REVIEW: Mamma Mia! (Carrollton High School Performing Arts)

From left: Sam Peavey, Danielle Kiser and Taylor Mancil
(Photo by Julianne Foster)

Because I’ve been doing this critic thing for a while, I’m sometimes asked to review works from local authors, actors and musicians. However, my default response is to politely decline. It’s not that I don’t want to write about these plays, concerts, books, etc. – I’m sure a lot of hard work went into them and the creators are proud of their accomplishments. 

There are a couple of reasons why I tend to say no. First, it’s impossible to play fair and accommodate everyone. Saying yes to one person – usually on the rare weekend when there are no new releases hitting theaters – opens the floodgates to a lot of people who end up disappointed when I can’t write about their project.

Second, critiquing a massive corporate blockbuster made by people who don’t know I exist is a much different situation than reviewing a local production. In a town this size, many of us know one another and it’s tough to write about something objectively, or for readers connected to the work not to take criticism personally. For instance: what if a high schooler asks me to review his short film and it sucks? That’s a position neither of us wants to be in.

Occasionally, however, I encounter a project so outstanding that I want to bring attention to the talented people responsible for it. That’s exactly what happened last Friday night when I got a chance to experience Carrollton High School Performing Arts’ production of Mamma Mia! No one asked me to review it, but a few minutes into the first act I knew I was going to. Simply put, it was one of the most entertaining amateur shows I’ve had the pleasure of seeing.

We’ve all sat through our share of well-intentioned school productions, politely applauding for theater-loving teens whose skill and resources don’t quite reach the level of their ambition. (Full disclosure: I was one of those kids back in the 1990s, playing iconic characters like Cowboy #2, Gangster #4 and Knight #3. Please, hold your applause.) But the talented performers singing their hearts out to ABBA’s greatest hits were as far from that cliché as it gets.

The plot is well-known to musical fans: Donna (senior Danielle Kiser) is a determined single

Anna Lowry and Andrew East
(Photo by Julianne Foster)

mother who runs a hotel on a Mediterranean island, while her young daughter Sophie (junior Anna Lowry) is preparing to marry her fiancé Sky (senior Andrew East). She wants her father to walk her down the aisle, but there’s just one problem – Donna doesn’t know who he is.

Undaunted, the resourceful Sophie “borrows” her mom’s diary and invites the potential dads to the wedding. When Sam Carmichael (senior Jordan Mason), Harry Bright (freshman Tyler Grubbs) and Bill Austin (senior Byron Flores) arrive, chaos ensues and it’s up to mother and daughter to set things right before the big day.

The biggest draw of Mamma Mia! is obviously the terrific songs, but the show’s giant heart and wicked sense of humor also contribute to its success. Those aspects are hard for professionals to master, let alone students who’ve only been rehearsing since January. Yet the cast proved up to the challenge, especially considering the story’s prickly thematic elements and risqué humor.

Some of my favorite moments were hearing occasional gasps of “what did she just say?!” from the crowd as Donna’s friends (played by senior Sam Peavey and junior Taylor Mancil) unleashed bawdy one-liners, or the quiet sniffling around me when Donna sings “Slipping Through My Fingers” while helping Sophie get ready for her wedding. It’s a gut-punch of a scene, one that proves Kiser and Lowry are destined for bigger stages if they choose to pursue them.

It was brave of staging director Tommy Cox and music director Julie Lowry to choose a show that looms so large in pop culture – not only because it’s so beloved, but because the 2008 movie version stars Meryl Streep. When the audience knows the songs just as well as the people on stage and a different version stars arguably the world’s greatest actress, the degree of difficulty is high.

It helped that the set design was far beyond what I was expecting. Gone were the wobbly plywood walls I remembered from my ill-advised musical days. The structures were sturdy, multifaceted and designed to rotate for quick set changes and utilize every part of the stage.

As for the actors, I realized they were going to pull it off the first time I watched them battle frustrating sound issues that ended up plaguing the production all night. Despite instances of screeching feedback and dead mics, nearly all of them projected with booming clarity to make their voices heard above the music, somehow hitting the right notes in the process. I’m sure they hated dealing with the glitches, but I would argue it forced them to elevate their performances.

And what performances! Everyone in the cast was fun to watch, particularly Lowry – with her beautiful voice and strong comedic timing – and the charming trio of Mason, Grubbs and Flores. But the night’s clear standout was the extraordinary Kiser, who operated on a totally different level.

Jordan Mason and Danielle Kiser
(Photo by Julianne Foster)

Even in the best high school productions, its tough for the cast to overcome the fact that they’re only a few years removed from kids playing dress-up. I’ll admit I was a little apprehensive before the show started, because it’s usually hard to suspend disbelief in that situation. Could teenagers without the maturity and life experience of a 20-year-old or a 40-something realistically embody characters of those ages? Could an 18-year-old believably play a 17-year-old’s mom?

For Kiser, the answer was a resounding yes. In her body language, her vocal inflection, and her interactions with Lowry, Mason, Peavey and Mancil, there’s no other way to put it: she transformed into a fiercely protective, middle-aged single mom. After the show, I happened to see her talking with proud friends and family members in the auditorium and I realized how incredible the magic trick was. There was no trace of Donna in this young woman. Off stage, she was just a happy teenager who knew she killed it.

I don’t know what Kiser’s post-graduation plans entail, but I truly hope she continues to find time for acting. I’m telling you, the girl’s a star.