April 29, 2026 • 32 mins
Mamma Mia! is back in Omaha! This iconic musical features the songs of ABBA. Stars Jessica Crouch (playing Donna Sheridan) and Victor Wallace (playing Sam Carmichael) join to talk about this production and all of the behind the scenes info to get you ready to see the show at the Orpheum!
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Speaker 1 (00:11):
It's the Emvery Socer podcast and we are live on
the iHeartRadio app. We thank you so much for listening
to us, and today we have a very special treat
Joining us in the studio are a couple of stars
of an amazing production of Mama Mia at the Orpheum,
which you can see through this weekend. We have Jessica
Crouch who's playing Donna. Sheare it in one of the
(00:31):
very iconic leads of the show. Jessica, thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
For being here.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Oh thanks, I'm glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
And then we have Victor Wallace who plays Sam Carmichael,
who really is the male lead of several male leads
that you could make the argument for in this production.
First of Victor, appreciate you for coming in.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Thanks for coming in.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Yes, let's go ahead and just start right there with
the cast and the roles. There's a movie that the
music is all Abba music, so it already kind of
existed before it's put together into this show. And this
is just one show that people can see over and
over again and still feel like they're having fun. It's fresh,
the music's amazing. And I was talking about a couple
(01:13):
of years ago, I actually saw you Victor playing this
role with this production as well, but there are a
lot of new people around. Can you kind of go
through the process of a show this famous, that has
this many runs and has so many different cast members,
and what that process is like for somebody who's been
a bit steadier having to work with so many different
people while still technically doing the same role.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
I mean, the gift that this show keeps on running
has been fantastic for me, and I have been lucky
to come back to this show and do several.
Speaker 5 (01:49):
I've done the show with like several different casts, and
each time we put together a new group, it does.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Become you know, it's the same story and plot, but
but everybody brings their own personality to the role. And
even the way the show is written, the dialogue, it
really gives you the freedom to explore how you say
those lines, how you embody a role. And and because
(02:21):
you know I've played this role many times, every time
I get to do it with a new person, it
do it changes my role, It changes the way I
react to what's given to me. So it doesn't just
feel like a cookie cutter process.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
We do.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
We go into rehearsal for like four weeks when we
have a new a changeover, and we will will mix up,
the blocking, will mix up, you know what we can
that that that that works within the parameters of the
show so that it keeps it fresh and it keeps
every new cast that comes in feeling like there can
(03:00):
contributing their own artistry into the show.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
I think that's a great point because it does feel
fresh when you see it and you recognize different elements
that could exist with the chemistry on stage between two
different performers that you know, you might have seen these
two roles interact in multiple ways, but it's going to
be a little different every single time, no matter if
the lines are the same or not, because of the
(03:27):
way they're delivered in the people delivering them. So I
did not get to see Jessica the first time I
saw Mama Mia. What's your story and how you found
this role? Because I'll be completely honest, you know, the
thing about Mamma Mia is like you step into a
role that people a lot of people just know the
role that can be kind of a daunting task to
(03:48):
be like, Okay, I have to hold up a certain
standard and a certain level here, but at the same time.
It's so iconic, I'm sure you want the opportunity to
have a chance at it. So what's your history with
Mamma Mia and then eventually getting the role of Donna.
Speaker 6 (04:00):
So my introduction to Mamma Mia was actually seeing a
friend of mine in the show who I had worked
with before. It was the closing Broadway cast, so I
also saw Victor in Mama Mia, which is very funny.
And then and I remember seeing the show and one
of the beautiful things about the show is that you
(04:22):
can always find someone in the show that you connect
with a character or a moment. And actually at that
point I went I looked at Tanya and I'm like,
I'm going to play that one day, and then Donna
is saying winner takes it All, and then I said,
I'll eventually play that as well. I kind of skipped
right over the Tanya and went straight to Donna, which
(04:44):
I didn't expect. But it has been a really beautiful blessing,
unexpected very much. The legacy of this show sticks with me.
You're not only you know, twenty five years of iconic
legends of musical theater who will play this role, but
(05:06):
you have Meryl Streep in the movie, right, So these
are iconic silver platform shoes that you were stepping into
and it can be incredibly daunting. I will say, uh,
I came in with knowing that I wanted to have
(05:26):
at least some.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Kind of stamp for myself on this.
Speaker 6 (05:30):
Victor knows this well, and all I could do is
bring my own energy. That is one of the beautiful
things about this role. For better for worse. I'm wearing
my own hair for the first time.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
I was gonna say, I didn't know that that was
your hair, and so you walked in today very unique hair.
Speaker 6 (05:51):
I this is the first time in a show where
I'm not wigged, which usually is a very big thing
for me to transform into someone else, and not having
that forces me to bring a lot of myself into
this and it's very very vulnerable. I mean, there's one
(06:11):
of the iconic scenes is I'm barefoot, I'm in a
robe and it's just me singing.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
So it it.
Speaker 6 (06:19):
Feels very very authentic, real raw, and it's just a
moment that I get to have with Victor on stage.
And my experience with rehearsals is the creative team very
much so has been about bringing yourself to the show
bringing your energy. I mean when we were they had blocking,
(06:43):
just like Victor said, and we would throw it out
the window and we would just basically play and sometimes
fall on our face with the playing, and sometimes we
found moments that worked. And I definitely had certain things
that the very specific point of view about and then
(07:03):
other things. It was very much like I want it
to also feel good for the other characters and not
get them stuck into something that they don't want to
do for a year, but it's been a really wonderful
supportive group of people who have been with the show
(07:24):
for a long time allowing this new energy to come in.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
So I guess my observation, especially with your role in
You being different right, is you're singing the same songs.
One of the things I appreciate the most about this
show is how feminine it is for your characters, and
how manly and masculine it is for the male characters.
