After the cast list came out in October, rehearsals began for theater’s production of Mamma Mia. The show centers around Sophie and her mom, Donna, as Sophie’s upcoming wedding brings back three men from Donna’s past in an attempt to find Sophie’s dad. Senior Cody Leveck plays Bill Austin, one of the possible fathers. 

“It’s a really fun experience, auditioning always is,” Leveck said. “It’s getting to work with people, getting to see how y’all click together and refining a character you don’t own yet.”

Each auditioning student began with a song from the show, followed by a dance audition. Assistant Choir Director Lauren Lafferty sat in on the singing auditions to advise on the different voices and musical elements of the show. For this production, theater teacher Jeremy Ferman served as tech director. 

“We did Seussical a couple of years ago, which was fun, and we decided we wanted to do a show that was a lot of fun,” Ferman said. “We wanted to do a show that people knew the music to and could come with an idea of what it was about.”

The weekend before opening night, Mansfield ISD canceled school and all extracurricular activities because of snow and low temperatures. The cancellation interfered with major rehearsals prior to tech week. 

“The timing of weather was the biggest challenge. We came into tech week, and we had to crank things out and finish things,” Ferman said. “During our preview night last night I was actually programming light cues during the show which is not our normal thing.” 

Senior Mackenzie Bridgewater learned lines, cues and blockings for the show through her role as stage manager. She filled in for absent actors, took line notes and helped manage the production from the beginning. The cast and students involved in production rehearsed Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays since October. 

“So many people have put countless hours of work into this show, but we had so much fun putting it all together and we want everyone to get a chance to have as much fun as we did.” Bridgewater said. “We truly couldn’t be more proud of the show and think that everyone should come see it once! And come on, who doesn’t love ABBA?”

The show opens on Jan. 18 and runs through Jan. 21, showing again the next weekend. Tickets sell for ten dollars each and are available on the Legacy Theatre website. Friday night shows are sing-along nights for the audience members. 

“We’ve got a lot of really good actors, really good talent on that stage,” Leveck said. “They poured their heart and souls out into the show, and it is truly an unforgettable experience. It’s something I’m never gonna forget.”