'Mamma Mia' comes to Jeannette High School stage

Editor’s note: Due to the coronovirus pandemic, high school musicals have been postponed.

It looks fun — Jeannette seniors Jada Bass, Kiara Frederick and Jenna Painter sing and dance together on stage to ABBA’s hit “Dancing Queen.”

But perfecting the steps and lines has taken months for the trio who collapse onto a bed in a heap of acted exhaustion at the end of the number. About 60 Jeannette Junior Senior High School students will stage a production of “Mamma Mia!” March 20-22.

For Painter, who plays a female lead Donna, the long rehearsals have helped the cast grow.

“The energy this year overall has been great,” she said. “I would say it’s probably one of our best years and hopefully maybe one of our best productions we’ve ever done. The chemistry between all the characters is there.”

The show, featuring music from 1970s Swedish pop group ABBA, follows the lives of inn operator Donna and her daughter and bride-to-be Sophie as they attempt to figure out who Sophie’s father is. Musical director and sponsor Jason Huether, a math teacher, said the rehearsals started the first week in January.

“This has been, by far, the best year working with a group of students,” he said.

During the past couple months, the troupe has learned lines and choreography while the stage crew built and painted a set. Huether has been helped by vocal director Elwood Brant, choreographer Marcus Parfitt and orchestra conductor Kristen Legge.

Painter has been involved in the school’s drama club since her freshman year and previously performed the roles of Scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz” and Miss Hannigan in “Annie.” Her voice is powerful on stage as Donna.

“I’ve just been putting a lot more effort into preserving my voice because it’s a very vocally demanding role,” she said.

It’s been fun watching the show go from a “skeleton” to an upbeat, funny production, Painter said. The show is based on a hit Broadway production and comes more than a decade after a 2008 film version. Donna’s former Dynamos bandmates Tanya, played by Bass, and Rosie, played by Frederick, perform for the first time in years at Sophie’s bachelorette party. ABBA songs are sprinkled throughout the show.

“I definitely enjoy the family atmosphere, you get to be around your friends all the time and they can support you and you all support each other,” Painter said. “It’s a perfect senior year for me.”

The cast members have been great at cheering each other on and providing support, Huether said.

“If they turn it on, it’ll be a fantastic show for them,” he said.