There's a real feel of kind of like there's not
(07:50):
a real villain in the show.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
It's just it's very unique.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
In that way where it's just kind of where's the
story going? And you know, I'm not going to spoil it,
but if you haven't seen it. It really is just
kind of like you think you know where it's going,
and it just never really quite goes where you think
it's going.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Which I really appreciate that about it as well.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
But the performance of the songs, you need to really
be a really good vocalist to be able to do this. So, Victor,
I'll go back to you for the vocals of Abba songs,
which are in a lot of ways sung mostly by
the female voices in the group, but you bring that
masculine energy to be able to tell the story that
(08:32):
the show is trying to tell. How over the years
have you been able to kind of master that and
how does that change with the new faces and voices
that come into your guys's ensemble.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
Wow? I mean you are right. People are used to
hearing Abba music. I never know if it's a Abba.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
That's a great question too. I tell my AI Abba
because it won't mess it up.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
Always go back and for it.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
It depends where you're from.
Speaker 5 (09:03):
It might be, it might.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
Be, but you're used to hearing their music sung by
those two iconic female voices and Benny and Bjorn, the
two guys in the group. They usually sing backup and
they play all the instruments. But you're right, I honestly,
(09:27):
I just dig into the story and what Sam is
going through and really use those lyrics, even if those
lyrics seem kind of Sometimes the lyrics seem maybe flowery
or over poetic, but you kind of use that language
(09:47):
to fit where in my case, Sam's character is feeling
and going and and I don't know, I just dive
into that emotional life crisis, that midlife crisis that Sam.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
Is going through.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
And I think a lot of men my age have
gone through a period of time where they're like, you know, what,
did I make all the right choices in my life?
Speaker 5 (10:19):
You know? Should I have done something differently?
Speaker 1 (10:21):
As a man, hearing you singing some Abba songs gives
me a different perspective honestly of you know, because you're right,
it's delicate, it's kind of flowery when you hear the recording,
but the way in which you're performing it, it feels
like that was a song meant to be sung by
a guy.
Speaker 5 (10:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
Yeah, yeah, I actually I really appreciate that. Appreciate you
saying that.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Well, yeah, I appreciate man being a you know, like,
given the opportunity to connect with an abba song, which
is great, and they have so many great songs, right,
So it's you know, how do you tell a story
within an already existing song. You know, it's a challenge
that a lot of people have taken on with a
lot of different shows. I have a part of this
for you, Jessica, is the voices or you have to
(11:07):
you have to go places with your vocal range? Is
this the most challenging that you you know, kind of
show that you have to do on a night to
night basis? Has there been shows before that kind of
feel like you know you've because you've gotten ready for
this because there are a couple of real moments in
the show where you really get to go for it,
especially in that upper register, and it's a wow moment
(11:27):
for the crowd.
Speaker 6 (11:28):
I will say, I am used to being hired as
a big rock singer, so this is actually in the
lane kind of in the lane, a bit easier of
a sing for me.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
However, the emotional journey that I have to go through
in the.
Speaker 6 (11:49):
Show is much more difficult. It is much more taxing
and exhausting than anything else. And and I think it
was really interesting that you said that there's no villain
in the show. I've never even like thought about that,
and it's very because it is very human and in
(12:10):
many ways, like we're all kind of being villains to ourselves.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
Yeah, I think we all have getting over our own
insecurity is our own.
Speaker 6 (12:22):
It's everyone's going through their own kind of emotional journey
fighting themselves and which is really really interesting and very cool. Yeah,
So like it's the story doesn't have a villain because
it's I guess like in a way, how we're all
just like our own enemy towards ourselves in a lot
of ways.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Yes, I gotta be honest.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
The I'm also I play music growing up, and I
was a drummer and in percussion and I just listened
to music really kind of a geek about it. So
even before I saw Mom and Me, I was very
familiar with abba music and was so excited to hear
a live band play that. And you get the opportunity
to hear the band a lot. It's really I just
(13:07):
like last night especially, I don't know if they turned
the volume up or something, but there are moments I
just wish and this is no disrespect to the story,
but there's a song called Gimmy, Gimmy, gimmey that I
absolutely adore that Abbot does, but it's kind of interrupted
by a lot of important dialogue that is taking place,
and a piece of me is just like, man, I
(13:29):
just wish they could just but I just want to
hear the band just jam that song for a while.
So being able to hear this victor all the time.
What is that feeling like when you're singing and you're
just like the band is unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
I have so many great musicians great.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
I mean, the great thing about this show is that
that you feel the sound surround you and just and
not a lot of Broadway shows give you that. But
this production, this particular production of of Mama Mia, you know,
has the They have all the original sample abba samples,
(14:09):
sounds and synthesizer sounds and even sometimes some of their
They patch in some of their actual vocals from from
their their recordings.
Speaker 6 (14:22):
Very protective about the only reason why they allowed this
to even become a musical was because.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
You have to do They want it to sound like
the songs.
Speaker 5 (14:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
Now, when you see it like a regional production of
because a lot of regional shows and high schools are
doing Mama Mia now, they're not going to have that
right sound, So it feels special to to just you know,
hear all the the band and the vocals and just
the mix.
Speaker 5 (14:51):
It's it's really fun.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Is there a song for you that you're like really
excited to get to that part, whether it's one you're
performing or one that the coll and sot almost performing,
or you just get to hear the band.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Is there like a favorite song right now?
Speaker 4 (15:03):
I mean, I really enjoy singing sos with job Okay cool.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
I like that.
Speaker 5 (15:10):
I think our voice is really.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Blend really well.
Speaker 6 (15:13):
Yeah, and we both get to lean into a little
bit of a rock sound in that way we have
I like give me, give me a man after Midnight,
and I don't sing in it. It's one of my favorites.
