Audiences love the musical Mamma Mia. Jam packed with ABBA songs, it’s the musical everyone is ready to sing and dance along to, and this month a new production is playing at the Crown Theatre.
Sam Hooper, who plays Pepper in Mamma Mia, chatted to us about the fun role and how this musical is dramatically different to the other shows he’s been in.
“It’s been really enjoyable, I have a lot of fun scenes with Jayde Westaby in the show, and she’s phenomenal, the entire cast is great. It’s a fun role to play, because you get to be a little bit of – for want of a better word – ‘a douche’. Hopefully it’s somewhere between lovable and ‘cheesy’ and ‘groany’”Sam said.
While you may have seen Mamma Mia before, this new production features new staging and choreography, something that Sam says allowed them to play to each performers strengths.
“It was great that I got to have a little bit of input, because it’s a new version I got to work with Tom, the choreographer, and make parts of the dance fit to what I could pull off, as a dance and sometimes acrobat.” Sam said.
In the show Sam’s big musical number is Does Your Mother Know, which is one of the few ABBA hits that were originally sung by a male vocalist. The performer confesses though that before being cast in the show he wasn’t completely familiar with the Swedish megastars output.
“I did see the show with my Mum when I was about eleven or twelve, but I wasn’t familiar with their music. I didn’t grow up with it, but since starting on this show I’ve realised how many songs are ABBA songs. You suddenly realise there are a lot of tunes that you didn’t associate with ABBA.”
Sam says the best things about Mamma Mia are the audiences.
“So far the audiences have been super-responsive and without fail by the time we get to the big mega-mix at the end they’re up on their feet and dancing, every single time. We got from Mamma Mia, to Dancing Queen and then Waterloo – by the time we get to Waterloo, it’s a full party in the aisles.”
Sam’s said working on Mamma Mia is heaps easier than some of the previous musicals he’s been involved in like Cats.
“Compared to getting dressed as a cat, it’s one hundred percent easier, anything where you get to walk on two feet is a dream!” he laughed.
Mamma Mia is at The Crown Theatre from 15 May, head to www.mammamiathemusical.com.au for tickets.
Graeme Watson, image: James Morgan.
