Seventies disco is alive and well in Chapel Hill with the Pauper Players' spring mainstage production of “Mamma Mia.”
This jukebox musical brings the music of the Swedish band ABBA alive with its Greek interpretation of a story of lovers throughout generations. The story of the musical focuses on Sophie, who is trying to find her real father out of three of her mother’s former lovers.
Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, the writers of the music used in “Mamma Mia,” spearheaded ABBA in the 1970s with their Swedish disco music. ABBA’s hit songs such as “Dancing Queen” and “Super Trooper” are featured in the stage show that is being presented by Pauper Players.
“Mamma Mia is actually my first musical here at UNC, and it has been a great introduction to the musical theater world here because it is such a fun show," ensemble member Hannah Whittington said. "Everyone loves ABBA of course, so the music along with the high-energy choreography is why I love it so much.”
Despite trying to stay as true to the source material as possible with this production, Pauper Players is putting a spin on the musical classic by reinforcing the music to represent the emotions of the storyline.
“We want the actors to portray a lot more emotions in the songs than they normally would,” music director Madeline Yara said. “For example, our Donna puts a lot of flair into her singing which is something that we wouldn’t normally do, but it adds a lot of character and emotion to her songs.”
This production contains a mix of upperclassmen and first-years. One of the leads of the show, Sky, is played by first-year Andrew Henriques.
“I’ve been acting since elementary school and throughout high school,” Henriques said. “I’m a first-year so this is my first experience with Pauper Players, but I’m so glad I joined and I can’t wait for future opportunities to work with them again.”
This show has gained immense popularity in recent years with its movie adaptation and the 2018 sequel, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.”