I'm backstage changing, but I'm like singing along because well,
that one's fun.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
That one in Vulat Vou the like there are like
it feels like fifty people on stage at the moment,
Like it's i mean, the dancing, the lights and then
just the intensity in which it's being performed. It just
it's mesmerizing, honestly, So I like that whole sequence, I think,
(15:47):
and it's weird and maybe.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Jess, I'll ask you this.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
It feels like a weird balance between the first act
and the second act because there are big famous Abbas
songs in the second act, but most of the notable
I think casual music listeners who would recognize songs, I
would say probably eighty percent of the songs they'd recognize
are in the first act and Mom and Me and
(16:12):
Dancing Queen. This is one thing I will spoil. You're
gonna hear those pretty fast. You're gonna get into the
show quickly with those two songs. So I guess for
you as a performer, right when you're doing a little
bit of those deeper cuts, especially those really emotional love
songs in that second act, trying to really tell and
(16:32):
portray the story in a second act where maybe the
music isn't quite as recognizable, what is kind of your
emotional investment into that to make sure that not only
are you doing justice to the song, but also this
is moving the story and keeping the audience engaged with
music they may not have heard before.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
That is funny that you mentioned that.
Speaker 6 (16:55):
I do think the first act for me is very
fun and light, and then the second act there is
a very big tonal shift that I do feel like
I go through and I go through the meaty meteor
parts of the emotional journey and human journey that Donna
(17:15):
is going through. And honestly, I don't think I think
my songs. There are certain songs and that fits so
well in the show that are so beautifully storytelling and human,
whether it's a mother singing to her daughter or the
(17:36):
songs that I sing with Victor, the song that Victor
sings about breaking up. The lyrics are just so smart,
and I think people just connect to that, and they
really can when it's not about the music and the
music that they recognize, it's really about the story and
(17:58):
it gets their hearts. And that's all I'm thinking about,
is the connection to this story.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
And I think.
Speaker 6 (18:06):
And I think that's how people connect to maybe the
songs that they don't necessarily know. And I mean, my
favorite song in the show is Sleeper One of Us.
I think it's a beautiful quiet moment that is just
about one of us is lonely and one of us
is waiting for a call.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
How many people have gone.
Speaker 6 (18:28):
Through an experience of of just a kind of unrequited
love and it just feels just this simple, small moment
that is just beautifully told. I don't know, I love that.
I love that song, but there's so many.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
Music is their music writing is even if you aren't
familiar with an Abbat tune, you it grows on you
so quickly, like you just it's just I don't know.
Speaker 5 (19:00):
There they have a talent for writing.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
I mean the melody, they're a true geniuses and like
music composition, but you don't really realize until you listen
in the context of your guys' show, like how Goods,
some of the lyrics are storytelling. I mean, you know,
it's not just pop music that's you know, just kind
of bubblegum and.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Really easy and tropy.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
It's pretty deep and it's really relatable because of how
specific some of it is, like knowing you knowing me.
You know a song that you know, Victor gets to
singing you knowing me, knowing you.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
But like you're on stage with the younger female leader.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
I'll talk about in a second, but it's that that
is a song that just kind of like kind of
gets on my preiferee. It's it's just another Abba song.
You know, it's not one of my favorites, but the
way that it is sung in that context changes its
meaning to me. And it really does a lot for
the show, right because of you know, you showing true
(20:04):
emotional care for somebody you in the show literally just
meet that context, I think is something that people in
the audience can connect to.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely, I think I mean, I think
it's a great moment because also Sam is trying to.
Speaker 5 (20:23):
Trying to be a father to this young.
Speaker 4 (20:28):
Girl who grew up without a father and and you know,
at the same time trying to make up for lost time,
uh for being not being president. I mean, he didn't
know he may have had it. He thinks she's his
daughter at that moment.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
In time, right, which is without giving anything away, well,
but honestly, like the the crux of the entire show
is really unknowns. It's a lot of guessing, you know,
and and you can kind of feel that in some
of the interactions. But Sam, your character gets a lot
of that the more intimate conversations with the daughter, which
(21:04):
is played by a younger actress.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
I think her name is Juliette.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Yeah, And so she is on stage and I've noticed
this about different productions, And I'll ask you this, Jess.
You have to get the balance between the two female leads.
I think, right, you're on stage and you're the mother,
and you're, you know, a middle aged woman going through
all this emotional stress and you know you're a business owner,
(21:30):
and you know you have all this stuff going on,
and now your young twenty year old daughter is getting married.
You have to bring that energy, and then the twenty
year old daughter is got to bring a completely different
energy of like all this spunk, but also you know,
she's kind of a girl next door and she just
wants to do what she thinks is the right thing.
And you know there are moments where she's even questioning
(21:50):
why she's doing certain things. But the balance has to
be I think Donna's the powerhouse, and I don't think
people realize that Donna becomes the main character at some
point somewhere through the show. It starts out about, you know, Sophie,
the younger girl. How important is the chemistry with that
performer on stage because you're on the stage together a lot.
(22:13):
But you also have to kind of have that balance
of you being this very strong and independent woman while
your daughter is you know, very optimistic and ambitious about
what she wants to achieve in her own life and
try to strike a balance between those two things.
Speaker 6 (22:26):
I think it's very important the connection that that you
have every Donna has with their their Sophie. I kind
of got lucky with Juliette. I think we both just
kind of got lucky. Casting just did a very good job.
We connected immediately. I think we both have like have big, bright,
(22:47):
spunky energies naturally as human, so we connected really fast.
And she's got these big, beautiful Disney eyes that all
you need to do is look at her and you
can we know exactly where we are at any moment
and what kind of show it's going to be, because
(23:08):
a very every night is a little bit different. That's
the beauty of live theater is that we are very
present for each other every night, and it is a balance.
It very much is Sophie's journey of figuring out who
(23:31):
she is and identity and I mean wanting to know
her father, wanting to know who she is. And then
it suddenly you see that Donna is going through a
very similar journey, just in a different time in her life,
(23:51):
which is a very beautiful. Interesting thing that these characters
share together is that you can be finding yourself all
over again at twenty or at forty fifty. You can
be rediscovering yourself at any point in your life.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
That's such great message for anybody watching the show too.
It's just like, hey, you know, life could turn on
a dime and get completely exciting again. For me, it's
my life's not over when I'm in my midlife crisis
or whatever. A couple of last questions for you, and
it's all wardrobe related.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
That you're like.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
And I commented to my wife about this is the
It's an interesting It's set in a very specific time, right,
so this is like late nineties, early two thousands kind
of time frame?
