City singer to take on new role in Gore

Gore’s nightlife is about to get as good as an ABBA song, with the Mamma Mia! musical just under three weeks away.

St James’ Theatre will be the venue for the Gore Musical Theatre’s production, opening on August 11.

Since opening at London’s West End in 1999, Catherine Johnson’s musical, featuring the music of ABBA, has been played in more than 50 countries and inspired the 2008 movie of the same name.

This will be the second time the musical has been on show in Southland, following on from the Invercargill Musical Theatre’s production in 2014.

Gore Musical Theatre production manager Yvette Davis said the anticipation for the show was starting to build.

‘‘It’s exciting just for the fact that Gore’s putting something as big as Mamma Mia! on, we did Hairspray a couple of years ago and it was a huge success, so we’re just hoping it will be the same this time.

‘‘Preparations are coming along nicely, we’ve just got our wardrobe mistress down this weekend so we can get stuck into the costumes, then sets will start to arrive, so it all gets a bit exciting from here on out.

‘‘You can’t really lose with Mamma Mia!, people love the songs, and the costumes and set is amazing ... we’ve got a different directing team from the Invercargill show, so they’ll put their own wee spin on it.’’

Davis singled out 21-year-old Invercargill performer Kayla Wilcox, who plays the lead role of Sophie Sheridan, as one to look out for.

‘‘It’s a bit of a dream role for Kayla as well. She’s got just an angelic voice, she’s absolutely beautiful.’’

Wilcox, who was named the Invercargill Musical Theatre’s Rising Star at the 2016 Southland Entertainment Awards, said this was the biggest role she’d taken on so far.

‘‘This is definitely the most acting I’ve done. I’ve done a lot of singing and dancing since I was five, but this is the most acting so I’ve learnt a lot.

‘‘But I love doing them all, to be able to do them all together is amazing.

‘‘It’s such a great cast, I feel very lucky to have been a part of it – just such a lovely group of people.’’

JOHN HAWKINS/STUFF 634574896 Invercargill performer Kayla Wilcox in rehearsal for her role as Sophie Sheridan in the upcoming Mamma Mia! musical in Gore in August.