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When Emily Brandt learned that the Legacy Theater would produce a "Mamma Mia" production, she traveled from Appleton, Wisconsin, to audition for a role.
Brandt studied at the Millikin Theater MUSICAL University. One of her friends at Millikin was part of Legacy Theater's "Newsies" production last year and told her that she would make a super Sophie in their production of "Mamma Mia".
"I came in and auditioned," says Brandt.
"Mamma Mia" tells the story of a young woman named Sophie preparing for her wedding. She wants to invite her father, a man she's never met, so she goes through her mother's diary, Donna, to find out who her father is. Sophie sends invitations to three men that she believes to be her father, and the day before her wedding, the three men introduce themselves
The show is a musical jukebox, in which all the songs were written and performed by the ABBA group
"Mamma Mia" was made available to fans this year, making the Legacy Theater the first band in the region to stage it.
Director Leigh Steiner said people love the show for a number of reasons. ABBA music is contagious, and people who grew up with it love it. But the story is also touching, and resonates with all audiences.
"It's a story about humanity, about the loves you've had, about the loves you've lost," Steiner said. "So everyone should recognize a piece of their story in this musical."
Most people know "Mamma Mia" through the movie with Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried. Steiner said the movie version is pretty close to the music scene. There were some rearranged scenes and an extra song in the movie, but for the most part, people who love the movie will recognize the same story they like in the stage show.
"What I like in the movie is that you are transported to Greece and the visual is amazing," Steiner said. "You will find a lot of that in this production."
Brandt has already seen the film, but once she's played Sophie, she avoided looking again so she could create an independent characterization of "She's a free spirit … and she is about to get married, she is so young and she is so affectionate and so open, "Brandt said of her character. "But she is so afraid of hurting herself, but she knows that she must be vulnerable."
Steiner immediately preferred that everything go as if nothing had happened. She likes how the story sneaks into the music. People who watch the show will lose and, in the end, they will feel a sense of joy.
"When you come to the end, your joy is just exuberant because you go from a place of sorrow to that extreme joy," said Steiner. "I love history … I love to watch the whole story."
Steiner hopes that people will feel the joy when they get away from this musical. She also hopes that viewers will want to dance in the music aisles.
Brandt hopes for a similar reaction.
"I hope everyone will leave with a smile on their face and a warm feeling in their hearts," she says. "For two hours and two and a half hours, the world was fine."
– Contact Carla Jimenez: 788-1542, [email protected], twitter.com/CarlaJimenezSJR.
*** [19659002] Mamma Mia!
When: 6-8 July, 11-15, 18-22 and 25-29; 7:00 pm Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 pm Friday and Saturday, 2 pm Sundays
Where: Legacy Theater, 101 E. Lawrence St.
Tickets: $ 25 in advance, $ 30 at the door
For further information: www.atthelegacy.com
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