Sonoma Valley High School prepares for buoyant ‘Mamma Mia’ musical

Sonoma Valley High School students are buzzing with anticipation over the debut of the vibrant musical “Mamma Mia!” next week.

“My drama students have been wanting to do ‘Mamma Mia!’ for years,” said Jane Martin, a drama and English teacher at the school who is directing the production. “They love the fun, upbeat feel of the show. The students are connecting with the music and lyrics, and are enjoying bringing them to life.”

Senior Kannitha Hun — who is portraying Donna Sheridan, one of the lead characters — said that working on the production has given her “the greatest gifts of all.”

“These include forming many wonderful friendships with cast members, bringing me closer to my peers I’ve worked with and rekindling my passion to perform,” she said. “I am thrilled about this upcoming production, and I am eager to contribute my skills and dedicate myself to help make it a success.”

The show will debut on Friday, March 8, at 7 p.m. at the Sonoma Valley High School Little Theatre. Subsequent performances will take place on March 9, 15 and 16 at 7 p.m. as well as March 10 and 17 at 2 p.m.

“Mamma Mia!” focuses on Sheridan, a former hippie and free spirit who runs a B&B on a picturesque Greek island, and her daughter, Sophie. On the eve of Sophie’s wedding, her quest to discover the identity of her father brings three men from her mother’s past back to the island.

The production is a whimsical blend of music, romance and colorful characters. Throughout the performance, the buoyant music of ABBA is featured.

“Mamma Mia!” was written by British playwright Catherine Johnson. It has been presented by hundreds of theater groups worldwide and director Phyllida Lloyd made it into a movie featuring Meryl Streep. Martin said that she is not modeling the Sonoma Valley High School production after any previous versions.

“After reading the script many times, I created a vision for the story and students created their characters based on the text, their interpretation of the text and their imagination,” she said. “This is how we tell our story. Much of our audience will have seen some other version of ‘Mamma Mia!’ We want to delight audiences with our own interpretation of the story.”

The licensing agreement for the musical prohibits any changes to the text, but the staging and choreography will all be original. Amee Alioto, the special education and dance teacher at Adele Harrison Middle School in Sonoma, is serving as the choreographer and Wayne Richie is the musical director.

“I started working with Amee in 2006 on ‘West Side Story,’ and I have been very lucky to have collaborated with her on many Sonoma Valley High School productions since then,” Martin said. “I let Amee know my vision for the show and then she choreographs the dancing around that vision.

“Wayne works with students on teaching them songs. I focus on acting and staging. After about three months of rehearsal, we work together to combine all these elements.”

Alioto said that the students have embraced the music and the energetic choreography.

“I cannot wait to share it with audiences,” she said. “In terms of choreography, we are drawing inspiration from previous productions of ‘Mamma Mia!’ such as the movie and theatrical productions while also adding our own original features to make the dances unique to our production.

“This allows the dancers to showcase their talents while staying true to the spirit of the show. I wanted to make sure that each dancer feels comfortable and confident with the choreography while maintaining the high energy of the show.”

Although Alioto has not previously taught all the dancers, she has worked with many of them before, either in previous productions or in dance classes.

“It’s always rewarding to see their growth and enthusiasm in each new performance opportunity,” she said. “It has also been such a joy working with students who are new to musical theater and dance, in general.”

Auditions for “Mamma Mia!” were held on Oct. 31, 2023.

“We had an excellent turnout at auditions, which gave me a lot of great choices when casting the major roles,” Martin said. “In fact, there are so many talented student actors that I have double-cast a number of parts, with students alternating performances.”

Rehearsals started on Nov. 1, 2023, with 25 student actors and crew members (see sidebar).

“The biggest challenge this year is working without an assistant director,” Martin said. “Mounting musicals is a huge undertaking and it is challenging for one person to spearhead a production like this.”

The production was also challenging for student performers.

“Preparing for this production of the musical has required immense hard work and dedication, but it is a process I embraced wholeheartedly,” Hun said. “Although these past five months have been a challenge to balance, it has been an experience I will never forget.

“Working on this production has allowed me to express myself in a whole new form while also learning to understand myself and my character.”

Sonoma Valley Unified School District staff members are invited to attend a dress rehearsal of “Mamma Mia!” on Wednesday, March 6. Also, two performances will be offered exclusively for the school’s students.

“Many students know and love the show, “Mamma Mia!” and the music of ABBA, and there are also students who are unfamiliar with them,” Martin said. “They are in for a lovely surprise!”

Martin said that generally, students choose the school’s theatrical production each year.

“We have a committee of students that reviews the options, discusses them and decides which show they would like to do,” she said. “This process works well because the students are invested in their choices, and they have a sense of which titles have appeal to their fellow students.”

“We alternate between a play one year and a musical the next. Many students like musicals, but not plays, and vice versa, so we offer both.”

Previous shows the school has presented include “The Addams Family,” “The Crucible,” “Bye, Bye, Birdie,” “Almost, Maine,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Guys and Dolls.”

Sonoma Valley High School offers beginning and advanced drama classes, but some students cannot fit them into their schedules. The school’s theatrical production is an after-school program, like sports, however, so anyone can participate.

Martin praised the benefits of dramatic arts classes and performances.

“High school students who are involved in drama demonstrate an elevated self-confidence and actually get better grades over those who are not involved,” she said. “Taking part in plays and musicals builds self-esteem, time management and communication skills. Drama teaches students to walk in another character’s shoes and this teaches them empathy, which the world needs today.”

She said that drama also helps students to improve time management, collaboration, public speaking, trust, risk taking, storytelling, the ability to say “yes” instead of “no” and many other skills.

“A background in drama helps students no matter what profession they choose,” Martin said. “It teaches skills that are very relevant in the 21st century.”

Tickets for “Mamma Mia!” cost $15 for adults and $5 for children, students, seniors and active military members. They can be purchased at GoFan.co or at the Little Theater Bos Office, which will be open 30 minutes before each performance.

Reach the reporter, Dan Johnson, at daniel.johnson@sonomanews.com.