As soon as Erin Lynch ’20 walked on stage with a radiant smile and began singing “Honey Honey,” I knew I was in for a treat. 

Staples Players did an excellent job of translating the emotion and excitement captured in the movie into their performance. All the detailed costumes with sparkles and the scenery filled with blue and white Greek patterns gave me the true feeling I was there with them in Greece. 

In the play, the main characters Sophie and Sky are played by Lynch and Jamie Mann ’21. On the night I went to see the play, Lynch and Mann did a spectacular job with their roles. Their voices filled the entire theater and they sang each song with such enthusiasm that it made the audience want to sing along with them

Lynch said that she was very excited and is glad to be able to recreate it as one of the lead roles.

 “It’s always been my favorite movie and I love the songs, it’s just all so near to my heart,” Lynch said, “so it’s very exciting that this gets to be my last fall show and I just love being able to recreate the story that I fell in love with.”

Donna Sheridan, Sophie’s mother, was played by Camille Foisie ’21. Foisie did an incredible job in her role. She grabbed the attention of her audience through her breathtaking voice, which hit every note from low to high on every song performed. She received thunderous applause after each song. 

“Her performance in “Mamma Mia” was truly inspiring, especially her voice in the song ‘The Winner Takes It All,’” Natalia Maidique ’21 said, who watched the play on Saturday. “It gave me shivers from the emotion she channeled through the character of Donna.”

 Every act and dance was well choreographed and all the moves were very unique from other Staples productions that I have seen. Sasha Barnett ’22 is part of the feature dance ensemble and explains that after over three months of rehearsals, she is thrilled for people to watch the play. 

“I am really excited because everyone is either familiar with the songs by Abba or the movie itself so I know everyone will enjoy it,” Barnett said, “and we worked very hard on this production so it will be fun to finally perform it.”

I have seen many Staples productions in the past, but I can say for sure that “Mamma Mia” was my favorite one. It was overall very well produced and performed by the students and by the end, I found myself wanting to be a part of Staples Players. After watching it, I can inform you that the catchy tunes of the songs will get stuck in your head for a while.

“It’s just such a community and a family and I never understood how much effort and work goes into the productions,” Barnett said. “Towards the end, we really do become like a family.”