The spring musical season for area high schools is in full swing this weekend. Shows are taking place across Onondaga County.
At Liverpool High School, students have been rehearsing their spring musical since January for the stage production of “Mama Mia!”
Director Chris Hopkins said they chose the musical, requires many set changes and costumes, to get students a robust experience.
“We really wanted to give the students a different opportunity to perform something that wasn’t just like a kid’s fairytale, with a slightly more mature subject matter, and songs they’ve heard on the radio before, and that the audience would know and really enjoy,” Hopkins said.
It's the second consecutive show at Liverpool with the same production and tech team, who built the sets and special effects.
“One of the things that I personally enjoy is when the scene changes are a part of the storytelling and, you know, looks nice on stage because we don't go to full blackout or close the curtain every time we go to a new scene," Hopkins said. "I want it to look like it is also part of the storytelling.”
Rehearsals began in early January. That’s when Olivia Maturo stepped into the lead role of Donna Sheridan.
“Honestly, it's been really fun to kind of get into Donna's head in a way and kind of explore how she would react into certain situations,” Maturo said.
Both Maturo and Connor DiMartino, who plays supporting character Sam Carmichael in the production, are seniors and began performing in middle school.
Liverpool High School’s production of Mama Mia runs Friday at 7 p.m. and two shows on Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m.
