mamma mia review

Paige Borowski

IB Lit and Performance SL 1

What a Night

I viewed the play Mamma Mia written by Catherine Johnson on February 26th, 2020 at 2:30 pm in the blackbox theater. The play takes place on an island in Greece. Sophie Sheridan, played by Audra, searches for her father who she has never heard about. She finds a diary that belonged to Donna Sheridan, her mother. She discovers the names of three men, all of which have an equal chance of being her father. Their names were Harry Bright, played by Tony, Sam Carmichael, played by Jackson and Bill Anderson, played by Nate. She invites them all to her wedding, which takes place the next day. Donna, played by Elena, is accompanied by her two best friends and back up girls to her girl group, Donna and the Dynamos. Tanya, played by Jane and Rosie, played by Olivia, stick by her side throughout the play. Sophie tries to figure out who her father is and Donna struggles to deal with the fact that they’re here. Sophie is marrying Sky, played by Trevor. During the wedding, it is revealed that all the men think they are Sophie’s father. After deliberation, Sophie finds that it’s ok she doesn’t know who is her father and the men agree. Sophie then decides to not get married and just travel with Sky. Without wasting a wedding, Sam proposes to Donna and they get married. 

When viewing the play, there were few points and decisions made by the director that I noticed. The biggest thing I noticed was that there was a very prominent middle of the stange. The two platforms with the tables and chairs were pointing in towards the middle of the stage. Also, the table and bed that was placed in the middle was surrounded by painted stones, closely highlighting the center of the stage. Another thing I noticed was the lighting. I found that there were lots of hints of blue. I don’t think it was to show sadness, but to add to the scene. They are on an island in Greece so they are closely surrounded by water. I think the blue lighting effectively portrayed that. Another thing I notice is during the scene where Tanya is at the beach, the stage is very lit up. It gives the effect of the bright sun. A big aspect of the play was the costuming. Everyone was wearing clothes that would be worn in the summer. It’s obvious they are in a warmer climate and the costuming effectively shows that. To me, it seems as if Donna and Sophie are the main characters of the play. I think that was shown in the characters’ position. It seemed as if those two characters were always surrounded by other characters, appearing in the middle. 

The two most memorable moments to me was the opening scene of Sophie sending out the letters and Sophie accepting all of the men as her father. The opening scene was very meaningful. There was soft lighting and the music was soft as well. The lighting closely focuses on Sophie. All of this as well as the acting showed how meaningful this moment was for Sophie. The scene where Sophie says all three men are her father has a big impact. Throughout the play, you can see Sophie creating a relationship with each of the men. She has the choice of truly figuring out who is her biological father but at this point in the play, she doesn’t feel the need to choose. It’s obvious she sees them all as father figures. 

My favorite actor was Audra. I think she played Sophie extremely well and embodied her character. She was able to show Sophie’s emotions really well and portray her relationships perfectly. It’s also important to note her singing abilities. She has a great voice. 

Overall, I truly enjoyed the play. It was great to see one of my favorite plays done by my school and see my peers play my favorite characters. I think the choreography was done well and the staging and lights were incredibly important and on point. I would’ve seen it again if I had the opportunity.