With school back in session, members of the Drama Club were ready to begin prepping for the fall musical “Mamma Mia”. With auditions set for the first week, excitement began to grow amongst the students. 

“The minute Gehrke announced that we were doing ‘Mamma Mia!’ I was so excited,” sophomore Aicha Beye recalled.

As a member of the 2021 Thespian Executive Board, Beye had been working with Gehrke to make preparations for the upcoming show. Unfortunately, on Aug. 22 (two days before the start of school), it was announced that the show would have to be postponed due to unexpected COVID-19 complications.  The news of having to wait to perform the musical was disappointing, especially since the club was unable to perform one last year.

However, theater director Mrs. Gehrke assured students that ”Mamma Mia!” would be performed this year in the spring, allowing for the musical to become the best it can be. 

Senior Anna Morrison, who is a member of the sound crew, knows how much work goes into the making of a musical, and is excited to have more time to prepare this year. 

“Musicals usually have a lot more sound effects for us, and we also have to download all the music for the show,” Morrison shared. 

Although disappointed in the wait, members of the club were ready for the announcement of the play, which would take place this fall instead. 

“I am so excited to announce our fall play: ‘The Complete Works of William Shakespeare’ [abridged] [revised.],” Gehrke posted to Google Classroom on Aug. 31. The play comprises all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets, shortened into just under two hours.

The club’s past three plays have been more dramas than comedies, so the show allows actors to be able to branch out in trying something new, while having fun on and off stage. Morrison stated that “I’m really excited for the play, I think it’s going to be really fun, and something different for us to work on.”

Auditions for the fall play will begin on Monday, Sept. 13. Gehrke encourages students to “get excited, and let me know if you have any questions.” The play will be performed on Nov. 18-20 with the musical “Mamma Mia!” being performed on March 3-5, 2022.