Ojai Valley News
The colorful, toe-tapping, feel-good family musical “Mamma Mia!” will be brought to life this Friday, June 14 at the Ojai Art Center Theater. Director Tracey Williams Sutton wanted a bright scheme of white walls, blue trim and vibrant red flowers for the set in this wildly fun and heartfelt play about a young girl getting married in a Greek villa. The bright light of the Greek sun should shine throughout the show.
Airy white and blue colors just scream Greece, and the set of “Mamma Mia!” will whisk you away to the warm and sunny ocean setting. But that bright and vibrant set once had a different life — that of a rundown manor house set in 19th-century Paris.
Set designer Kenny Dahle had the forethought when designing the set for “The Miser” that it could be adapted to “Mamma Mia!” knowing that it was more cost effective for the Ojai Art Center Theater, and less time consuming for himself when doing back-to-back plays.
“It’s amazing to watch the sets for each play take shape,” said Artistic Director Richard Camp. “This one is uniquely clever, knowing that you can take two very different stories, settings, and atmosphere and make them come to life using the same sets. It shows how talented our crew, and especially our set designers Kenny Dahle and Steve Pronovost, are.”
How do you build such polar opposite sets with the same material? By using paint, removable moldings and some genuine artistic flair, that’s how. Dahle conferred with Pronovost and they put their set painting/ building team of Carey Appel, Ruby Pronovost, Nichole Riffenburgh, Doug Riffenburgh, Jake David, Maria David, Charlie Franciscus, Gretchen Greenberg, Sheila McCarthy, Shannon Penrith, Jade Taylor, Jenna Thomas and Quinne Vinokur to work.
They transformed the decadent mansion from “The Miser” by patching the holes in the walls, using bright white paint and adding some windows and pretty blue shutters. They also altered the stairs to a simpler design and added terra cotta roof tiles to bring out the Mediterranean feel. Of course, simple additions like live flowers bring modern-day Greece to life.
“Mama Mia!” runs weekends from June 14 to July 14, with Friday and Saturday night performances at 7:30 and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Box office opens 45 minutes before each show. Ticket prices are $30 general admission, $25 seniors and Art Center members, and $15 for those younger than 25. You can purchase online at www.OjaiACT.org or call 805- 640-8797.