Audiences for Penn-Trafford High School’s spring musical, “Mamma Mia!,” should warm up their vocals and wear their dancing shoes before coming to see the show April 10 to 19, director Tom Bekavac said.
It is a show that viewers of all ages can appreciate, Bekavac said.
“There’s a familiarity of the music, even for the new generation that has discovered ABBA, and definitely for the older generation that lived through that era of all these ABBA hits,” he said. “That’s the real draw for the show.”
“Mamma Mia!,” a musical featuring songs by the Swedish pop group ABBA, debuted on Broadway in 2001. It was adapted for the screen in 2008, and a sequel, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,” was released in 2018.
Penn-Trafford Drama Club students have asked to perform the musical for years, director Janine Kucinski said.
“The anticipation of this show at Penn-Trafford High School has been years in the making,” she said. “They were super excited to be the kids … who were able to do this show.”
Adapting to characters more than twice their age has been a challenge for the student actors, Bekavac said.
“They don’t have the lived experience of some of these characters — going through a divorce personally or having two, three partners throughout your life, all with different storylines that relate back to you,” he said.
Between the costumes, sets and choreography, the performance creates an immersive experience for viewers, Kucinski said.
“Everybody in all those departments have put a lot of work into making this show come to life,” she said.