They’re back!
Students from all three Lawton Public Schools high schools are again combining their musical and acting talents, this time to present the musical comedy “Mamma Mia!” in early April. Public performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. April 2, 3 and 4 in the Lawton High School Auditorium, 601 Fort Sill Boulevard.
“Mamma Mia!”, set to the music of 1970s iconic pop band ABBA, centers on Sophie, a young bride-to-be who has invited three men to her upcoming wedding because she thinks one of them is her father. Sophie believes she can determine which one after spending time with them. The invitation is a surprise to her mother, former lead singer for Donna and the Dynamos, who isn’t certain which man is Sophie’s father: Sam Carmichael, an Irish-American architect; Bill Anderson, a Swedish travel writer; or Harry Bright, a British banker.
ABBA’s music provides the backdrop to almost every pivotal scene in the play.
Charlotte Oates, fine arts director for Lawton Public Schools, said it is the second time students from all three Lawton high schools have combined their talents into one musical production, with “Mamma Mia!” following the highly successful “Grease.” Now, as then, Oates said the goal was finding the best avenue to ensure that students from all high schools would have musical stage experience.
Oates found another benefit. After “Grease”, “the kids made a real unit,” she said, explaining students formed friendships that lasted beyond the play, and she wants to replicate that experience.
“I want them to reach across the theater and make those connections,” she said.
Students had a hand in selecting the play they will perform in April.
“The kids gave me choices,” Oates said, of the list of potential plays she developed as she whittled 20 proposals down to 10, then down to the final three.
She weighed multiple factors in that final selection, to include the number of speaking and ensemble parts – the greater the number, the more students who could participate – and the amount of memorable music. “Mamma Mia!” fit the bill: it has 13 speaking parts, with eight principal roles. And that means a wide area to showcase student talent.
Then, there’s the songs.
“I told the kids to go listen to the music,” she said, of songs such as “Waterloo,” “Take a Chance on Me,” “Dancing Queen” and, of course, “Mamma Mia.”
Every high school is represented in at least one principal role. By luck of the draw, the three-member Dynamos group has a member from each high school: Donna (Sophie’s mother) is from MacArthur; Rosie is an Eisenhower student; and Tanya, a Lawton High student. While all three dads are from MacArthur High, Sophie is from Lawton High.
Students are handling all the roles, on stage and off.
Oates said while she will have a stage manager in a few weeks, for now, students are setting scenes and changing out props.
“It’s been fun,” she said of rehearsals that are bringing the musical to life, to include period costumes that feature platform shoes (if you don’t know, ask a woman who wore dress shoes in the 1970s). “And, there’s some great comedy, especially the wedding scene.”
BOX
Mamma Mia!, by Eisenhower, MacArthur and Lawton high school students.
7:30 p.m. April 2, 3 and 4 at Lawton High School Auditorium, 601 Fort Sill Boulevard.
Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for adults; children age 5 and under are free.
Tickets may be purchased online prior to performance day at https://ok-lawton-lite.intouchreceipting.com/LPSMUSICAL
Cash sales will be available at the door on the day of the performances.