Mamma Mia, here I go again, my my, how can I resist you?—Whether or not you’ve seen the Broadway show or the adapted movie, these iconic Mamma Mia! lyrics by the band ABBA are bound to ring a bell

Originally written by British playwright Catherine Johnson in the late 1900’s, Mamma Mia! takes on the tale of Sophie Sheridan—a newly engaged—as she attempts to find out the identity of her long lost father. After reading her mother’s old diary, Sophie determines three possible fatherly candidates and invites them to her wedding in Greece. Posing as her mother in the invitations, a fiasco unravels when the three contenders reach the island of Kalokairi, Greece unannounced to the rest of the invitees.

On April 13th to the 16th, Rochester Adams High School presented their own spin on the drama-filled play. The theater club has been preparing since December, regularly meeting after school for rehearsals. Gaby Schwarz-Millet, a junior exchange student from France currently attending Adams, was a part of the ensemble for this spring’s show. 

“So I think we started in like December and yeah and the end of it was like last week,” said Schwarz-Millet. “I was in the ensemble, and I was just singing the whole thing, and then sometimes I was on stage dancing.”

Although Schwarz-Millet recalled her role not being too difficult, she admitted that the cast met up everyday after school and had to often practice their lines at home. 

“Not for the whole time but at the end yes,” said Schwarz-Millet, referring to the difficulty of balancing her role with her life. “We had rehearsal everyday and at home I just learned the songs and the words.”

Although the cast endured hard work for months, the show was spectacular from the audience’s perspective. Charlotte Lin, a junior at Adams, attended the show on Saturday and would attend for a second time, giving the function a 10/10 rating.

“I would,” said Lin, referring to her watching the play again. “I was thoroughly impressed like woah, honestly yeah, ten out of ten.”

Upon entrance, the theater was dim and lightly lit by twinkling lights hung on its massive stage curtains. When the curtains opened, the audience was met with a Greek style building inspired by “Hotel Bella Donna”—the tropical retreat owned by Donna Sheridan, Sophie’s mother— in the original tale. 

Varied throughout the acts, the costumes reflected those of the original film, featuring the famously known Super Trouper outfits (worn during the performance of Super Trouper by Sophie’s mom and her friends), Sophie’s wedding dress, and the overall coastal summer attire worn by the ensemble. Vibrant colors filled the stage and the bright atmosphere of the Greek coast was portrayed perfectly.

Aside from accidentally turning the theater lights on twice, the tech crew lit the stage up excellent

ly the rest of the night, providing the brilliant actors with their respective spotlights. 

From the beautiful vocals to the emotional acting, the actors were what made the show worthwhile. Many times throughout the night, the audience let out laughter at the actor’s jokes and joined the ensemble in dancing to the widely-known ABBA songs. At the end of the show, Dancing Queen began playing and a disco ball on the theater’s ceiling lit the room, surrounding it by glittering speckles of light. The audience was not shy to begin singing and dancing. 

But the lead, Riley Crabtree, who played Sophie, stuck out the most. Not only were her vocals on point during the entirety of the performance, but she enacted the young fiancée perfectly and made it clear that she took her role seriously. 

Having sold out three out of four nights, it’s safe to say that Mamma Mia! was a success for the Adams theater and will be remembered for years to come.