By: KATELYN FIRESTEIN
Staff Writer
karfires@iu.edu
The theatre and dance department at IU South Bend put on the production, “Mamma Mia!” last weekend. The show ran from Thursday, Oct. 4 to Sunday, Oct. 7. The production had several sold-out shows.
The musical includes a variety of acting, dancing and singing. It includes the timeless songs of pop group, ABBA. It is one of the longest running shows on Broadway and has been performed internationally.
The university has received much support and enthusiasm from students, faculty, and community members surrounding this production.
Isabelle Hanson, dance captain and ensemble from the production, explained the production crew’s shock and excitement when the first show sold out.
“We sold out all of the seats available for opening night, which has never happened in the main auditorium for us before, so that just goes to show how excited the community is about this show,’ described Hanson.
The screenplay was also turned into a movie, starring Amanda Seyfried and Meryl Streep, and has a sequel with even more ABBA songs, themes of woman empowerment, love and dancing.
It also worked out for the theatre and dance department that the sequel to the “Mamma Mia!” Movie, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,” was just released this year.
“We were expecting to get lots of seats filled because ‘Mamma Mia!’ was already so popular, and the sequel came out at just the right time to boost that hype,” Hanson explained.
Hanson also described a few aspects of this show that made IU South Bend’s rendition even more unique.
“It was vocally taxing because even if we weren’t on stage, we would sing backup in every one of the songs, which isn’t usually the case in most musicals,” stated Hanson.
The show was made possible by a variety of people, including Director Justin Amellio, Choreographer Karen Pajor, Music Director Kevin Milliken, the actors, the singers, the dancers, the entire production crew, costume shop staff, scene shop staff, and properties and paint artisans.
The department is also putting on a production of “By The Way, Meet Vera Stark” in November.
