For the first time in over 4 years, H.B. Beal secondary school is putting on a live stage musical.
The popular musical Mamma Mia is the school’s return to the live stage since back in 2019 with their production of A Chorus Line.
The pandemic put a hold on the school’s live performances, but didn’t slow down their productions as a whole as they converted to filming their shows as an alternative.
Now, being able to perform on stage once again, the students have been able to make the most of their chance to perform in front of a live audience.
“Before the pandemic, pre-covid, it was very normal to go and see a live show in public,” says Alex Pearce, who plays Sophie Sheridan in the production.
“Now that we’re doing this on stage for the first time in years, it’s brought a whole different light to it. The audience has a whole new appreciation for the work that the actors put in and have an extra appreciation for being out in public, sitting in an audience, cheering and being there with each other, and you can really feel that on stage.”
(Credit: Ross Davidson) From left to right: Will Cramp and Alex Pearce performing ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’ in their school’s production of Mamma Mia.
The school didn’t hold back either when it came to their decision of which musical to put on as their first production back on stage, electing for the popular ABBA inspired musical, Mamma Mia.
While the musical itself has been around since 1999, where it debuted at the Prince Edward Theatre in London, England, the movie starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, and Amanda Seyfried elevated the show’s popularity when it released in 2008.
“In the movie, it’s all recorded, you place the music on top of the choreography. But in this it’s all live, you’re going raw, you’re doing those kicks and spins while trying to maintain your notes. A lot of cardio preparation went into this show,” says Pearce.
The physicality of the show as well as the comparisons to the original musical and movie aren’t the only pieces that the students had to overcome during their rehearsals. The popularity of the music itself provided the vocalists with their own challenge.
“It’s one of those things where the words are so important because the songs are so well known and popular,” says Will Cramp, who plays Sam Carmichael in the musical.
“If you mess up the words people will know right away because it’s ABBA. I think it makes it more important to focus on annunciating and having the proper diction with the songs on top of blending the timing, the vocals, the choreography, and syncing it all into one.”
Both students continue to talk about their hopes for the show as well as their hopes of making it into the industry after they finish their education at Beal. The two also talked about the importance of the show itself as well as theatre as a whole.
“I know that this is one of the best high school theatre programs in the province,” says Cramp.
“We want to inspire people to do what we do. The industry got hit incredibly hard over the pandemic, so having the ability to inspire kids to maybe want to try theatre is always a dream for all of us.”
The musical begins its run on Wednesday May 10 with performances continuing through to Saturday May 13. Tickets can be purchased online in advance for $15 at https://www.onstagedirect.com or can be purchased at the door for $20.
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