Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! A Stellar Performance of Mamma Mia!
The CHHS Theater Group is Ready to Dance and Jive for their Fall Musical

We caught up with members of the CHHS theater cast and crew during tech week to see how everyone was feeling about their upcoming performances of Mamma Mia!. The musical is directed by Ms. Sara O’Brien, who is thrilled with the energy of this year’s cast and crew and the opportunity to perform this epic musical. 

“I’ve wanted to do Mamma Mia! for the last eight years but, as with any show, you need the right group of students to make it work for everyone,” said Ms. O’Brien. “This summer, I realized that we had the cast to do it - and we’ve been having so much fun!” she said.

Sophomore Romy Files earned the role of Sophie, and is having a blast. She also noted that one of the things she appreciates about “Mamma Mia! is the full cast involvement. “There is not one song where it’s just an individual performing,” said Romy. “If you’re not on the stage singing, you're on the side of the stage doing background vocals.” Ms. O’Brien echoed that sentiment, explaining that a full three weeks of their eight-week run was dedicated to the complicated vocals that carry the show. 

This will be senior Caroline Casieri’s fifth and final year as a member of the CHHS Theater group. Her first role was in eighth grade as Milky White (the cow) in Into the Woods. As Donna, Caroline will sing Slipping Through My Fingers, a ballad about a mother preparing her daughter for her wedding day. Caroline fully expects the audience to be in tears, especially her mom! She wasn't shy about the power of an amazing performance, saying, “You get to evoke so much emotion and feeling through your singing and acting, and it’s such a cool feeling to sing this passionate song and look out and see people sobbing.”

Coming off a leading role in Seussical at PVC, freshman Ben Caputo earned the role of Sophie’s fiance Sky, and shared that the pace of a high school musical was something he had to get used to. “At the middle school, we had five months to put on a show; now we’re running through the show in two months,” he said. The entire group admitted that many rehearsals were fueled by carefully timed trips to Starbucks for pink drinks and other caffeinated beverages. 

Together the cast will perform ABBA hits including Super Trouper (a group favorite), Voulez-Vous, Waterloo, and many more. Junior Juliana Mari will assume the role of Tanya and simply beamed when talking about the Super Trouper performance. “Caroline’s mother made 70’s, shimmery costumes. And Caroline (Donna), Samantha (Rosie), and I come up the center aisle while everyone else is on the stage at the bachelorette party.” The trio then walks on stage wearing five-inch sparkly platforms. A disco fashion dream!

Ms. O’Brien credits the heavy vocals with amplifying the camaraderie within the cast because they are “always together.” The crew is also a tight-knit and devoted team, coming together and putting in long hours to get the set ready, with many working right up until rehearsals began each day. 

For her final musical performance at CHHS, Caroline Casieri summed up her experiences perfectly: “One of my favorite parts of theater is that you find a new family with every show you do. You’re so close because you’ve gone through so much together.” 

There’s no doubt that this CHHS theatre family has put the work into making it an amazing show. It’s sure to be a groovy weekend, filled with epic fashion, killer moves, and music that will have us all boogying down for days to come. To our Mamma Mia! posse, break legs!