photo by: Derek Redd

Members of the cast of the Park Players’ “Mamma Mia!” get ready for their upcoming performance. Pictured are, from left, Molly Henthorne (Sophie), Lucy Aderholt (Donna), Brendan Loy (Sam), Taylor Andrews (Tanya), Landen Smeltz (Bill), Ciera Faulstick (Rosie) and Griffin Harder (Harry). The show is scheduled for May 3-5 at the J.B. Chambers Performing Arts Center at Wheeling Park High School.

The Wheeling Park High School Park Players will perform the iconic musical “Mamma Mia!” on May 3-5 in the J.B. Chambers Performing Arts Center at WPHS. You can catch the show at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

The musical, which features some of ABBA’s greatest hits, follows a mom and daughter, Donna and Sophie, leading up to Sophie’s wedding day. While Donna, with the help of two friends, is trying to get wedding details in order, Sophie decides to write letters to three men from her mother’s past, hoping one of them is her real dad and will walk her down the aisle.

“I like the message, that it doesn’t matter who your biological father is, it’s who will be there for you when you need a father. There are three dads in the show and nobody knows who the real dad is, but all three of them will be there when Sophie needs them,” said senior Brendan Loy, who plays Sam.

Sophie is played by senior Molly Henthorne, and Donna is played by senior Lucy Aderholt. The leading dads are played by Loy, Landen Smeltz (Bill), and Griffin Harder (Harry). It also features supporting actors Taylor Andrews (Tanya) and Ciera Faulstick (Rosie) as the Dynamos.

“It’s been stressful, but fun,” said Molly Henthorne.

While she may be a woman of few words, her character definitely isn’t and Henthorne does an incredible job bringing her character to life on stage. Henthorne has worked extremely hard, balancing her time with her many different activities, and playing the lead eloquently and flawlessly. The entire cast and crew have been working tirelessly for months with lengthy, daily rehearsals all in preparation for opening night.

“The rehearsal process has been tough, different things changing, we picked this show last minute, so we were already a week behind, but it will turn out very well in the end,” said senior Morgan Skariot.

There is no doubt that Wheeling Park has the perfect cast to put it on.

“You can’t deny how really infectious the music of ABBA is and how energetic it is, so given the students we have this year, it just seemed like the perfect choice,” said music director Joyce Jingle.

“We picked this show because I have a great ensemble cast that gets to use their vocal talents. I have a lot of dancers, so they are able to showcase their physical talent. We have these great women, Lucy, beautiful voice, and Molly Henthorne, an incredible dancer, and the men especially are hilarious,” said director Katie Redd.

After Bill Cornforth, longtime director of the musical, retired at the end of last year, Redd took on the hard job of taking over as director.

“It’s exciting, challenging, interesting. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know everybody and putting it together. I’ve gotten a lot of help from Joyce Jingle, Russ Schultz, and Chris Markle, especially, on the technical theater side,” said Redd.

The spring musical is always a great time, not only getting to watch a fun musical but also seeing talented students get to do something they love, while also supporting Wheeling Park’s theater department.

“They have to come see the show. Everybody’s put their heart into it, the kids have embodied their characters, and they have worked around the clock. This isn’t just a regular musical. They are singing, dancing, and acting. There is so much energy and so much work was put into this. I just really think everyone is going to really enjoy it,” said Redd.

Make sure to grab your tickets for Mamma Mia at wphswv.booktix.net.