Paly Theatre’s second production of the year, “Mamma Mia!,” premiered at the Performing Arts Center on March 3.
Set in 1999, 20 year-old Sophie Sheridan (junior Zoe Hayward) lives on a Grecian island and will soon be married to her fiancé, Sky (senior Gavin Thomas). Determined to have her biological father at the wedding, Sophie sends an invitation to three potential men: Sam (junior Matthew Arradaza), Bill (junior Kyle Vetter) and Harry (senior Kyle Xu,), in hopes of recognizing her biological father once she sees him. But when the three men arrive, Sophie can’t tell them apart and the plot unfolds.
“Mamma Mia!” is Paly Theatre’s first musical since Spring 2019, meaning no current students have performed in a Paly musical. Senior stage manager Sonja Meyers said that the play expanded her theater portfolio.
“It’s been pretty cool to learn about how the production process of musicals differs from plays,” Meyers said. “It’s always fun to work on a production that’s wildly different from everything else I’ve done.”
With a cast of 57, senior student publicity manager Katelyn Fong said that organizing the play was not easy.
“That’s a lot of people to try to fit in on one stage and to get to work with each other,” Fong said.
Working together since December, junior assistant director Jack Champlin said having a student-run cast has been one of the best aspects of the production process.
“Everybody has something to do, some kind of role,” Champlin said. “And if you stick with Paly Theater long enough … you’ll be able to take on some of this responsibility for yourself. It’s incredibly rewarding.”
In the end, Fong said that all the time and effort put in was worth it.
“It’s a lot of work and a lot of responsibility,” Fong said. “But it’s really cool to be able to point something and say, ‘I made that.’”
Showings of “Mamma Mia!” continue on March 18 at 7:30 p.m. and March 19 at 2 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $10 for students or seniors and $15 for adults, for sale on the Paly Theatre website.
