The secret to a good high school musical production is to involve as many students as possible without compromising the overall quality of the performance.
Once again Taupō-nui-a-Tia College and director Vivienne Gowdy have managed to wrangle a large cast into a successful show – the catchy Mamma Mia juggernaut that has extended the ABBA use-by label well beyond its original best before date.
In this show the two female leads bear the weight of the solo singing duties and Sophie (Vanya Heaslip) and Francheska Matias (Donna) handle this with definite aplomb, though they are ably supported by Donna’s fellow two dynamos Enya Palmer (Tanya) and Luka Ewert (Rosie).
These two students comfortably manage the suggestive adult sassiness that obviously earned the trio their name.
The boys are not to be out done however and Sophie’s three potential fathers, Nick Ross (Sam), Stan Zabala (Harry), Quinn Walton (Bill), should be commended both for their singing and all having to handle that least sought-after onstage duty of having to silently emote while being sung at for three minutes.
But they all demonstrate that the best way to take a telling off is with small gestures and facial expressions – less is more.
Groom to be Sky (Kenneth Neve-Bain) actually has a fairly small role in the show as the down-to-earth foil to Sophie’s exuberance but he and the comic relief team of bridesmaids Ruby Walker (Ali), Kea Nukada (Lisa), and the lads, Patrick Fowler (Pepper) and Connor Morrison (Eddie) easily achieve the reality check or laughs intended.
The rest of the cast (another 36 or so students) all look like they are having fun as they hit their marks and moves.
The singing of course has to sit on top of a secure platform provided by the band and while ABBA tunes may be catchy, that doesn’t mean they are simple compositions.
The opening overture and its second half reprise fly through a parade of hit snippets to prepare the audience for what’s coming with some quick segues and occasionally in keys riddled with flats.
The hit songs that follow are then top quality as musical director Rowan Bolley has assembled a Taupō ‘wrecking crew’ of two guitars (Steve Paull and Stuart Barbour), bass (John Curtis) three keyboards (Sarah Monro, Jo Paull and Richard Paull) and the one student in the band Tim Fremista on drums who aptly matches it with his adult bandmates.
The Saturday (May 24) matinee and evening shows would be well worth getting a ticket for (no Friday show due to some students being involved in Smokefree Rockquest) if there are any available.