Speaker 3 (24:43):
Is it ninety five?
Speaker 6 (24:44):
I have to look at the check the check that Harry.
Speaker 5 (24:52):
I mean, I guess when the show came out. The
show was well on Broadway.
Speaker 4 (24:57):
It opened just after nine to eleven, right two thousand
and one. The show was written like a few years
before that, and it was kind of written in that.
Speaker 5 (25:07):
That present day.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Yeah, and it still is is performed as if that
is present day.
Speaker 4 (25:13):
Yeah, it's still it's still stays in that that era,
but it has become it's not like the most important
thing the time. I guess a lot of things, you know,
with the plot of the show. You know, we we
didn't we don't have cell phones, we don't have you know,
(25:33):
it's it's kind of an idyllic time without right, you know,
to make all the miscommunication believable.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Right, she she mails legitimate invitations not knowing if they're
going to.
Speaker 4 (25:44):
Be received or not, right, you know, and she didn't
get on the internet and like paperless post right.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Yeah, but it's interesting, right, So every character kind of
has their own style in a show that abba itself
has its own very unique style, which you guys explore
in a couple of different ways.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Especially at the end of the show.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Sam is kind of the most tamed down of all
of the dudes that are a part of this show.
You have a guy who, you know, the younger leads,
I mean, they're shirtless a lot, and they you know,
have you know, showing off their physiques and everything. They're
very young and exciting. And then you guys kind of
all have the older guys have their own kind of
(26:26):
character to their wardrobe and I just wonder for you
and you know, trying to portray what because I feel
like when we see you guys, we start drawing in
our heads exactly what kind of individual and what you
care about the most. And Sam's kind of an architect,
He's kind of a thinking man. He dresses fairly professionally,
(26:47):
even though he's on vacation and kind of leisurely. How
important is that on the visual aspect to what you
guys are doing beyond you know, song and dance.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
I mean it it it does. I mean it helps
your character feels it makes you become your character.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
And I should say that, yeah, but I should also
mention that the stage design is great. It doesn't really
change very much scene to scene. It really is your
guys's costumes that are making the most difference from scene
to scene.
Speaker 4 (27:13):
Yeah, yeah, it's it's actually, I mean, the set is
actually very simple, but what what they what they use
with lighting and positioning of the set that changes and
brings you into different locations is actually pretty genius. Costume wise.
(27:34):
It everything you know, down to my watch that I
wear and a little beaded necklace that I probably Sam
probably doesn't wear all the time, but you know, he's
on VACA, he's on vacation, so he's he brings out
out the jewelry that he would never work at where
at work, and and yeah, it's there's.
Speaker 6 (27:55):
A lot of detail that you wouldn't actually, I think
that's there.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
There is so much detail to it.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Every and each dad does have a different style. It's
it's it's funny. And that's the same with the women
as well, the three.
Speaker 5 (28:14):
Guess they're not all moms.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
But then the Dynamos.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Yeah, so uh, how fun is it to fit into
that outfit that you wear at the end there, it's.
Speaker 6 (28:22):
Great, I mean give it away.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
You feel like the special costume changes.
Speaker 4 (28:29):
Yes, yeah, they I mean they always want us to
keep that secret.
Speaker 5 (28:32):
But come on the cats.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Out of the back well, I will ask.
Speaker 5 (28:36):
Actually people need to know because some.
Speaker 6 (28:38):
People leave, they don't leave after the bat or stay
during and after the back credit scene.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Well, and that's the thing too, is that that's become
such a thing, I think in theater also because people
just like I got to beat this this crowd out
of here, big show.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
You're you're missing.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Like I've seen like three show this year that have
some sort of like additional thing after the bows that
I wouldn't want to miss and so like, uh, exactly,
you can't leave a Marvel movie out until after the
credits are over. I'll ask last question for you. Just
the Donna and the Dynamos. This is kind of well,
(29:20):
this is who Donna was kind of thing, and you
get to revisit that a couple of times, and that,
I mean, the ladies that.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
You're with just a riot.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
It's such good comic relief in an otherwise pretty serious
story that Donna is going through. But those outfits are
an immediate callback back to like true Abbat era style.
What do you feel about that wardrobe and kind of
the way that is leaned into in the show, because
(29:52):
I think everybody in the crowd just gets a great
kick out of it and how good it looks, especially
when being performing you know, this type of music while
you're wearing these iconic seventies styled outfits.
Speaker 6 (30:04):
Yeah, I mean, I love the audience reaction to it.
It's what they want to see. Do I always love
wearing it? Maybe not? It's the skin tight and it's
it's fun no matter what.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
It's fun. I mean, it's just a blast.
Speaker 6 (30:27):
And really no matter what it's because it's because of
the audience.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
And I say this.
Speaker 6 (30:32):
Every time and every city is absolutely different based off
of the theater, But the audience is a character in
our story as well, the reaction that we get out
of you.
Speaker 3 (30:44):
We play off that energy every night.
Speaker 6 (30:48):
And yes, so the first time I come out in
one of the iconic outfits in the first act and
hearing the reaction from the audience like pumped, it's awesome
and it helps bring the energy of that next number
that goes through the rest of the entire act.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
And that's and that's the part of the show when
we're just like we're at.
Speaker 6 (31:11):
Hyper speed, We're on yeah, we got a lift off
on that, and then it just goes yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
So that's a great point.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
The crowd participating becomes a character in a movie that
helps bring us to a real important part of the show.
Absolutely love that you can see Mom and Mia. It's
at the Orphem through the weekend. Tickets available at Omaha
Performing Arts oh dash PA dot org. You can find
that there ticket Omaha also where you can go and
find tickets there. Jessica Crouch, Victor Wallace, we do appreciate
(31:41):
you guys for being here and thanks for.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Talking to us. It is an amazing show.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
This has been a lot of fun having us absolutely
and guess what you are listening to the Emory Songer Podcast.
