By Rebecca Do
Usually, when I watch theater performances, I have no clue what it’s going to be about. But I am a “Mamma Mia!” fanatic — I’ve watched the movie hundreds of times over and came in with set expectations. I thought to myself, “Good luck trying to make an engaging reenactment out of the world’s greatest movie.”
But the Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) Theatre delivered stunningly.
If you yourself have been living on a fictional Greek island with no access to the outside world, “Mamma Mia!” is a 2008 film about 20-year-old Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried), who invites three of her mother’s (Meryl Streep) ex-lovers to her wedding on the fictional Greek island of Kalokairi, thinking that one of them could be her long-lost father. Through a series of elaborate singing and dance ensembles, she tries to narrow down who her real father is so he can give her away at the wedding.
ACT 1
Sophomore Addison Phan starred as our Sophie Sheridan, and she did an amazing job at that. She begins the play by recounting her mother’s colorful past through her diary in “Honey, Honey” in a way that would make the ghost of teenage Amanda Seyfried proud.
The costume designs for both Sophie and the ensemble were beautiful and emulated that “fictional Greek island” vibe to a T, with frilly skirts and blouses that are the pinnacle of summer. The ensemble does a great job of blending into Sophie’s soft, elegant vocals.
Senior Bailey Curtis is someone who I see on the stage frequently. When I played piano for last year’s production of “Chicago,” she stunned me with her enthusiasm, desperation and powerful embodiment of Velma Kelly. As Donna Sheridan, she stunned me once more. I can truly say, from an untrained eye and outsider’s perspective, that she has so much star quality and talent it’s almost obscene.
Her performance of “Money, Money, Money” is breathtaking — that in itself was an understatement. The ensemble again, blended beautifully with the voice of our fervorous and passionate Donna.
This piece also featured intense and intricate choreography from our dance ensemble, led by junior Lizzy Doan. They all did an amazing job of accompanying (and not overshadowing) Curtis’ solo.
We finally get a glimpse of the three maybe-fathers after her solo. Junior Logan English plays an expressive yet exhausted Sam Carmichael. Senior Kyle Smith and sophomore Mason Liger as Bill Austin and Harry Bright respectively, also fall into their roles naturally and deliver a humorous performance to compliment Carmichael’s distress.
Harry spots a guitar, sitting all by its lonesome, and sings a tune that Sophie seems to remember. In “Thank You For The Music,” Liger busts out his guitar skills (live, at that!) in a heartwarming duet between a possible father and possible daughter.
Afterward, Curtis comes out again to grace this stage with her presence and delivers one of the best performances of the show’s namesake “Mamma Mia!” I have ever had the pleasure of watching.
If there’s anything to take away from this review, it’s that Curtis is a supernova who was born to be on stage. Our Donna delivers it as a lament, yet yearns to turn back time as well. This smoothly transitions into “Chiquitita,” in which her friends Rosie and Tanya (played by freshman Cameron Bridges and junior Sage McWilliams respectively) comfort her over her distress.
“Dancing Queen” is undoubtedly the most iconic part of the play, and consists of the trip reminiscing their fun, funky and frivolous past. Bridges is so lively and a great support to our main character; it’s difficult to believe that she’s only a freshman!
Sky, played by senior Zak Balta, performs a passionate rendition of “Lay All Your Love On Me” with the hilarious assistance of senior Noah Sarrell and Kaelin Tsan (as Pepper and Eddie, respectively). It’s the little things like their funky choreography in scuba diving clothes that give this production that cartoonishly flamboyant flair.
We get a dose of girl power with “Super Trouper” and “Gimme Gimme Gimme,” as the trio belts their hearts out to a song from their last, and as the bachelor-bachelorette party goes into full swing.
The main dilemma unravels in the next two sets: “The Name Of The Game” and “Voulez-Vous.” In “The Name Of The Game,” Sophie and Bill spend some one-on-one time as they partake in a lighthearted duet, and he tells her that he wants to give her away at her wedding. “Voulez-Vous,” which showcased the ensemble excellently, opens a whole new can of worms — now, Sam and Harry want to give Sophie away as well.
ACT 2
In the first four songs of the second act, Sophie and Donna experience some pre-wedding jitters. Sophie wakes up from a bad dream in “Under Attack,” as the company and her three prospective dads surround her. Here is also where I need to once again give my tens to the costume team — it stays true to the movie, and I’m a sucker for authenticity. Curtis’s Donna, in “One Of Us,” somberly expresses (vocalizes) that she’ll be lonely once Sophie is off and married.
Sam joins her in their duet, “SOS,” as he laments their relationship. English and Curtis make for such a vocally powerful duo; I get chills whenever either of them is out on stage because it seems out of the realm of possibilities for any high schooler to be that good at performing.
We get a break from the emotional turmoil in a duet between Sarrell and McWilliams in “Does Your Mother Know?” It was refreshing to see a comedic duo take up the stage in a duet after getting an insight into Sophie and Donna’s relationship problems.
Well, the break from said emotional turmoil didn’t last long, as Sophie and Sky are fighting due to him not knowing the true intentions of inviting the three men to her wedding. Sophie partakes in three duets: “Knowing Me Knowing You,” “Our Last Summer,” and “Slipping Through My Fingers” with Sam, Harry and Donna respectively. The last of the three tugged at my heartstrings like no other and nearly brought me to tears thinking about my own mom.
The wedding goes on, despite Sky and Sophie’s little squabble. English’s Sam stumbles upon the aisle wanting to give Sophie away, and he and Curtis belt out once again in “The Winner Takes It All.”
What amazed me the most about this song in particular was their controlled facial expressions while performing this seemingly very vocally challenging piece. I guess that comes with the “performance-talent” package deal.
Bridges and Smith take the stage in “Take A Chance On Me,” and Bridges’ deep vocals took me in for a ride as it was a striking contrast from the previous softer, higher vocals. Rosie and Bill start a relationship, and it’s here that everything begins to fall into place.
Well now, everyone finds out that there are three prospective dads, Sophie doesn’t want to stop seeing the world just yet and calls her marriage off but for it not to be wasted! Donna and Sam decide on a spontaneous marriage so as not to waste the time put into it (and because they’re in love). Cute!
In “I Have A Dream,” Sophie changes back to her outfit from Act 1 and sings with Sky as she hugs all three of her newfound dads. Phan and Balta walk down the aisle (what’s really the stage) off to their next adventure.
The end was a bit of a blur. Everyone was clapping, in the colorful, skin-tight “Super Trouper” outfits and running around. I loved it nonetheless.
Final Verdict
All in all, FVHS Theatre’s production of “Mamma Mia!” was everything you want and would expect from a high school rendition of a popular movie. It was spunky, authentic and stayed true to the film while sprinkling in some of its own elements and flair.
The vocals, acting and overall performance were strong, as expected. I would expect nothing less. Everyone, from the leads to the ensemble to the costume and prop designers to the lighting and sound crew, did their part, and that resulted in the most validating performance of all time: a performance that I thoroughly enjoyed (sarcasm, of course).
