STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
Who needs a ski conditioning class when you’ve got “Mamma Mia!”
The Sun Valley Community School Upper School theater students had ‘em dancing in their seats to “Dancing Queen” and other Abba tunes when they presented the hit musical last week.
Ida Belle Gorby brought a bright-eyed innocence to her role as Sophie, who invites three men she thinks could be her father to her wedding. She was fascinating to watch, given her typically exuberant theater-polished fashion.
And Elyse Duffield parlayed her seasoned acting experience into a believable rendition of Sophie’s mother, who owns the Hotel Villa Donna in the Greek Isles.
Lizzie Loving and Phoebe Everett Williams combined to play the mother’s former mates in Donna and the Dynamos, putting on a sparkling Spandex show as they remembered their fab days as disco stars.
Most of the cast did a dynamite job when it came to song and dance, and the set designed by Natalie Battistone was simple but gorgeous as it portrayed the stucco architecture of Greece with plenty of balconies and steps adding to the layers of the play.
Gorby’s father Matt Gorby said he has never been a big Abba fan, but couldn’t get the music out of his head after watching the play.
The musical, directed by Kevin Wade with music by Ben Larroquette and choreography by Megan Mahoney-Hegewald, was the perfect fit for a rather quiet November. The only problem: There were just three sold-out shows, leaving a lot of people sitting home wish they had had the chance to be transported to the Greek Isles.