I saw the musical "Mama Mia" February 26th in Cheshire Academy's Black Box. The musical was written by Catherine Johnson. It was directed by Mrs. Guarino. The main plot of the story takes place on a small island at a hotel. One of the main characters Sophie is about to get married. She wants her father to be there but she doesn't know who her real father is. She knows three men who it could possibly be and decides to invite all three of them to her wedding. She does all of this behind her mom Donna's back. When the wedding finally comes she and her husband Sky decide not to marry and they decide to tour the world and get married later. Then her mom ends up marrying Sam 1 out of 3 men who could possibly be Sophie's father. Throughout the play multiple themes are present but the main theme of this musical was about people on a journey. Sophie and Donna are the people who are on a journey throughout the musical. Sophie and Donnas journey is different. Sophie's journey is about her discovering who her father is and I think Donna's is about her raising a child as a single parent. Although Sophie was never able to figure out who her real father is, I feel like she felt like her journey was complete because she ends up beginning another journey of touring the world with Sky. I also felt that Donna felt her journey of raising a child as a single parent was also done because she married Sam and started a new journey of marriage.
The musical Mama Mia in the Black Box was a lot of fun. The characters had bright, colorful, and super funny costumes that made the musical so much more engaging. I also liked how all the costumes were islandy and fit the entire musical perfectly. The Black Box looked completely different with the new set up for this musical. My favorite part was the beautiful, large, and white arches that hung in the background. The set up in the black box made me feel like I was really at a hotel on a small Greek Island. I also felt like these white arches in the background made the Black Box seem so much bigger like we were really at a hotel. I liked the lighting in this play because of the spotlight that was always on the main part of the stage where everything was going on. I felt like this allowed for there to be a lot of movement and even some surprises with people running in from behind in the dark where the spotlight was not on. The sounds of the musical was a lot of fun and engaging will all the singing and songs.
One specific moment that stuck out to me and I really liked was when Sophie(Audra) was talking to each of her three possible dad's one by one about the wedding. After talking to all three of them she had three dads walking her down the aisle. When she went and talked to each of her possible fathers about the wedding they all figured she was asking them to walk her down the aisle. I felt like this was a very comedic moment. I liked the blocking on the stage during this scene because it made it seem like she talked to her three possible fathers at completely different places and times at the hotel, even though it all happened in the same moment/scene. The audience responded to this moment by having a little laugh because it was a comedic moment. It also made the audience more engaged because it made them want to know how Sophie was gonna figure her problem with having all three of her fathers thinking they are walking her down the aisle
One actor who I thought did an amazing job was Elena who played Donna. Somebody told me that she was sick and had no voice for the past week, I thought she did an incredibly good job and I could not even notice she had no voice the week leading up to the performance. I also thought she did a very good job acting, she was very emotional and she really got into her role of Donna. She used hand gestures and body movements to so show more emotion when acting. I felt like Elena did an amazing job acting and singing as Donna. I also liked all of her outfits I felt like they all fit each scene very well. I liked how all the costumes were colorful and very bold. One specific scene when I really felt like her costume was perfect was when she was singing with Jane and Olivia and she had a bright yellow suit on. I felt like it really fit the mood and vibes of the scene.
In my opinion for me I thought this play was much better than the one in the fall because this one had a lot more action, color, and many other features that made the play so much more engaging and fun for the audience to watch. I usually don't like musicals because it is too much singing for me but I felt this play was more balanced between normal talking and singing. I think the actors also did a great job with their roles. It seemed like the rest of audience also really liked the musical because everyone was engaged, clapping, and laughing. From watching this show I learned how much the stage props and things can set the mood/setting for the play. I think the arches in the background made a huge difference in making the black box seem bigger and like a hotel.
Source:
Directors Note was used to check facts throughout but never any exact quotes.
The musical Mama Mia in the Black Box was a lot of fun. The characters had bright, colorful, and super funny costumes that made the musical so much more engaging. I also liked how all the costumes were islandy and fit the entire musical perfectly. The Black Box looked completely different with the new set up for this musical. My favorite part was the beautiful, large, and white arches that hung in the background. The set up in the black box made me feel like I was really at a hotel on a small Greek Island. I also felt like these white arches in the background made the Black Box seem so much bigger like we were really at a hotel. I liked the lighting in this play because of the spotlight that was always on the main part of the stage where everything was going on. I felt like this allowed for there to be a lot of movement and even some surprises with people running in from behind in the dark where the spotlight was not on. The sounds of the musical was a lot of fun and engaging will all the singing and songs.
One specific moment that stuck out to me and I really liked was when Sophie(Audra) was talking to each of her three possible dad's one by one about the wedding. After talking to all three of them she had three dads walking her down the aisle. When she went and talked to each of her possible fathers about the wedding they all figured she was asking them to walk her down the aisle. I felt like this was a very comedic moment. I liked the blocking on the stage during this scene because it made it seem like she talked to her three possible fathers at completely different places and times at the hotel, even though it all happened in the same moment/scene. The audience responded to this moment by having a little laugh because it was a comedic moment. It also made the audience more engaged because it made them want to know how Sophie was gonna figure her problem with having all three of her fathers thinking they are walking her down the aisle
One actor who I thought did an amazing job was Elena who played Donna. Somebody told me that she was sick and had no voice for the past week, I thought she did an incredibly good job and I could not even notice she had no voice the week leading up to the performance. I also thought she did a very good job acting, she was very emotional and she really got into her role of Donna. She used hand gestures and body movements to so show more emotion when acting. I felt like Elena did an amazing job acting and singing as Donna. I also liked all of her outfits I felt like they all fit each scene very well. I liked how all the costumes were colorful and very bold. One specific scene when I really felt like her costume was perfect was when she was singing with Jane and Olivia and she had a bright yellow suit on. I felt like it really fit the mood and vibes of the scene.
In my opinion for me I thought this play was much better than the one in the fall because this one had a lot more action, color, and many other features that made the play so much more engaging and fun for the audience to watch. I usually don't like musicals because it is too much singing for me but I felt this play was more balanced between normal talking and singing. I think the actors also did a great job with their roles. It seemed like the rest of audience also really liked the musical because everyone was engaged, clapping, and laughing. From watching this show I learned how much the stage props and things can set the mood/setting for the play. I think the arches in the background made a huge difference in making the black box seem bigger and like a hotel.
Source:
Directors Note was used to check facts throughout but never any exact quotes.