We'll have another one in the feed ready to go
for you tomorrow, so stay tuned on that until then.
Peace out, have a great day, and we will talk
to you again here on the iHeartRadio app.
It's the Emvery Socer podcast and we are live on
the iHeartRadio app. We thank you so much for listening
to us, and today we have a very special treat
Joining us in the studio are a couple of stars
of an amazing production of Mama Mia at the Orpheum,
which you can see through this weekend. We have Jessica
Crouch who's playing Donna. Sheare it in one of the
(00:31):
very iconic leads of the show. Jessica, thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
For being here.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Oh thanks, I'm glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
And then we have Victor Wallace who plays Sam Carmichael,
who really is the male lead of several male leads
that you could make the argument for in this production.
First of Victor, appreciate you for coming in.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Thanks for coming in.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Yes, let's go ahead and just start right there with
the cast and the roles. There's a movie that the
music is all Abba music, so it already kind of
existed before it's put together into this show. And this
is just one show that people can see over and
over again and still feel like they're having fun. It's fresh,
the music's amazing. And I was talking about a couple
(01:13):
of years ago, I actually saw you Victor playing this
role with this production as well, but there are a
lot of new people around. Can you kind of go
through the process of a show this famous, that has
this many runs and has so many different cast members,
and what that process is like for somebody who's been
a bit steadier having to work with so many different
people while still technically doing the same role.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
I mean, the gift that this show keeps on running
has been fantastic for me, and I have been lucky
to come back to this show and do several.
Speaker 5 (01:49):
I've done the show with like several different casts, and
each time we put together a new group, it does.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Become you know, it's the same story and plot, but
but everybody brings their own personality to the role. And
even the way the show is written, the dialogue, it
really gives you the freedom to explore how you say
those lines, how you embody a role. And and because
(02:21):
you know I've played this role many times, every time
I get to do it with a new person, it
do it changes my role, It changes the way I
react to what's given to me. So it doesn't just
feel like a cookie cutter process.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
We do.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
We go into rehearsal for like four weeks when we
have a new a changeover, and we will will mix up,
the blocking, will mix up, you know what we can
that that that that works within the parameters of the
show so that it keeps it fresh and it keeps
every new cast that comes in feeling like there can
(03:00):
contributing their own artistry into the show.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
I think that's a great point because it does feel
fresh when you see it and you recognize different elements
that could exist with the chemistry on stage between two
different performers that you know, you might have seen these
two roles interact in multiple ways, but it's going to
be a little different every single time, no matter if
the lines are the same or not, because of the
(03:27):
way they're delivered in the people delivering them. So I
did not get to see Jessica the first time I
saw Mama Mia. What's your story and how you found
this role? Because I'll be completely honest, you know, the
thing about Mamma Mia is like you step into a
role that people a lot of people just know the
role that can be kind of a daunting task to
(03:48):
be like, Okay, I have to hold up a certain
standard and a certain level here, but at the same time.
It's so iconic, I'm sure you want the opportunity to
have a chance at it. So what's your history with
Mamma Mia and then eventually getting the role of Donna.
Speaker 6 (04:00):
So my introduction to Mamma Mia was actually seeing a
friend of mine in the show who I had worked
with before. It was the closing Broadway cast, so I
also saw Victor in Mama Mia, which is very funny.
And then and I remember seeing the show and one
of the beautiful things about the show is that you
(04:22):
can always find someone in the show that you connect
with a character or a moment. And actually at that
point I went I looked at Tanya and I'm like,
I'm going to play that one day, and then Donna
is saying winner takes it All, and then I said,
I'll eventually play that as well. I kind of skipped
right over the Tanya and went straight to Donna, which
(04:44):
I didn't expect. But it has been a really beautiful blessing,
unexpected very much. The legacy of this show sticks with me.
You're not only you know, twenty five years of iconic
legends of musical theater who will play this role, but
(05:06):
you have Meryl Streep in the movie, right, So these
are iconic silver platform shoes that you were stepping into
and it can be incredibly daunting. I will say, uh,
I came in with knowing that I wanted to have
(05:26):
at least some.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Kind of stamp for myself on this.
Speaker 6 (05:30):
Victor knows this well, and all I could do is
bring my own energy. That is one of the beautiful
things about this role. For better for worse. I'm wearing
my own hair for the first time.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
I was gonna say, I didn't know that that was
your hair, and so you walked in today very unique hair.
Speaker 6 (05:51):
I this is the first time in a show where
I'm not wigged, which usually is a very big thing
for me to transform into someone else, and not having
that forces me to bring a lot of myself into
this and it's very very vulnerable. I mean, there's one
(06:11):
of the iconic scenes is I'm barefoot, I'm in a
robe and it's just me singing.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
So it it.
Speaker 6 (06:19):
Feels very very authentic, real raw, and it's just a
moment that I get to have with Victor on stage.
And my experience with rehearsals is the creative team very
much so has been about bringing yourself to the show
bringing your energy. I mean when we were they had blocking,
(06:43):
just like Victor said, and we would throw it out
the window and we would just basically play and sometimes
fall on our face with the playing, and sometimes we
found moments that worked. And I definitely had certain things
that the very specific point of view about and then
(07:03):
other things. It was very much like I want it
to also feel good for the other characters and not
get them stuck into something that they don't want to
do for a year, but it's been a really wonderful
supportive group of people who have been with the show
(07:24):
for a long time allowing this new energy to come in.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
So I guess my observation, especially with your role in
You being different right, is you're singing the same songs.
One of the things I appreciate the most about this
show is how feminine it is for your characters, and
how manly and masculine it is for the male characters.
