Unbelievably catchy ABBA tunes turned into a jukebox musical comedy: That's "Mamma Mia!" presented by Texarkana Repertory Co. the two weekends between May 3rd and 12th.
TexRep presents the show at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays at Stilwell Theatre on the Texarkana College campus.
TexRep kicks off the 2019-2020 season with this massive musical, beloved by theatergoers the world over. Based on ABBA's big hit songs, there's an obvious appeal.
"These jukebox musicals are always tricky, but they fit the songs in really well to tell the story," says TexRep Director Michael Cooper. "We're on a Greek island. A young, 20-year-old girl (Sophie) is about to get married and she's found her mother's diary. She's never known who her father is. In reading the diary, she discovers that during the time when her mother became pregnant she saw three different guys."
So, guess who young Sophie invites to the wedding? That's right, all three men. Craziness ensues from there, said the director.
Tanya Fowler plays the mother, Donna, while Hailey Mahone plays Sophie, who's soon to be wedded to Sky, played by Rafael Veliz.
There are 27 musical numbers in the production. "It's got great harmonies and they stick with you. They really stick with you," Cooper said of the ABBA songs in the show. The curtain call allows the audience to get into it, too. That will be the time for the audience to dance and sing along.
For staging, a Greek island motif will be created with pieces moving and turning around. This production also brings something new for TexRep.
"For the first time ever, we are using recorded music," Cooper said, "which is something I've always not wanted to do."
But in this instance, the music must sound like ABBA. That is essential. "We can get great musicians but they don't sound like ABBA," the director said.
While ballads and touching moments appear in the production, it is a comedy. Things go increasingly awry after the potential dads arrive at the wedding.
"I've come to enjoy it more and more as we've worked on it," Cooper said, noting that for the benefit of his performers, he tells them to treat the words of an ABBA song in the context of the story, as if it's any other musical. "This song is going to further our story or tell you more about a character or situation."
Cooper believes it will be an adventure with the audience. Because TexRep added a fifth show to this upcoming season, they're promoting a season package membership during "Mamma Mia!" that essentially throws in that fifth show for free.
What makes Sophie tick? "Sophie, she really wants to know who her dad is. I think that's her main drive in the entire show, aside from everything else," Mahone said of her character.
She'll do whatever it takes to ascertain the truth, including lying to get her potential fathers to attend the wedding.
That lying eats at her through the musical, Mahone explained, but there's a reason she does it. "She just feels like a part of her is missing. I think she's a little lost," she said about Sophie's drive to find out who her dad is. It's her way to feel whole.
Mahone says the music and dialogue run together seamlessly. "It's really easy to do, it's fun," she said. They're also songs that everyone will know.
"I think playing this character, it's the first character I've ever had that I can actually speak in English like my dialect," Mahone said. All of her other roles required accents of some sort. "It's fun to play kind of a vulnerable character that's young and naive. I think she's head-over-heels for her fiance, but she's also determined to find out who that daddy is."
To see Mahone and her TexRep cohorts bring ABBA songs to life, check out "Mamma Mia!" starting a week from today.
(Tickets: TexRep membership or $15 for adults, $12 for seniors or students, $5 for TC students and staff. To get tickets: Visit TexRep.org or call 903-831-7827.)