SHENANDOAH JUNCTION — Jefferson High School’s Theater Department performs the musical comedy “Mamma Mia!” starting April 26. The story follows Sophie who secretly invites three men who she suspects might be her father to her wedding. Guests will see students perform popular songs such as “Dancing Queen” and “Take A Chance On Me” as they retell this fun story.
Seniors Emily Jack, prop master, Logue Schriever, bachelor boy and priest, Molly Lassen, featured singer and Marc Rivera, who plays Bill Anderson, all talked about their favorite part of the show. They agreed that watching the show come together made all their hard work worth it.
“My favorite moment is when it actually starts becoming a show,” Rivera said. “At the beginning everyone is still learning and figuring their characters and learning the songs, but when we finally start going off the book, things really start coming together.”
Lassen added that performing a musical is extra fun for her. As a featured singer, she helps make the music come to life during the show.
“For me, I really like musicals and I love to sing,” Lassen said. “The music makes it fun for me. There are also so many elements like getting into character and learning to master them and the chemistry with the other characters.”
For many students, theater is a creative outlet. Students all work together and collaborate to put the show together. After all their hard work, they enjoy sharing everything with their friends and family.
“This is my first year in theater,” Rivera said. “When I got this part, I felt like I could really do this because they believed I could. And I could step back and realize that myself. It’s also fun to see friends and family and hear them say that I did well.”
There is a lot of behind the scenes work that goes into the show too. Jack worked as the prop master and helped create the props for the performance. Jack plans on pursuing a career in set design. Her experiences working in the Jefferson High School theater department gave her experience she needs and gave her projects to add to her portfolio.
Schriever also talked about how one of his favorite parts of the show is being able to see things that most people would never notice. Seeing how the crew repurposed old props and made the show come to life was one of the special parts about putting together a production like this.
The showtimes include April 26 at 7 p.m., April 27 at 2 and 7 p.m. and April 28 at 2 p.m. Tickets cost around $15 to $25. For more information or to reserve a spot during one of the performances visit http://rb.gy/4pmp25
