MAMMA MIA! Now Playing at the New London Barn Playhouse

Dear Diary,

What a night! One thing leads to another at the New London Barn Playhouse where you are invited to find long lost love, dive into wedding prep, and find out what being family truly means on an idyllic Greek island. Mamma Mia! runs July 20th thru August 7th at 7:30PM with Wednesday matinee performances at 2:00PM and Sunday performances at 5:00PM.

Based on music from the iconic Swedish pop group ABBA with a book by Catherine Johnson, Mamma Mia! follows Sophie Sheridan as she works to unravel which of three of her mother Donna's former lovers is her biological father. Donna is thrilled to have her backup singers Rosie and Tanya on the guest list for Sophie's wedding, but is less excited to see the all too familiar faces of Sam, Bill, and Harry. As pre-wedding antics ensue, Sophie and Donna discover and rekindle relationships with the three dads.

Making her New London Barn Playhouse debut as Donna, Paula Leggett Chase* brings grace and experience to the Mamma Mia! cast. She has numerous Broadway credits including Tootsie, A Chorus Line, Bye Bye Birdie, and Curtains. She has made appearances on TV and film such as Younger, The Sound of Music, Live, and The Late Show with David Letterman where she was tasked with everything from singing political ditties to cooking mussels with Jacques Pepin. PLC recently created and performed her own show: DIARY OF AN ANTIQUE SHOWGIRL benefiting Vanderburgh Medical Association in her beloved hometown. Also joining the girl group is Jessica Dillan* and Erin Stoddard*, who play Rosie and Tanya, Donna's backup singers in the Dynamos. At 20 years old, Jessica began touring the world in consecutive productions of On the Town and Cabaret. Shortly thereafter, she made her Broadway Debut in CATS as Sillabub/Victoria and has continued to perform on and off Broadway in shows including Thoroughly Modern Millie (Ethel Peas), Thou Shalt Not (Ensemble), and The Fartiste (Swing). Erin is thrilled to be one of the Dynamos at the Barn Playhouse and hails with Broadway credits 42nd St. (Peggy), Beauty and the Beast (Babette), and A Christmas Carol. She created the web series Women Can't Be Funny and has starred in TV and film including Scrubs and Maggie Gives a Speech.

Opposite the dynamos are the three Dynamos are Sophie's three potential dads. Jesse Swimm* plays Sam Carmichael, the British architect, and makes his Barn Playhouse debut after appearances in the original cast of School of Rock the Musical on Broadway and the My Fair Lady tour as a swing and dance captain. Playing Bill Austin the Australian writer and adventurer is Bradley Ford Betros, an Acting Intern alum from 2019 who most recently appeared in A Chorus Line at the Barn Playhouse and previously worked on After Happily Ever After at The Players Theater and Saturday Night Fever at Surflight Theater. Harry Bright, a British banker, is played by David Raimo*, who returns to Mamma Mia! after playing Sky in the Broadway National Tour. His other National Tour credits include Chicago (Fred Casely/Billy Flynn), CATS (Munkustrap), and Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat (Simeon).

Members of the Acting Intern Company fill out the rest of the cast, with Abby Linderman of Pace University playing hopeless romantic Sophie across from Nick Traficante of Ithaca College who plays her devoted and boyish fiancé Sky. Bailey Poe and Anne-Sophie Hill play Sophie's two friends Ali and Lisa, Ricky Cardenas plays Pepper, Sky's friend and admirer of the much older Tanya, and Justin Payton Nelson plays Eddie, another of Sky's friends. Adam Zeph returns to the Barn Playhouse stage after his stint in Boeing, Boeing as Father Alexandrios. The remainder of the ensemble is made up of the acting interns Jenessa Altvater, Katelyn Baughman, Yoni Haller, Bella Lopez, Dylan Lugosi, Keaton Miller, Max Smaretsky, and Daniel Tracht.

The Barn Playhouse is excited to welcome director Rommy Sandhu++, whose selected directing and choreography credits include How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (The Maltz-Jupiter Theatre), Mary Poppins, and Singing In The Rain starring Corbin Bleu (The MUNY). Associate Choreographer Krystyna Resavy is currently on faculty at Steps on Broadway and Broadway Dance Center in New York City. Pre-pandemic, she assisted Christopher Gattelli on the Broadway musical, The Cher Show, and choreographed Samsung's launch event Move With Galaxy featuring Diplo and Gwen Stefani. Returning to the Barn Playhouse for her fourth summer, Alex Crosby is the Music Director for Mamma Mia! as well as the Music Director for the Junior Intern Company, where her favorite credits were High School Musical and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. When she is not in New London, Alex is a conductor for Six the Musical (Broadway) and has worked as the Bandmaster at Celebrity Cruises. Scenic Designer Jordan Janota^ joins the Barn Playhouse for his twenty-sixth production there, where prior design credits include Ragtime, Legally Blonde, and Kiss Me, Kate. Jordan's other credits include the TYA World Premier of Madagascar: Live and Beat Bugs, the Musical as well as the World Premier of Becoming Martin at The Coterie Theatre in Kansas City. Dustin Cross^ is pleased to be back for his fourth season as Costume Designer after designing for Murder for Two and Peter and the Starcatcher among others. Off-Broadway credits include Love Actually (NY/ Chicago), The Office (NY, National Tour), and The Glass Menagerie. Lighting designer K.A. Rudolph (they/she) is a freelance lighting designer in New York City and Washington D.C. Some credits include work with HERE Arts Center, Theatre at St. Clements, Second Avenue Dance Company, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Columbia University, Corkscrew Theatre Festival.

The stage management team includes Aaron A. Watson* as the Production Stage Manager, who returns to the Barn Playhouse with other credits including Titanic (Milwaukee Rep), A Christmas Carol (Broadway SF), and Heisenberg and The Sound of Music (Northern Stage). The Assistant Stage Manager is Molly Raven Hopkins*, whose credits include Into the Woods in New York, Our Town with the Shakespeare Theatre Company, and The Nutcracker with the Washington Ballet. Stage management intern Wavyne White is a junior at Ithaca College who is working on her BFA in Theatrical Production and Design and has worked as Assistant Stage Manager for We Wear the Sea like a Coat and Fun Home.

The band for this production includes Lucas Phillips (bass), Tiffany Sammy (guitar), Brandon Wong (drums), and Ian Yan (keys 2).

Tickets are available at nlbarn.org/tickets, by phone at 603-526-6710 or at the New London Barn Playhouse box office Tuesday-Saturday starting at 11AM and Sundays from 11AM-3PM.

*Appears courtesy of Actors' Equity Association

++Appears as members of the STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS SOCIETY, a national theatrical labor union

^Denotes member of United Scenic Artists / Local USA 829

The New London Barn Playhouse is one of the oldest continuously operating summer theaters in the country. Housed in an historic converted barn, the theater features professional Broadway actors alongside emerging young artists in an intimate, air-conditioned setting, and has received countless accolades.

Tickets at www.nlbarn.org or by phone at 603-526-6710.

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