Growing up, Chloe Hudson always loved to sing and dance and would imagine herself on a stage with the spotlight shining on her.
Those dreams are about to come true for the Seymour High School junior as she takes on her first lead role in the school’s upcoming production of “Mamma Mia! The Musical.”
“I loved performing, even if it was just for my family in my living room,” she said. “I wanted to try for a big role because I’ve worked really hard in choir, and I’ve wanted to do it for a long time, and I felt like I could do it. I felt ready.”
Last year, Hudson was in the cast of “The Addams Family” but didn’t have a main part. She also has done two school drama productions.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryIn “Mamma Mia!” Hudson stars as Sophie Sheridan, a 20-year-old woman about to get married without knowing who her dad is.
She invites three men to her wedding, Sam Carmichael, Harry Bright and Bill Anderson, all of whom could be her father. The men are played by senior Harrison Cottrill, junior Gavyn Stagnolia and senior Colton Hensley.
Sophie believes by spending time with them, she will be able to identify which one is her dad, and he will walk her down the aisle.
“I like that Sophie is very strong-willed,” Hudson said. “I love her songs, and I like how she is just really passionate about what she wants — to find out who her dad is. She’s just a really good character, very sweet and kind.”
But Sophie’s mother, Donna, played by senior Abby Boyt, is dismayed to confront three of her former lovers about Sophie.
The romantic comedy is set on a Greek island where Donna runs a hotel.
What makes the show unique is it is based on the songs of Swedish pop group ABBA. The musical, written by Catherine Johnson, came out in 1999, and a star-studded movie was made in 2008, followed by a sequel in 2018.
Hudson said she saw the musical first at Beef and Boards in Indianapolis with her fellow choir members and then watched the movie soon after.
“I really enjoyed it,” she said. “It draws people in, and it’s relevant. It’s a really popular show even for people who don’t like musicals particularly. It’s a fan favorite because it’s catchy, it has a good story and it’s not hard to follow. It’s simple but exciting.”
Her favorite part of getting ready for the production has been working on her songs, including her favorites “Lay All Your Love on Me,” “The Name of the Game,” and “Thank You for the Music.”
“And finally getting up here onstage and not just doing it during class,” she added. “Once we got up here, that’s when it kind of came to life for me. It has been a ton of fun.”
She hopes the audience walks away from the show realizing the importance of knowing themselves, she said.
“You shouldn’t have to rely on other people to justify your worth, your potential and just who you are,” she said. “Sophie feels like she needs to know her dad to know who she is, but really, she just needs to be comfortable with herself.”
Boyt said she decided to try out for a leading role because she felt she did a good job playing Pugsley in “The Addams Family” in the spring.
“I felt like I was ready to take on something bigger,” she said.
She has enjoyed learning all of the songs, which has also proved to be challenging, she said.
“I have a couple of solos, but I’m in like 11 songs altogether,” she said. “It’s a lot. Last week, I lost my voice, so I didn’t talk at all this week to get ready.”
She hopes the show appeals to adults because of it’s more mature content and themes.
Her favorite song is “One of Us” because it took so long to get it right.
“It was hard to learn, but now that I got it, I love it,” she said.
Being a part of the cast, Boyt said, has been such a positive experience, but it’s a lot of hard work, too.
“It can be stressful, but the end result is so amazing, and it’s so fun,” she said.
Cottrill, who played Gomez in “The Addams Family,” is one of the few who wasn’t familiar with “Mamma Mia!” having never seen the musical or movie. But walking in with no knowledge of the show has been beneficial, he said.
“I haven’t taken somebody else’s character,” he said. “I didn’t have any prior knowledge and just went into it blind, but I like (Sam’s) story. He came here as an engaged man 21 years ago to escape and had this fling with Donna and fell in love with her. It’s amazing playing out that love story.”
He agreed the best part of the show is the music with his favorite song being “SOS.”
“And just working together with all these people with this music, it’s just a fun time,” he said.
What he learned from the show that he hopes the audience will appreciate is the message to never give up on life.
This also marks Stagnolia’s first starring role. He also was in the ensemble for “The Addams Family.”
“When I found out they were doing “Mamma Mia!” I was so excited because one of my dream roles is playing Harry, just because of his personality and how it handles exploring his sexuality in the ’90s,” he said. “He’s very special to me.”
He has enjoyed working with all of the actors and said it’s like being part of a really close family.
“We’ve all been in choir together, and it’s really fun to see each other act and put on different masks and play different characters and experience that chemistry,” he said.
Stagnolia hopes people leave the show impressed by what a high school musical production can be.
“I want them to walk away with the feeling they’ve seen one of the best shows we’ve ever offered here,” he said. “It’s something different, it’s unique and I think it’s important that we show people what we have to offer.”
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What: Seymour High School’s fall musical production of “Mamma Mia!”
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; there also is a matinee at 2 p.m. Saturday
Where: Earl D. Prout Auditorium at SHS
Cost: Tickets are $8 in advance and can be purchased online at showtix4u.com by typing in “Seymour High School” in the Find a Show box or at the school’s main office. The cost at the door is $10. Tickets to the matinee are $5.
Cast: Chloe Hudson, Abby Boyt, Harrison Cottrill, Luke Hauersperger, Abby Hankins, Mikayla Myers, Noni McGrew, Aidan Hiester, Gavyn Stagnolia, Colton Hensley, Isaiah Fontanez, Peyton Kistler and Bryce Hatton
Chorus members: Maddie Bowman, Leigha Butler, Amy Cravens, Sami Foster, Larssyn Maisel, Amanda Massengale, Layla Ratliff, Samantha Bryant, Anna Massengale, Cierra Newcomb, Emma Nowling, Erin Otte, Payton Toepfert, Kaylee Tudor, Braden Capps, Patrick McEnroe, Jaden Smith, Jesse Tankersley, Zach Thompson, T.J. Traub, Brandon Capps, Zac DuBois, Sam Fraizer, Johnny Isaacs, Curtis Nowling, Brice Sipes, Eliana Baker, Eliza Cash, Joslin Perry, Selena Peters, Kiera Rockey, Amelita Vasquez, Millie Hays, Sami Jacobi, Derikka Locke, Stephanie Wheatley, McKenzie Wirtz, Levi Croquart, Andrew Dickmeyer, John Ortman, James Riddle, Juan Silva, Marco Valdivia, Chandler Drummond, Jacob Guffey, Braden Handloser, J.C. Handloser and Dalton Shepherd
Director: Kyle Karum
Conductor: Kevin Cottrill
Assistant directors: Liam Combs and Marco Valdivia
Stage manager: Liam Combs
Student producers: Erin Nelson and Payton Toepfert
Dance captains: Layla Ratliff, Zach Thompson, Sami Jacobi, Eliana Baker, Noni McGrew and Selena Peters
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