School musical a good fit for young thespians

MUSIC REVIEW /// ‘Mama Mia!’



TRIPLE THREAT—From left, singers from the show’s Donna and the Dynamos played by Isa Rojas, Fiona McDonnell and Atmike Iyer. Courtesy of Zoraida Kerr

TRIPLE THREAT—From left, singers from the show’s Donna and the Dynamos played by Isa Rojas, Fiona McDonnell and Atmike Iyer. Courtesy of Zoraida Kerr

Oak Park High School opened its production of “Mamma Mia!” last week and, as every high school theater director knows, opening night is when to expect the unexpected.

Sure enough, during a scene in which one of the show’s most potent dance numbers is being performed, the silvery top of a prop microphone popped off its stem and rolled out onto the stage floor. The audience noticed—how could it not?—but the cast members didn’t panic and continued performing without acknowledging the mishap, just as professionals would do.

It’s moments like this that make director Allan Hunt, now in his 20th year at OPHS, proud. Over the years, Hunt and longtime music director Heidi Cissell have produced more shows than they can count. Their goal is to teach students the nuts and bolts of putting on a Broadway-style musical, and to make sure these budding performers understand that “the show must go on.” When these lessons get through to kids, it gives Hunt and Cissell a tremendous amount of satisfaction.

“Mamma Mia!” is a musical built around the hit songs of ABBA, a Swedish pop-rock quartet that sold over 380 million records during its career. With a large cast of hopefuls wanting to be included in each OPHS production, Hunt and Cissell are always on the lookout for shows with multiple leads and scenes that allow for large ensembles. “Mamma Mia!” fit that bill perfectly. The show ran from Oct. 24 to 26 in the school’s performing arts pavilion.

The story is an improbable trifle about Donna Sheridan, a former disco diva who is now running a small taverna on a tiny Greek island with her 20-year-old daughter, Sophie. When Sophie decides to get married, she wants her father there to give her away, but due to Donna’s promiscuity in the disco-mad 1970s, Sophie doesn’t know who he is. After finding her mother’s diary, Sophie invites the three most likely prospects to come to the wedding. The fun in “Mamma Mia!” isn’t in the story as much as how many of ABBA’s hits the scriptwriters could shoehorn into the plot.

OPHS’s production features senior Fiona McDonnell as Donna and Delaney Dauchy as Sophie. This was the first show either teen had been in, but they each gave excellent performances and showed much promise as singers and actors. So did other members of the hard-working cast, including the two performers who played members of Donna’s old disco group, the Dynamos: Isa Rojas as Tanya and Atmika Iyer as Rosie.

The actors playing the three potential dads—Dominic Land as Sam Carmichael, Bryce Green as Bill Austin and Eddie Park as Harry Bright—each got their chance to shine. Ditto for Preston Green as Sophie’s fiance, Sky, and the students who made up the remarkable six-girl dance ensemble. Karen Dotan, Kayla Mahoney, Atlee Phillips, Delaney Pryor, Emily Salzman and Emily Warren helped bring choreographer Casey Denning’s energetic dance numbers to life.

Helping to maximize the show’s Broadway-quality production values were multi-talented producer Russ Peters, who also supervised set design, and the Oak Park Performing Arts Alliance, a group of parent volunteers that fund the productions through donations and their time. Normally, Hunt uses a live orchestra, but because band members were busy, he used recorded tracks supplied by Music Theatre International.

Now that this show is over, OPHS’s next show, “Chicago,” will be staged in the spring.