Mamma Mia - Sarah Morrison & Alicia Gardiner
Fun-filled, heart-warming and uplifting – just a few of the words that have described Mamma Mia! The Musical over the years. And really... who doesn’t need a whole lot of that in life!
Natalie O’Donnell stars in this re-vamped Australian production as mother-of-the-bride Donna Sheridan. In the role of Donna’s daughter and bride-to-be, Sophie, is emerging young Australian actress Sarah Morrison, and starring as Donna’s vivacious and loyal friend Rosie is acclaimed Australian actress Alicia Gardiner.
Raquel Neofit caught up with Alicia Gardiner and Sarah Morrison while the pair were on tour with the show in Perth…
SARAH MORRISON - Sophie
Sarah’s first lead was in Ladies In Black, which came off national tours last year where she played Lisa – a role she says she will always look back on fondly. Now as the bride-to-be, Sarah has the excitement of both on and off-screen romances, as she stars opposite her real-life and on-stage boyfriend Stephen Mahy who plays Sky.
What is it about Mama Mia that keeps people coming back for more?
I’m not sure if you can pin it on just one thing. Obviously the music is what’s keeping it alive to a certain extent – with those ABBA songs that everyone knows and loves – but I think this new wave of enthusiasm about the show certainly has a lot to do with the film.
We have so many teenagers and kids coming to see this show and I think it's because that movie is sort of like the Grease of their generation. And that’s how they’ve been introduced to all of these songs.
And you do get so many people who have only seen the movie, so many people don’t know that it was actually preceded by the stage show 17 years ago!
How do you get into character? Is Sophie’s personality similar to yours in any way?
Yes and no. I think in any character you have to find something in them that has some kind of similarity. Sophie has this ‘dreamer’ quality about her, which I can definitely relate to. She’s young and she wants to go places and see things, and do new things. In the part of the story where we meet her, she desperately wants to know who her dad is because that’s important to her and it’s a part of her.
I think we’re always on this journey of self-discovery, I don’t think that ever really ends, which is her cornerstone of the story. She’s super relatable to anybody in that way.
But it’s been interesting getting into her character, I’m naturally a very fair skinned, dark haired girl, and it's been
fun to transform into her! I’m getting spray tans every week and blonde in my hair to make me look more beachie and that’s definitely not me – I’m comfiest in all black on a Melbourne winter day. That’s my go-to place, my happy place, so getting into Sophie’s character is different and it’s really fun.
Did you grow up with ABBA? Were your parents into them?
Absolutely, I remember very clearly that they’d put them on sometimes on the weekends.
I remember we got robbed when I was about eight or nine, and the one thing mum still kind of goes on about is that the ABBA Gold CD was still in the CD player they took. You know, forget the priceless jewellery, it was the ABBA Gold CD she was most upset about!
And your boyfriend Stephen, who plays your on- stage love, Sky, were you partners before the show?
No, actually, we were friends, I don’t know exactly what happened but it all of a sudden happened and we fell in love off-stage and on-stage I guess.
It’s been very exciting and definitely a nice surprise, I never saw it coming, that’s for sure.
ALICIA GARDINER - ROSIE
Known and loved for her role in the hit television showOffspring, and her roles in Kath and Kim, Redfern Now, Miss Fisher’s Murders, and The Secret Life of Us, just to name a few of a very long list, Alicia’s passion for the stage is something she loves indulging in.
In the original production of Mamma Mia! The MusicalAlicia played the role of Ali. Now she returns as Donna’s vivacious and loyal friend, Rosie.
This isn’t your first foray in the world of Mamma Mia, tell us all about it.
No, I did the show 17 years ago with the same company where I played Ali, one of the bridesmaids, and now I’m playing one of the dynamos. It was an amazing experience back then – and really, you just can’t go wrong with ABBA – but the story was beautiful and everyone was so great to work with, so I thought... well, let’s do it all again!
How does it vary from the original?
It does vary slightly; there are a few different elements. The show itself is the same, and the story and the music is the same, but there’s some design elements and choreography that are different and obviously the cast is different. It actually feels like a totally different show to me but that’s probably because I’m coming in as a totally different character!
The whole thing feels fresher and brighter. It feels like it’s set in the same era, but at the same time it feels more modern. I don’t know how they do it but they pull it off really well.
There’s nothing like live musical theatre to get everyone singing along and caught up in the story!
Exactly, and particularly this show. There’s so much energy out in the audience, we’ve got audiences from all ages; from little kids to grandparents and we are really able to interact at the end of the show so that in itself is huge because we get so much energy from the audience and seeing how much they love it.
Half of the work has been done for us with the incredible music, but it really is a big spectacular in the end. It is one of the few things you can experience as a family and get completely caught up in it – so make sure you bring your kids. My kids have seen it lots of times now and they love it, and I’m sure your kids will too.
And the other thing with the show is that the story is so relatable to so many people.
Are you anything like your character Rosie?
I guess every character we play has elements of ourselves
in them. I think she’s far more outgoing than me, but she’s independent like me, she has
a love of travel and she values friendship like I do, but she’s more gregarious and spritely than me.
And what do your kids think of it all, were you practicing at home?
They love it, but because I did Offspring for so long they just kind of go, ‘oh, do we have to talk about Offspringagain?’ It’s all just another job that I do. They’re only young though so I don’t know if they really get that the job is a little bit different or special yet – they’re 10 and 12 years-old. It’s just what mum does. And I’ve always done television and live shows while they were growing up.
But they love coming to see the show! They’re blown away by it.
What is it about the story that keeps people coming back?
It really does come back to the characters being relatable, the story being simple and beautiful, and the music; the fact that people can actually come to the theatre and have a great fun time, have a dance, have a sing, but actually have a cry as well, and feel something through these beautiful characters and stories.
It has so many elements: it’s not just fun comedy - it has a lot of heart. People like to feel, people like to come to the theatre and leave feeling something.
Mamma Mia plays at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre until 30 September 2018 and then continues to the Festival Theatre at Adelaide Festival Centre from 9 October 2018.
