CENTERblog

Mamma Mia!

By Emily Klopfer – Dimond High School

Mamma Mia! garnered a standing ovation at its performance on the night of Monday, October 18^th 2010. Crowds cheered and clapped as the actors took to the stage for their final bow. After their bow, they danced to repetitions of the songs as the main actors came out to sing an encore.

This year in Anchorage, the big Broadway play of the season is Mamma Mia! Mamma Mia! is a musical about a girl who discovers that she has three possible fathers. The girl, Sophie, then invites each of her three potential fathers to her Greek wedding. The musical surrounds the reconnection between the mother and her three past boyfriends, the daughter’s connection to each of her three fathers, and the daughter’s internal journey to find herself and who she is.

Dancing throughout the musical was superb. Each actor was enthusiastic and brought an incredible amount of energy to the stage. The choreographed dances seemed to come off flawlessly with each actor making each precise step. The actors also went through their steps with a certain amount of happiness and enjoyment. They engaged the audience with their facial expressions and brought up the energy level of the auditorium.

The singing was another aspect of the musical that warranted the standing ovation. The solos of both Sophie’s mother and Sam Carmicheal were fantastic. The audience was in awe of Sophie’s mother after she finished her singing “monologue” with the song, “The Winner Takes It All.” The actor who played Sam Carmicheal, John Bisom, was able to hit perfectly each note of his songs. Chloe Tucker, the actress who played Sophie, and Happy Mahaney, the actor who played Sky, were also great in each of their songs.

Dancing and singing aside, the acting itself was also fantastic. The emotions of the characters were clearly visible. Each actor presented a character that was believable and able to be followed by the audience. The way the actors threw themselves into their characters made the entire audience pay attention.

The two songs that evoked the most laughter from the audience were, “Does Your Mother Know,” and “Take A Chance On Me.” In “Does Your Mother Know,” Tanya, the mother’s friend, attempts to ward off a young man who claims to love her. The dancing, lyrics, and acting within this scene brought the audience to laughter at every moment. During “Take A Chance On Me,” Rosie is chasing her love, Bill Austin around the church set. The lyrics for this song brought laughter, but mostly the humor came from the acting of both Mary Callanan (Rosie), and John-Michael Zuerlein (Bill Austin). The facial expressions and energy between these two actors was one of the more humorous and enjoyable scenes during the show.

Throughout the musical, the audience could be heard singing along to each song, and laughing at all the humorous acts. One thing is for certain, Mamma Mia! received a level of participation and enjoyment from the audience that had not been seen in the Performing Arts Center for a while. It deserved every bit of its standing ovation.

Mamma Mia!
Anchorage Concert Association
Monday, October 18, 2010
Atwood Concert Hall