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The “Mamma Mia!” cast performs the musical number “Dancing Queen” during a practice rehearsal. Isabella Argiropoulos (’28), who was in charge of the spotlight, said a highlight of the production was tech week because she had a more active part in the week leading up to the show. “It’s awesome to watch everyone perform because [during] the first couple weeks of tech, you’re kind of just watching how the show runs, how they act, how everyone behaves with one another and the relationship between the director, the cast and the crew,” Argiropoulos said.
Photo credit: Shae Killam'
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The live band for “Mamma Mia!” performs, nestled in the corner of the amphitheater. The band consisted of a pianist, guitarist and drummer. Performer Maya Sakanini (’27) said she is grateful for the musicals at Archer. “I like to do the musical because I am not a sporty person,” Sakanini said. “I enjoy being able to act and present myself on stage.”
Photo credit: Shae Killam'
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Zoe Eyraud (’28) and Samara Gottlieb (’28) pretend to clean windows while practicing during tech week the number “Money, Money, Money.” Samara Gottlieb, featured on the right, said her favorite numbers were, “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” and “Super Trooper.” “My favorite part of doing Mamma Mia in general is that it’s a bonding experience unlike any other,” Gottlieb said. “We’re all united by a common interest and get to have fun putting on a show.”
Photo credit: Shae Killam'
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The ending of the show, set at Sophie’s wedding, features the moment her parents decide to get back together. Performer Bryce Collis (’25) said her relationship with the cast has extended beyond the show. “We have so many inside jokes, stories of triumph in rehearsals and onstage shenanigans,” Collis said. “We hug when we see each other at school and we still text on the cast group chat.”
Photo credit: Charlotte Burnap'
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The audience at the faculty show applauds at the end of a number of “Mamma Mia!” The show was sold out for every performance. I’m definitely happy with [my] role,” Argiropoulos said. “The lighting board, lighting and stuff. So it’s cool to see how those pieces work too and how the mics work.”
Photo credit: Charlotte Burnap'
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Collis performs the number “Waterloo” during a tech rehearsal. Collis said that she connected to her character Donna because of her hippie vibe. “I connected with Donna in many ways. Firstly, she was a hippie in the 70s, and I have dreamed of being a hippie since middle school. I love the aesthetic of the bell bottoms, flowing shirts, flower crowns, colorful artwork and long flowing hair,” Collis said. “But more than that, I love the message of acceptance that hippies preach — then and now.”
Photo credit: Shae Killam'
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Musical Director Samara Kelly gives notes to students during tech week. Assistant Director Grace Whitney (’25) said she is grateful to have the experience of assisting the directing process. “We’re very lucky in the upper school to work with people who are so committed to making it the best show it can be, no matter what role they have, which I think is a rare thing, especially in high school,” Whitney said.
Photo credit: Shae Killam'
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Mamma Mia’s music group, Donna and the Dynamos, starts to sing ‘Dancing Queen.’ The group featured Bryce Collin (’25), Olivia Broock (’27) and Hayden Seid (’25). Hayden talked about her relationship with her costars and how she feels she that they have bonded over the experience. “I got to work with Olivia and Bryce and it felt kind of similar in real life to when you’re with your old friends,” Seid said. “It just felt so real. It was really beautiful.”
Photo credit: Charlotte Burnap'
From “Slipping Through My Fingers” to “Dancing Queen,” the bittersweet melodies and energetic hits of classic ABBA songs rang through the amphitheater as the upper school performed “Mamma Mia!.”
The musical follows Sophie, a young bride who dreams of her father walking her down the aisle. But there’s one problem: She doesn’t know who her dad is. While her mother, Donna, hurriedly prepares for the wedding, Sophie secretly invites three men from Donna’s past, believing one of them to be her father.
Auditions for the show were held Thursday, Aug. 29, and the cast list was announced two days later. Rehearsals then began, culminating in four performances from Thursday, Nov. 14 to Saturday, Nov. 16.
Senior Grace Whitney was the show’s assistant director, and she worked alongside director Samara Kelly, stage manager Rachel Chung (‘25), musical director Jan Roper and choreographer Ashley Fisher. “Mamma Mia!” was Whitney’s third show serving as assistant director. She said putting the production together began with identifying the fundamental aspects of each scene and developing the story as it progressed.
“It’s skeletal. First, you bring out what is going to be the initial blocking or character motivation in a very basic sense, and then you get into the finer details the further along you go,” Whitney said. “So it’s not so much building up a scene, making it its final version and then moving on, it’s the basic version, the basic version, the basic version, then we’re going to go back and start again and get more into the final details.”
With “Mamma Mia!” being a well-known production, Whitney said she was initially intimidated. However, she said their show became more unique as the story progressed.
“Are we just going to be mimicking it? That’s always my fear. But then the fun part becomes, ‘How do we make this our own?’ and that’s when it becomes your production,” Whitney said. “It’s no longer that you’re mimicking something. It’s about, ‘How are you making this your own?'”
The show was junior Stella Leland’s second time participating in an Archer musical. They played Eddie, one of the hotel workers on the fictional island, Kalokairi, where the story takes place. Leland said the show improved every rehearsal as the actors began to understand the characters and their motives.
“I was having a lot of fun during the whole process, but especially seeing it all come together. Everyone finding their place and having their role come to life is really nice,” Leland said. “As the show went on people started learning lines and all that stuff, then as everyone grew into their characters, it helped everyone else as well.”
Senior Hayden Seid played Rosie, one of Donna’s best friends. She said the community formed within the cast and crew was one of the musical’s most special aspects.
“Every rehearsal just felt like coming home to a family,” Seid said. “Everyone always cheers for each other and hypes one another up. There’s never an instance where I feel scared to be in front of these people, because literally everyone is so welcoming and selflessly supportive.”
Leland echoed Seid’s love of the theater community. They said the popularity of “Mamma Mia!” increased interest among people who typically don’t get involved with performing arts.
“There was this sense of community that came with it being “Mamma Mia!” because it’s such a well-known and well-loved show that people who usually wouldn’t do theater tried it out,” Leland said. “It’s lovely to see how people who are less comfortable with doing all the dancing and singing become more comfortable over time. And I know a lot of people who started this year plan to do it next year, which is really great.”
For Seid and Whitney, “Mamma Mia!” will be the last musical they are involved in at Archer. Whitney said it was the seniors’ dream production because of the story’s core values of joy, sisterhood and growth.
“We all wanted this to be our senior show. It was the one we all campaigned for so we were really excited. And I think that it being a show so largely centered around female joy is a really nice thing,” Whitney said. “To have a show so perfectly encapsulating sisterhood and women loving and supporting each other, it was really lovely. And also this idea of Sophie going off and starting her adult life, that’s something that really, really, really resonated with a lot of the seniors.”
Seid said performing in “Mamma Mia!” was a dream come true. She said she can’t back to photos and videos from the show without remembering all of the fun she had with her castmates.
“It was so perfect for our last musical to be ABBA. It was just fun from beginning to end because we all know and love the songs. It just felt like one big dance party,” Seid said. “Who wouldn’t want to spend two hours in Greece every day after school?”
