Mamma Mia! Auditions taking place in Hāwera next month

Energetic performers are required for the upcoming show. Photo / Unsplash

As a wonderful antidote to the unpleasantness of life under Covid restrictions, Hāwera Repertory plans to party next year with the feel-good blockbuster musical Mamma Mia!

Auditions for this worldwide smash hit will be held in Hāwera next month and director Clive Cullen is looking for a wide variety of talent to make up the high-energy cast.

Hāwera Repertory has a proven track record of producing many of the world's biggest musicals, including Beauty and the Beast and Les Miserables, and Mamma Mia! looks set to join the society's long list of stage triumphs.

This will be Clive's debut musical and he comes to it with a long list of direction credits for Repertory, including Shakespeare's classics as well as modern dramas and comedies. Alongside him as musical director is the highly experienced Charles Pittams, who is well known for his work on stage and behind the scenes in many society musicals and plays over many years.

Joining them at the helm will be choreographer Greer Anderson, who comes to the show with a Bachelor in Performing and Screen Arts (majoring in Contemporary Dance), many years of dance experience, including working with Footnote, one of New Zealand's leading contemporary dance companies. Since returning to Taranaki in 2017, Greer has been teaching contemporary dance and ballet in Hāwera and Stratford.

Clive and his team are looking for a wide range of performers to bring Mamma Mia! to life. The show revolves around mother and daughter Donna and Sophie who are planning Sophie's wedding on the small Greek island where Donna runs a taverna. Things get complicated when Sophie decides she wants her father to attend her wedding and give her away. Her mother has never told her who he is and there are three possible candidates – so she invites them all!

Also in the mix are Donna's gal-pals from her days of performing in the rock band Donna and the Dynamos, plus there are a host of wedding guests and islanders ready to party to the iconic music of Abba that forms the basis of this hit musical by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.

Everyone is welcome to audition for the show, which has a huge variety of roles available – from leading singers/actors to cameo roles and a large ensemble who are the backbone of the show. The success of Mamma Mia! relies heavily on the spectacle these performers create as residents of the island, taverna staff and wedding guests. Dancers (who do not necessarily have to sing) are included in the ensemble. An off-stage backing vocal group also adds to the variety of roles in this exciting and tuneful musical.

Auditions for Mamma Mia! will be held next month starting with an introductory evening on Sunday, November 7, at Repertory House when all aspects of the production will be discussed and anyone interested in being involved can go along and find out what the show is all about. This will be followed with dance workshops on November 9 and 10 to introduce aspiring cast members to the high-energy movement that is such a feature of this show.

Auditions will be held on the following weekend, November 12-14, and rehearsals will start on January 31. The show will go on stage in the Hawera Memorial Theatre from June 11 to June 25. For more information and an audition pack please contact mammamia@hawerarep.org.nz or phone Felicity Willis 027 476 1946 or Clive Cullen 027 551 9979.