There's a real feel of kind of like there's not
(07:50):
a real villain in the show.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
It's just it's very unique.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
In that way where it's just kind of where's the
story going? And you know, I'm not going to spoil it,
but if you haven't seen it. It really is just
kind of like you think you know where it's going,
and it just never really quite goes where you think
it's going.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Which I really appreciate that about it as well.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
But the performance of the songs, you need to really
be a really good vocalist to be able to do this. So, Victor,
I'll go back to you for the vocals of Abba songs,
which are in a lot of ways sung mostly by
the female voices in the group, but you bring that
masculine energy to be able to tell the story that
(08:32):
the show is trying to tell. How over the years
have you been able to kind of master that and
how does that change with the new faces and voices
that come into your guys's ensemble.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
Wow? I mean you are right. People are used to
hearing Abba music. I never know if it's a Abba.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
That's a great question too. I tell my AI Abba
because it won't mess it up.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
Always go back and for it.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
It depends where you're from.
Speaker 5 (09:03):
It might be, it might.
Speaker 4 (09:04):
Be, but you're used to hearing their music sung by
those two iconic female voices and Benny and Bjorn, the
two guys in the group. They usually sing backup and
they play all the instruments. But you're right, I honestly,
(09:27):
I just dig into the story and what Sam is
going through and really use those lyrics, even if those
lyrics seem kind of Sometimes the lyrics seem maybe flowery
or over poetic, but you kind of use that language
(09:47):
to fit where in my case, Sam's character is feeling
and going and and I don't know, I just dive
into that emotional life crisis, that midlife crisis that Sam.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
Is going through.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
And I think a lot of men my age have
gone through a period of time where they're like, you know, what,
did I make all the right choices in my life?
Speaker 5 (10:19):
You know? Should I have done something differently?
Speaker 1 (10:21):
As a man, hearing you singing some Abba songs gives
me a different perspective honestly of you know, because you're right,
it's delicate, it's kind of flowery when you hear the recording,
but the way in which you're performing it, it feels
like that was a song meant to be sung by
a guy.
Speaker 5 (10:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
Yeah, yeah, I actually I really appreciate that. Appreciate you
saying that.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Well, yeah, I appreciate man being a you know, like,
given the opportunity to connect with an abba song, which
is great, and they have so many great songs, right,
So it's you know, how do you tell a story
within an already existing song. You know, it's a challenge
that a lot of people have taken on with a
lot of different shows. I have a part of this
for you, Jessica, is the voices or you have to
(11:07):
you have to go places with your vocal range? Is
this the most challenging that you you know, kind of
show that you have to do on a night to
night basis? Has there been shows before that kind of
feel like you know you've because you've gotten ready for
this because there are a couple of real moments in
the show where you really get to go for it,
especially in that upper register, and it's a wow moment
(11:27):
for the crowd.
Speaker 6 (11:28):
I will say, I am used to being hired as
a big rock singer, so this is actually in the
lane kind of in the lane, a bit easier of
a sing for me.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
However, the emotional journey that I have to go through
in the.
Speaker 6 (11:49):
Show is much more difficult. It is much more taxing
and exhausting than anything else. And and I think it
was really interesting that you said that there's no villain
in the show. I've never even like thought about that,
and it's very because it is very human and in
(12:10):
many ways, like we're all kind of being villains to ourselves.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
Yeah, I think we all have getting over our own
insecurity is our own.
Speaker 6 (12:22):
It's everyone's going through their own kind of emotional journey
fighting themselves and which is really really interesting and very cool. Yeah,
So like it's the story doesn't have a villain because
it's I guess like in a way, how we're all
just like our own enemy towards ourselves in a lot
of ways.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Yes, I gotta be honest.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
The I'm also I play music growing up, and I
was a drummer and in percussion and I just listened
to music really kind of a geek about it. So
even before I saw Mom and Me, I was very
familiar with abba music and was so excited to hear
a live band play that. And you get the opportunity
to hear the band a lot. It's really I just
(13:07):
like last night especially, I don't know if they turned
the volume up or something, but there are moments I
just wish and this is no disrespect to the story,
but there's a song called Gimmy, Gimmy, gimmey that I
absolutely adore that Abbot does, but it's kind of interrupted
by a lot of important dialogue that is taking place,
and a piece of me is just like, man, I
(13:29):
just wish they could just but I just want to
hear the band just jam that song for a while.
So being able to hear this victor all the time.
What is that feeling like when you're singing and you're
just like the band is unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
I have so many great musicians great.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
I mean, the great thing about this show is that
that you feel the sound surround you and just and
not a lot of Broadway shows give you that. But
this production, this particular production of of Mama Mia, you know,
has the They have all the original sample abba samples,
(14:09):
sounds and synthesizer sounds and even sometimes some of their
They patch in some of their actual vocals from from
their their recordings.
Speaker 6 (14:22):
Very protective about the only reason why they allowed this
to even become a musical was because.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
You have to do They want it to sound like
the songs.
Speaker 5 (14:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
Now, when you see it like a regional production of
because a lot of regional shows and high schools are
doing Mama Mia now, they're not going to have that
right sound, So it feels special to to just you know,
hear all the the band and the vocals and just
the mix.
Speaker 5 (14:51):
It's it's really fun.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Is there a song for you that you're like really
excited to get to that part, whether it's one you're
performing or one that the coll and sot almost performing,
or you just get to hear the band.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Is there like a favorite song right now?
Speaker 4 (15:03):
I mean, I really enjoy singing sos with job Okay cool.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
I like that.
Speaker 5 (15:10):
I think our voice is really.
Speaker 3 (15:12):
Blend really well.
Speaker 6 (15:13):
Yeah, and we both get to lean into a little
bit of a rock sound in that way we have
I like give me, give me a man after Midnight,
and I don't sing in it. It's one of my favorites.
I'm backstage changing, but I'm like singing along because well,
that one's fun.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
That one in Vulat Vou the like there are like
it feels like fifty people on stage at the moment,
Like it's i mean, the dancing, the lights and then
just the intensity in which it's being performed. It just
it's mesmerizing, honestly, So I like that whole sequence, I think,
(15:47):
and it's weird and maybe.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Jess, I'll ask you this.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
It feels like a weird balance between the first act
and the second act because there are big famous Abbas
songs in the second act, but most of the notable
I think casual music listeners who would recognize songs, I
would say probably eighty percent of the songs they'd recognize
are in the first act and Mom and Me and
(16:12):
Dancing Queen. This is one thing I will spoil. You're
gonna hear those pretty fast. You're gonna get into the
show quickly with those two songs. So I guess for
you as a performer, right when you're doing a little
bit of those deeper cuts, especially those really emotional love
songs in that second act, trying to really tell and
(16:32):
portray the story in a second act where maybe the
music isn't quite as recognizable, what is kind of your
emotional investment into that to make sure that not only
are you doing justice to the song, but also this
is moving the story and keeping the audience engaged with
music they may not have heard before.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
That is funny that you mentioned that.
