Mamma Mia Play Review

Noah Chi

Ms. Guarino

IB Lit & Perf 

03/05/20

The play “Mamma Mia” by Catherine Johnson had projected many themes throughout the plot. It showed the relationships between certain characters, such as Dana and her daughter Sophie, as well as Dana and the three possible fathers of Sophie. It also showed the theme of forgiveness and trust, about how people come back after leaving and regretting their decisions. The plot is about a daughter who is going to get married while trying to figure out who her dad is so the wedding can be a family bondage as well. In the act of doing so, she tries to keep it hidden from her mother because she wants it to be a surprise, however her mother does not think the same way when she finds out that all the potential fathers are there at the same time. Towards the end, everyone is happy with the outcome and how every person in the play is closer to one another as a family, even with the daughter’s wedding being transformed into the mother’s wedding. 

I like how we designed the setting of the play. We painted a very lookalike Greece background with a blue sky and white buildings all around, as well as vines hanging off the sides of walls. I have been to Greece many times and it really reminded me of what it was like being there by noticing how everything was set up. The lighting was very helpful. It directed the focus of the audience to the person we should be focusing on at that very moment. The lighting during each song really helped bring out the voice and the feeling. Not only did the main characters play their parts well, but the background dancers really helped set the mood of each song whenever they came out. I could not help but sing along to every one. The director of the play did an amazing job I must say. With the raw materials we had it was done wonderfully.

One very memorable moment of the play is when Sophie was putting on her dress. You could really see the strong mother-daughter relationship between them. The mother clearly loves her daughter and will do everything in her power to make her happy, and vice versa. The lighting during the scene was also super well done. Another very memorable moment was when the song “Dancing Queen” started. It was to bring Dana back into a groovy mood after the stress she had gone through after realizing who had arrived on the island. Not only did the catch song make it memorable, but the way it was portrayed with the actors we had really did the work to get the audience to capture it in their heads. 

One of the best actors in the play was Jane. She portrayed Tanya with almost pure perfection. Her acting skills were superior and she really brought out the character in her. She sang super well and the way she acted really had us captivated. Knowing Jane personally, I am not surprised by her talent. Especially watching the rehearsal on Sunday when Willjam was not there and Krystal replacing him that day, she was able to take over and still pull off per part perfectly even with a laugh every now and now. 

My overall opinion of the play was that I loved it. Mamma Mia is a great musical and I am happy that we were able to do it at this school. I hope we can do more musicals like this in the future (with the chance of me in the pit next time).