the 1970s.
And now that this year's production is done, there won’t likely be any more ÉOHS drama productions for a couple of years, director Rhonda West says.
West told the Albertan that staging plays year after year has just become too much, so she took a hiatus last year.
However, students who were in her last production a couple of years ago persuaded her to do one this year.
“The Grade 12s are really what initiated it,” West said.
“But we had to go through a few ideas on what play to do, just to make sure it was something that was in our wheelhouse, because, having taken a year off, it was tough getting started again with kids that were new to the process, instead of continuing it. It was like a stop and then we had to start it again.
“So Mamma Mia! seemed like a really natural choice, because it has as big or as little a cast as we want it to and it has music that of course, everybody knows about.
“And with ABBA celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, we just thought it was kind of a natural choice to be able to lean into the music of ABBA and do something like Mamma Mia!.
Two of the those acting in the musical, Grade 12 students Milo Wood and Lorelai Plante, agree the class of 2024 was a driving force in staging the show this year.
“We kind of had to fight to get the whole thing started,” Wood, who plays Sam, said.
“She wasn’t going to put one on this year, but we begged on our hands and knees for it, so I feel like auditioning was almost the easy part.
“Theatre is so important, it brings people together and I think it’s really beautiful.”
“We missed a whole year off so it was very important, so it was really important that we had the community again and we like, fought tooth and nail to get the play rolling,” Plante, who plays Donna, said.
A couple of possible plays were suggested, but Wood said they wanted to stage Mamma Mia!.
“It’s so fun. It’s like a classic, right,” he said.
“I grew up in a house full of women and we watched it like, every weekend sort of thing, so it’s very nostalgic for me. And I think the characters are so beautiful and it’s just such a beautiful play.”
Plante agreed.
“My grandparents loved ABBA and so then my mom loved ABBA and then we would all get together and watch the movie growing up,” she said.
“We’d watch it, like, monthly, and so I knew all the words and I’ve loved this play since I was a baby. (I thought) it would be so much fun to put it on. And I loved it when I got (the part of) Donna, I almost cried.”
The show is about a woman, Sophie, whose mother Donna slept with three guys. Twenty-one years later, Sophie wants to find out who her father really is, so she invites her mom’s former boyfriends to her wedding to find out which one is her father.
“It’s a journey of self discovery, sort of thing,” Wood said.
Plante said the biggest challenge of staging the musical was probably memorizing the lines.
“It wasn’t that hard, but remembering them with all the stuff put me in a loop,” she said.
Wood felt much the same way.
“For me I think it was getting some of the songs down with the choreo that we were doing. Like for Voulez-Vous and Gimme! Gimme!,” he said. “Those are really big numbers, and so that was kind of tough for everybody.
Wood loved every aspect of getting the musical together.
“I loved painting the sets with everybody,” he said.
“And I loved doing music on Mondays. That was super fun. Just like, standing in a circle in a room and belting at each other; that was so much fun.”
One special time was a weekend the cast did their last run-through in costumes.
“That just really solidified that we had it, sort of thing, because you could see people step into their characters more,” he said.
Another great aspect of the staging the musical is the friendships that have been formed.
“We’ve met so many new people,” Plante said. “I didn’t know a bunch of these kids existed before the show.
“And now like, yesterday, we all went out to McDonalds and spent three hours just talking and getting to know each other and it was super rewarding and I was like, ‘I think they’re all so cool and I love meeting everyone.’”
Wood agreed.
“We have friends from the play that we did in Grade 10, so two years ago that we still talk to, and we never would have talked to those people, if it hadn’t have been for this space, which is super cool.”
Plante could see herself taking theatre in post-secondary education. Wood is doubtful he’d go that route, but he could see himself acting in a community play.
“It’s so fun,” he said. “Theatre’s so different than anything else.
“People talk about sports and how much that brings people together, but people don’t really talk about how uniting theatre is.”
West is directing the musical, but key to getting a show back onstage she said, has been the help of Laurel Cummings.
West said Cummings has served as the show’s producer, handling all the business side of it, like getting scripts, licensing, paying bills and advertising it.
That frees West to simply direct the students, which is what she really loves.
West has lots of admiration for all those students who love to sing and dance on stage.
“I’m fine with acting. I can do the acting part of it, but yeah, for you to ask me to sing and dance on stage, I would not have the nerve to do that,” she said.
West was asked if she’ll help create any more plays or musicals at the high school.
“It would depend,” she said. “I’m not going to say ‘no,’ because of course, this is an amazing process and I get how important it is to our students, but I also know how much work it is.
“So I’m not saying ‘no,’ but it may not be as regular as we did before. Like maybe if we look at every second year it would just be more feasible. Yeah, because otherwise it’s easy to get burnt out with it.”
West said so far, the performances of Mamma Mia! have gone well.
“Nerves on everyone are high when the shows begin but they settle in nicely and have a lot of fun singing and dancing,” she wrote in an email.