Speaker 6 (16:55):
I do think the first act for me is very
fun and light, and then the second act there is
a very big tonal shift that I do feel like
I go through and I go through the meaty meteor
parts of the emotional journey and human journey that Donna
(17:15):
is going through. And honestly, I don't think I think
my songs. There are certain songs and that fits so
well in the show that are so beautifully storytelling and human,
whether it's a mother singing to her daughter or the
(17:36):
songs that I sing with Victor, the song that Victor
sings about breaking up. The lyrics are just so smart,
and I think people just connect to that, and they
really can when it's not about the music and the
music that they recognize, it's really about the story and
(17:58):
it gets their hearts. And that's all I'm thinking about,
is the connection to this story.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
And I think.
Speaker 6 (18:06):
And I think that's how people connect to maybe the
songs that they don't necessarily know. And I mean, my
favorite song in the show is Sleeper One of Us.
I think it's a beautiful quiet moment that is just
about one of us is lonely and one of us
is waiting for a call.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
How many people have gone.
Speaker 6 (18:28):
Through an experience of of just a kind of unrequited
love and it just feels just this simple, small moment
that is just beautifully told. I don't know, I love that.
I love that song, but there's so many.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
Music is their music writing is even if you aren't
familiar with an Abbat tune, you it grows on you
so quickly, like you just it's just I don't know.
Speaker 5 (19:00):
There they have a talent for writing.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
I mean the melody, they're a true geniuses and like
music composition, but you don't really realize until you listen
in the context of your guys' show, like how Goods,
some of the lyrics are storytelling. I mean, you know,
it's not just pop music that's you know, just kind
of bubblegum and.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Really easy and tropy.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
It's pretty deep and it's really relatable because of how
specific some of it is, like knowing you knowing me.
You know a song that you know, Victor gets to
singing you knowing me, knowing you.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
But like you're on stage with the younger female leader.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
I'll talk about in a second, but it's that that
is a song that just kind of like kind of
gets on my preiferee. It's it's just another Abba song.
You know, it's not one of my favorites, but the
way that it is sung in that context changes its
meaning to me. And it really does a lot for
the show, right because of you know, you showing true
(20:04):
emotional care for somebody you in the show literally just
meet that context, I think is something that people in
the audience can connect to.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely, I think I mean, I think
it's a great moment because also Sam is trying to.
Speaker 5 (20:23):
Trying to be a father to this young.
Speaker 4 (20:28):
Girl who grew up without a father and and you know,
at the same time trying to make up for lost time,
uh for being not being president. I mean, he didn't
know he may have had it. He thinks she's his
daughter at that moment.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
In time, right, which is without giving anything away, well,
but honestly, like the the crux of the entire show
is really unknowns. It's a lot of guessing, you know,
and and you can kind of feel that in some
of the interactions. But Sam, your character gets a lot
of that the more intimate conversations with the daughter, which
(21:04):
is played by a younger actress.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
I think her name is Juliette.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Yeah, And so she is on stage and I've noticed
this about different productions, And I'll ask you this, Jess.
You have to get the balance between the two female leads.
I think, right, you're on stage and you're the mother,
and you're, you know, a middle aged woman going through
all this emotional stress and you know you're a business owner,
(21:30):
and you know you have all this stuff going on,
and now your young twenty year old daughter is getting married.
You have to bring that energy, and then the twenty
year old daughter is got to bring a completely different
energy of like all this spunk, but also you know,
she's kind of a girl next door and she just
wants to do what she thinks is the right thing.
And you know there are moments where she's even questioning
(21:50):
why she's doing certain things. But the balance has to
be I think Donna's the powerhouse, and I don't think
people realize that Donna becomes the main character at some
point somewhere through the show. It starts out about, you know, Sophie,
the younger girl. How important is the chemistry with that
performer on stage because you're on the stage together a lot.
(22:13):
But you also have to kind of have that balance
of you being this very strong and independent woman while
your daughter is you know, very optimistic and ambitious about
what she wants to achieve in her own life and
try to strike a balance between those two things.
Speaker 6 (22:26):
I think it's very important the connection that that you
have every Donna has with their their Sophie. I kind
of got lucky with Juliette. I think we both just
kind of got lucky. Casting just did a very good job.
We connected immediately. I think we both have like have big, bright,
(22:47):
spunky energies naturally as human, so we connected really fast.
And she's got these big, beautiful Disney eyes that all
you need to do is look at her and you
can we know exactly where we are at any moment
and what kind of show it's going to be, because
(23:08):
a very every night is a little bit different. That's
the beauty of live theater is that we are very
present for each other every night, and it is a balance.
It very much is Sophie's journey of figuring out who
(23:31):
she is and identity and I mean wanting to know
her father, wanting to know who she is. And then
it suddenly you see that Donna is going through a
very similar journey, just in a different time in her life,
(23:51):
which is a very beautiful. Interesting thing that these characters
share together is that you can be finding yourself all
over again at twenty or at forty fifty. You can
be rediscovering yourself at any point in your life.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
That's such great message for anybody watching the show too.
It's just like, hey, you know, life could turn on
a dime and get completely exciting again. For me, it's
my life's not over when I'm in my midlife crisis
or whatever. A couple of last questions for you, and
it's all wardrobe related.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
That you're like.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
And I commented to my wife about this is the
It's an interesting It's set in a very specific time, right,
so this is like late nineties, early two thousands kind
of time frame?
Speaker 3 (24:43):
Is it ninety five?
