As spring is approaching, the drama club is preparing for the Mamma Mia musical on March 10th. With the use of ABBA’s songs, a popular Swedish Europop band, the crew hopes to put together a promising show and excite the audience with this jukebox musical.

“Mamma Mia is a fun, upbeat musical that a ton of people can sing along to. We knew that the kids would enjoy it, audiences would recognize it and buy tickets, and that overall, it would be a fantastic experience. Plus, who doesn’t love ABBA,” said Producer Anna Baker.

The annual spring musical brings together students from Foothill and Amador. There are two main characters, Donna and Sophie Sheridan. Veronica Pascual (‘25) plays Sophie, the lead and the daughter of Donna, and Foothill student Natalie Piergrossi (‘24)  plays Donna, the mother. Rehearsal consists of vocal rehearsal, choreography, staging, and costuming up until February 27th. The cast members have been preparing since November of last year and are working almost every day in order to master their roles.

“We rehearse anywhere from three to five times a week. As we get closer to the show we’ll put all of the pieces together to form the whole production. In the end, as long as the students are having a good time and enjoying the process, the show always ends up being fantastic,” said Baker. 

This particular musical stood out to some aspiring actors because of its wide range of opportunities. It encouraged some students to audition for their roles, so they could transform into their character and have their moment to shine.

“My favorite part is being on stage in front of everyone because you get to play this role, and sometimes when you play the main character, you can have your main character moment. It’s really funny, and it’s kind of cool to see how many people came to see you perform,” said Pascual.

Aside from the cast members, there are several jobs that go into the production of a musical. Orchestra plays an important role in bringing the show to life. They usually have their own separate rehearsals and don’t practice with the cast until the run throughs on February 17th. Choreography is also a big part of rehearsal because the musical includes multiple dancing scenes. Whether it be music or stage prep, each person has a specific role that is a significant part of the show’s success. 

“When showtime comes, I’ll be managing backstage and making sure that everything runs smoothly. It’s very important to me because I was in the musical as an actor last year, and I’ve been trying to branch out a little bit and do some tech stuff. I assistant directed the fall play, but this is my first stage manager position, and it’s very exciting,” said Stage Manager Keira Weir (‘24).

All of the songs in this musical are written by the band, ABBA. Famous for their popular music, they also contribute to the LGBT community by supporting various organizations around the world.

“As a queer educator, it’s not super often that we get to see ourselves represented in the work that we put out. And not only is there like canonical gay representation in this show, but ABBA is a hugely important piece of queer history. Even though none of the actual members of ABBA are queer, their music is super celebrated by the LGBT community, and so I’m really excited to be putting on such a wild disco,” said Vocal Director Will Segal.