Honey, honey, Burlingame’s fall production of “Mamma Mia!” was absolutely, spectacularly amazing. Months of hard work from the cast and crew led by Cindy Skelton, Shawn Reifschneider and Jim Ambler came through during the energized performance. Each character shone uniquely in the spotlight, from the ensemble to the leads. The story follows Sophie Sheridan, played by junior Ruby Lawrence, in her quest to discover her father’s identity before her wedding in the hopes that he can give her away on a small island in Greece called Kalokairi. Her mother, Donna Sheridan, played by sophomore Laurel Brown, comes face to face with her three former suitors, and mamma mia, what a ride the show is from there. The plot is quite the trip itself, but what stood out the most for me was the outstanding vocals. Thank you for the music, “Mamma Mia!” cast, it literally gave me chills. Whether it was Brown’s perfectly piercing belting, Lawrence’s enchanting rendition of Sophie’s prologue or senior Lucas Gilmour’s sweet serenades as suitor Sam Carmichael, the vocals were top-notch this year. 

Talent beyond exuded from Burlingame’s take on the popular musical. I was thoroughly impressed by the vocal and acting maturity of the cast. The set was creative and fit the demanding visual needs of the show; although it wasn’t quite the sunny beach one would expect to see in real life, it was a good interpretation. The production was great in almost every aspect, however, I felt that in the second half of the show, the vocals were slightly weakened. Though not terribly noticeable, it was clear from the second row that the cast was a little out of breath from the Friday and Saturday performances. Other than this small hiccup in the production, I thought the show ran smoothly, with no technical difficulties and overall outstanding vocals. I’ve seen plenty of musicals in the past few years, but this was by far the best high school production I’ve had the pleasure of seeing yet. I look forward to the spring play, “Puffs,” and I’d like to congratulate the cast on three great performances. Before tickets sell out, make sure to snag a few for family and friends to see the last two performances on November 2 at 7 p.m. and November 3 at 2 p.m.!