Speaker 6 (24:44):
I have to look at the check the check that Harry.
Speaker 5 (24:52):
I mean, I guess when the show came out. The
show was well on Broadway.
Speaker 4 (24:57):
It opened just after nine to eleven, right two thousand
and one. The show was written like a few years
before that, and it was kind of written in that.
Speaker 5 (25:07):
That present day.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Yeah, and it still is is performed as if that
is present day.
Speaker 4 (25:13):
Yeah, it's still it's still stays in that that era,
but it has become it's not like the most important
thing the time. I guess a lot of things, you know,
with the plot of the show. You know, we we
didn't we don't have cell phones, we don't have you know,
(25:33):
it's it's kind of an idyllic time without right, you know,
to make all the miscommunication believable.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Right, she she mails legitimate invitations not knowing if they're
going to.
Speaker 4 (25:44):
Be received or not, right, you know, and she didn't
get on the internet and like paperless post right.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Yeah, but it's interesting, right, So every character kind of
has their own style in a show that abba itself
has its own very unique style, which you guys explore
in a couple of different ways.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Especially at the end of the show.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Sam is kind of the most tamed down of all
of the dudes that are a part of this show.
You have a guy who, you know, the younger leads,
I mean, they're shirtless a lot, and they you know,
have you know, showing off their physiques and everything. They're
very young and exciting. And then you guys kind of
all have the older guys have their own kind of
(26:26):
character to their wardrobe and I just wonder for you
and you know, trying to portray what because I feel
like when we see you guys, we start drawing in
our heads exactly what kind of individual and what you
care about the most. And Sam's kind of an architect,
He's kind of a thinking man. He dresses fairly professionally,
(26:47):
even though he's on vacation and kind of leisurely. How
important is that on the visual aspect to what you
guys are doing beyond you know, song and dance.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
I mean it it it does. I mean it helps
your character feels it makes you become your character.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
And I should say that, yeah, but I should also
mention that the stage design is great. It doesn't really
change very much scene to scene. It really is your
guys's costumes that are making the most difference from scene
to scene.
Speaker 4 (27:13):
Yeah, yeah, it's it's actually, I mean, the set is
actually very simple, but what what they what they use
with lighting and positioning of the set that changes and
brings you into different locations is actually pretty genius. Costume wise.
(27:34):
It everything you know, down to my watch that I
wear and a little beaded necklace that I probably Sam
probably doesn't wear all the time, but you know, he's
on VACA, he's on vacation, so he's he brings out
out the jewelry that he would never work at where
at work, and and yeah, it's there's.
Speaker 6 (27:55):
A lot of detail that you wouldn't actually, I think
that's there.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
There is so much detail to it.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Every and each dad does have a different style. It's
it's it's funny. And that's the same with the women
as well, the three.
Speaker 5 (28:14):
Guess they're not all moms.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
But then the Dynamos.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Yeah, so uh, how fun is it to fit into
that outfit that you wear at the end there, it's.
Speaker 6 (28:22):
Great, I mean give it away.
Speaker 3 (28:27):
You feel like the special costume changes.
Speaker 4 (28:29):
Yes, yeah, they I mean they always want us to
keep that secret.
Speaker 5 (28:32):
But come on the cats.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Out of the back well, I will ask.
Speaker 5 (28:36):
Actually people need to know because some.
Speaker 6 (28:38):
People leave, they don't leave after the bat or stay
during and after the back credit scene.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Well, and that's the thing too, is that that's become
such a thing, I think in theater also because people
just like I got to beat this this crowd out
of here, big show.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
You're you're missing.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
Like I've seen like three show this year that have
some sort of like additional thing after the bows that
I wouldn't want to miss and so like, uh, exactly,
you can't leave a Marvel movie out until after the
credits are over. I'll ask last question for you. Just
the Donna and the Dynamos. This is kind of well,
(29:20):
this is who Donna was kind of thing, and you
get to revisit that a couple of times, and that,
I mean, the ladies that.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
You're with just a riot.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
It's such good comic relief in an otherwise pretty serious
story that Donna is going through. But those outfits are
an immediate callback back to like true Abbat era style.
What do you feel about that wardrobe and kind of
the way that is leaned into in the show, because
(29:52):
I think everybody in the crowd just gets a great
kick out of it and how good it looks, especially
when being performing you know, this type of music while
you're wearing these iconic seventies styled outfits.
Speaker 6 (30:04):
Yeah, I mean, I love the audience reaction to it.
It's what they want to see. Do I always love
wearing it? Maybe not? It's the skin tight and it's
it's fun no matter what.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
It's fun. I mean, it's just a blast.
Speaker 6 (30:27):
And really no matter what it's because it's because of
the audience.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
And I say this.
Speaker 6 (30:32):
Every time and every city is absolutely different based off
of the theater, But the audience is a character in
our story as well, the reaction that we get out
of you.
Speaker 3 (30:44):
We play off that energy every night.
Speaker 6 (30:48):
And yes, so the first time I come out in
one of the iconic outfits in the first act and
hearing the reaction from the audience like pumped, it's awesome
and it helps bring the energy of that next number
that goes through the rest of the entire act.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
And that's and that's the part of the show when
we're just like we're at.
Speaker 6 (31:11):
Hyper speed, We're on yeah, we got a lift off
on that, and then it just goes yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
So that's a great point.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
The crowd participating becomes a character in a movie that
helps bring us to a real important part of the show.
Absolutely love that you can see Mom and Mia. It's
at the Orphem through the weekend. Tickets available at Omaha
Performing Arts oh dash PA dot org. You can find
that there ticket Omaha also where you can go and
find tickets there. Jessica Crouch, Victor Wallace, we do appreciate
(31:41):
you guys for being here and thanks for.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Talking to us. It is an amazing show.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
This has been a lot of fun having us absolutely
and guess what you are listening to the Emory Songer Podcast.
We'll have another one in the feed ready to go
for you tomorrow, so stay tuned on that until then.
Peace out, have a great day, and we will talk
to you again here on the iHeartRadio app.
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