The review of Mamma Mia

Amy Yang
Mamma Mia review
IB Lit&Perf SL
Ms.Guarino
The review of Mamma Mia

On February 26 2020, I watched a musical, “Mamma Mia” in the Black Box at Cheshire Academy. “Mamma Mia” is a musical written by playwright Catherine Johnson. The director of school musical is Ms.Guarino. The main actors are Elena, Audra, Olivia, Jane, Jackson, Tony and Nate. This production talks about a young pretty bride-to-be, Sophie, invited three men to her upcoming wedding, each of whom has possibility to be her father. Sophie was dreaming a perfect wedding which includes her father giving her way. Her mom Donna did not want to talk about the past, so Sophie decided to find out her father by inviting three possible men to her wedding. The show is exhilarating and irresistibly joyful! There are many profoundly significant themes being explored. In my perspectives, I think the play was talking about the bonds between old friends and showing families. 

First of all, during the whole performance, I noticed the matching clothes and ensemble.I know the actors are about same age, but I can tell the characters from different generations by their clothes. Audra’s clothes in the production are young and lovely. Livi, Elena and Jane all look sophisticated and old-fashioned. I can also tell the personalities of each character by the clothes and the hairstyles the director designs for the actors. Take Jane as an example, her dress is red and a little sexy, emphasizing her enthusiasm and minimal conservative. For the other actors, I can see the consistency of their clothes every time they appear. For example, sometimes girls wear short skirts of the same length. Sometimes boys and girls wear casual clothes. Sometimes they show up in flippers and beach shirts……

And then I was impressed by all the songs in the musical. I may not be able to name every song, but there are a few lines of every song that still stick in my head. The songs are catchy, soulful, joyful, sad…… Elena impressed me the most. Usually I see her is quiet, a little introverted, very shy girl. This musical showed me a different Elena. She sings beautifully and powerfully. And I heard she lost her voice over the weekend, but when she was in the rehearsal on Wednesday, I was shocked. I was moved by the songs, and I loved the way the characters sang to express their thoughts and emotions.

The most impressive character for me is Jane. She plays Tanya in the musical. In this production, although she is not the heroine, her performance makes me unable take my eyes off her. She really payed attention to her details when she was on the stage. Her face, emotions and her actions all showed Tanya’s personality vividly. Her performance made me believe that she was the best person for the role. The another impressive moment is when everyone sings song together. Before that, I have to say I love the songs from “Mamma Mia” so much. Audra, Elena, Jane, Livi, Tony, Jackson, Nate and rest of actors are all awesome singers. They cooperated wonderfully with the pit. I still remember the moment that everyone popping out of different places and singing “Mamma Mia”. I think that's what the director wants to achieve. As the title of the show, “Mamma Mia”, is supposed to grab viewers' attention when it appears in the songs.


To be honest, as a theater lover, I love this musical so much! I’m still so excited when I mention it. I really want to watch it again after I watched the rehearsal on Wednesday. I know the seats are full, and many people said the three shows over the weekend received better applause, which makes me even more envious. Judging from the reaction of the audience and the fact that the seats were full, I think the play was a great success. That's why I like acting, acting can make the audience happy; acting can make the actors confident; acting can make the director proud; acting can make everyone grow and progress.

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