Mingus Union’s ATORT stages ‘Mamma Mia!’ musical March 29 through April 6

Mingus Union High Schools’ A Troupe of Ridiculous Thespians will be performing “Mamma Mia!” as their spring musical, which will run from Saturday, March 29, through Sunday, April 6, and feature many of the school’s seniors in the final show of their time in high school.

Join Sophie on her quest to discover the identity of her father while enjoying hits from ABBA including “Super Trouper,” “Dancing Queen” and “Take a Chance on Me.”

There will be five presentations beginning Saturday, March 29, at 6:30 p.m., and continuing Sunday, March 30, at 3 p.m., Thursday, April 3, at 6:30 p.m., Friday, April 4, and Saturday, April 5, at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 6, at 3 p.m.

“For the enjoyment of all, please don’t sing along during regular performances, but since we know what our audience wants, for one night only, on Thursday, April 3, at 6:30 p.m., we are having a special sing-a-long performance,” ATORT director James Ball said. “A QR code with the lyrics will be available so everyone can belt to their heart’s content with our cast. As a warning, dancing in the isles may happen.”

Mckenzie Combs plays Donna Sheridan, while Emerald Cardinali plays her daughter, Sophie Sheridan.

“Donna was really fun to play because she had to mature very young,” Combs said. “After living a very crazy life in the ’70s, she got pregnant at 20 in a foreign country and was disowned by her mother, and so she kind of had to take care of herself from that point on and raise her daughter on her own. So learning to really sympathise with Donna and what she’s been through and put that into the character was a really great journey.”

Combs said that she made diary entries to help her understand the character when she was younger and commented that those have changed over the years.

Cardinali said that the character of Sophie Sheridan idolizes her mother, “wears a lot of emotions on her face” and is very out there, and that playing the character was initially a challenge that she learned to overcome.

Both actresses said that they got into theatre at a very young age and that “Mamma Mia” was very close to their hearts.

Addison Hughes, a senior at Mingus planning to study sports medicine in college, will be heading the costume department for the play and said that she was hoping not only to pull it off without a hitch but also go to the Gammage High School Musical Theatre Awards and win a state award for costuming. She said that working behind the scenes could be very stressful but also taught her a number of useful skills.

“I really have to work on delegating, and I sort of have to be more commanding,” Hughes said. “Like, if I need something done, I have to assign people. So yes, delegating, it can be a struggle with deadlines. I’ve stayed up late almost every single day for the past two weeks. I’ve been here until like 10:30 [p.m.] So you might not think it’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of tiny little details you wouldn’t even care about on screen, but I care about.”

She advised students with an interest in theatre to “just try it” and to “push yourself.”

“For the past two months our incredibly talented students have worked tirelessly in order to transport the audience to the grooviest island in Greece,” ATORT assistant director Stephen Renard stated in a press release. “We are unbelievably proud of the work that they have done and know that everyone will love rocking to the music and magic of Abba and the extraordinary theatrical experience that is ‘Mamma Mia.’”

Tickets for “Mamma Mia!” are on sale now at atort.ludus.com. Patrons can use the code “Dynamos” at checkout to save 15% off their ticket order by Wednesday, March 19.