Local students will offers residents a chance to escape the frigid temperatures to a island in Greece, and promise the show will bring the house down.
The Bonnyville Centralized High School (BCHS) drama group is performing the hit musical Mamma Mia as they take to the Lyle Victor Albert Centre stage for the last time from Thursday, Feb. 21 to Saturday, Feb. 23.
Since this will be their final performance at the Lyle Victor, BCHS teacher and play organizer Nicole Baker said they chose Mamma Mia to “go out with a bang.”
She continued, “We (wanted to) go out with something everybody loved, had heard of, and that will be the last memory of the Lyle.”
Mamma Mia tells the story of a Sophie and Donna Sheridan as they plan Sophie’s wedding on an island in Greece. In hopes of meeting her father, Sophie invites three men from Donna’s past to have one of them walk her down the aisle.
Students have been hard at work since September memorizing lines and choreography, as well as perfecting their characters.
Grade 12 student Emma McLean, who plays the lead role of Sophie Sheridan, is looking forward to opening night.
“I’m really excited, because it’s my favourite musical, and I’m nervous because I’ve never had a major part in a musical before,” she expressed.
Due to the demolition of the Lyle Victor, students had to work extra hard this year to make sure they were ready for the February dates.
“They knew we were going to have to work hard, because we’re holding it so early. They just worked hard, and the whole cast pretty much had their lines memorized by Christmastime,” Baker said. “It will be nice... when we get something in the school that’s more updated, and has a little better technology, but, the Lyle has been so good to us... We’ve had a lot of fun, and I’ve had lots of students who have gone onto careers in drama, or music, or teaching drama or dance. Some have even talked about the memories from being in the first play 15 years ago... It will be a bittersweet night on Saturday.”
With this in mind, Jessica Zaugg, a Grade 12 student playing Donna Sheridan, encouraged everyone to come out.
“It’s the last show in the Lyle, it’s Mamma Mia, which everybody loves, and I think this is one you don’t want to miss... I think people will be sad if they miss it because it’s really good. We’ve got some really talented people this year.”
The practice schedule has allowed relationships to form, which leaves Baker wondering what will happen once it wraps-up.
Zaugg agreed, “Mamma Mia is all about family, what brings us together and why family is important. I think we’ve made a family at the theatre; we just uplift one another and care about each other. It doesn’t matter if you’re genetically related or if you’re just people who care about one another and want to show that you love each other. I think that we really embody the theme of it.”
Tickets are available for purchase at the front desk at BCHS.
