The worldwide musical hit featuring the music of ABBA, “Mamma Mia!” is coming to Culver-Stockton College the weekend of September 21 to September 23, 2018. “Mamma Mia!” will be premiering at the Performing Arts Center’s Alexander Campbell Auditorium.

Originally having debuted in 1999 at London’s West End, the musical quickly grew to worldwide acclaim, enough to produce a movie of the same name in July, 2008, and a sequel in July, 2018.

“Mamma Mia!” is about Sophie Sheridan, a young girl who lives on a Greek Island with her mother, Donna Sheridan. Sophie is about to marry Sky, and wants her father to walk her down the aisle. The only issue is: she does not know who he is. Three men are invited and arrive to walk her down the aisle, Harry Bright, Sam Carmichael, and Bill Andersen (Bill Austin in C-SC’s performance).

Rebecca Holley, a sophomore double major in Psychology and Theatre, is the stage manager for this production. Holley feels confident about how “Mamma Mia!” is coming along.
“Honestly, it’s going really well,” said Holley. “We are on a little bit more of a restricted time than normal.”
The cast and crew have only had a month and a half to have the play ready for their opening day.”

“The cast and crew are absolutely amazing. We’ve made so much progress in the small amount of time we’ve had so far,” commented Krista Barth, a sophomore English Education and Speech/Theater Education major who is part of the ensemble. Barth also assisted in costume design and choreography.

Kaity Conaway, a sophomore double major in English Education and Theatre, plays Lisa, one of Sophie’s bridesmaids who is the maid of honor. She is also a part of the design crew.
“It has been easier,” Conway commented about being part of the cast, as well as the crew, “because we know how everyone moves and how they act, so it made it easier to figure out not only what would be good for the character, but what would also be good for the actual person.”

Kar’Mel Brewer, a sophomore Vocal Music Education major, who plays the role of Sky, Sophie’s fiance,  is excited to show just how hard the cast and crew have worked.

Though, putting on a widely known musical does not come without its stresses.

Many members of the cast and the crew believe that everyone will enjoy watching the musical, including Alexander Siron, a sophomore Marketing major. Siron will be portraying Sam Carmichael.

“I think everyone will love it.” stated Siron, “We have an amazing cast this year for “Mamma Mia!”, and I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it. It’s just a great production to view.”

The production runs Sept. 21 to Sept. 23, with 7:30 p.m. showings on Friday and Saturday night, and a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday. All performances will be worth an ACE credit.