ELLSWORTH – With winter well on its way, what better way to lighten up the gray days than a visit to a beautiful Greek Island with the Ellsworth High School Performing Arts students?

“Mamma Mia,” the 2026 EHS fall musical, hits the stage for two weekends beginning Nov. 6.

Tech Director and EHS band instructor Nick Verheyen provided an overview of the plot: "On a small Greek island, Sophie dreams of a perfect wedding — one which includes her father giving her away. The problem? Sophie doesn’t know who he is! Her mother Donna, the former lead singer of the 1970s pop group Donna and the Dynamos, refuses to talk about the past, so Sophie decides to take matters into her own hands. Sneaking a peek in her mother’s old diaries, she discovers three possible fathers: Sam, Bill, and Harry. She secretly invites all three to the wedding, convinced that she’ll know her father when she sees him. But when all three turn up, it may not be as clear as she thought!"

Verheyen said “Mamma Mia” is considered a Jukebox musical, because all the featured music was written and released by Swedish pop group ABBA. The show is directed by EHS choir instructor Isabella Devereaux-Hanson, with the help of Verheyen and Assistant Director Anika Borner.

“This is quite the turn from our past two shows, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and ‘Addams Family, ‘which were both musical comedies,” Verheyen said. “To me, the aspect of the show that is exciting, yet most challenging is the amount of dancing our full cast is involved in. In our past couple of shows, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and ‘The Addams Family,’ there were 2 -3 dance numbers for the full cast. In ‘Mamma Mia,’ the full cast is involved in about 10 dance numbers. This has really pushed our students to a new potential, and they have absolutely stepped up to this challenge.”

Verheyen said they would love to thank the local businesses and community members who have made contributions towards the production: Loberg Law Office, Quinn Motors, Pierce County Friends of the Fair, Schiller Squared, A&F Flooring, Nilssen's Foods, Crosswoods Adventure Camp, Lowell & Carol Peterson, Quality One Woodwork, Knutson Family Dental, Petersen Law Firm, Rockworks Landscaping, Ellsworth Community School Foundation, Sunflower Steve, YB Urban?, WonderWorks Theater, 35 Express, Sunrise Coffee on 35, King House, Donna Taranto - Scentsy, Steve & Roxie Thoner, Helmer Printing and Dean & Rhonda Roush.

“This is definitely one of those shows where you will be humming the songs the next day after seeing it! We hope to see you there,” Verheyen said.

Performances will be held at 7 p.m. Nov. 6, 7, 13 and 14 and at 2 p.m. Nov. 8 and 15 in the Ellsworth High School Auditorium. Tickets can be bought online at https://gobound.com/wi/schools/ellsworth/tickets They are $12 for adults and $5 for students.

Cast

Donna Sheridan – Sophia Place

Sharon Sheridan – Kensie Matzek

Tanya – Bethany Kaufer

Rosie – Gretta Rewolinski

Lisa – Lily Hanson

Ali – Ani Whelan

Sky – Gavin Wittenberg

Sam Carmichael – Evan Beissel

Thomas Helseth – Harry Bright

Gavin Starbuck – Bill Austin

Max Olson – Pepper

Eddie – Milan Johnson

Chase Unser – Father Alexandrios

Ensemble – Ashton Borner, Ezra Borner, Nora Christopherson, Maddi Constant, Laylah Cook, Bridget Dendinger, Amelia Dopp, Aubrey Faber, Eden Fritz, Ben Helseth, Wyatt Hodges, Ellie Holst, Ali Keenan, Natalie Kirchner, Audrah Krig, Carter Odell, Anna Oleson, Emmie Pechacek, Nevaeh Peters, Maye Petersen, Miles Petersen, Carley Peterson, Cora Peterson, Addie Sabby, Joey Saver, Madeline Saver, Andy Schiller, Viola Schmidt, Melanie Seeger, Emmitt Starbuck, Brayden Swanson, Konrad Theis, Chase Unser, Piper VanNocker, Mai Kou Vang.

Crew

Director – Mrs. Isabella Devereaux-Hanson

Tech Director – Mr. Nick Verheyen

Asst. Director – Mrs. Anika Borner

Student Teacher – Ms. Sophia Heran

Choreographer – Arianna Starbuck

Dance Captains – SaVaya Moorhouse, Addie Sabby

Stage Managers – Ragan Beck, Kendra Ziegler

Tech Manager – Leah Diercks

Tech Crew – Hannah Carpenter, Grace Hall, Morgan Hince, Aria Mennenga, Cruz Omtvedt, Matthew Pieper

Grips – Blake Girdeen, Landon Olson, Maddie Rollins, Charlie Strauss

Fly – Katie Josten, Victor Schiller

Props – Zach Frosch, Maryanne Petersen, Shelby Peterson

Costumes – Allison Hamilton, Isabella Reid

Makeup & Concessions – Hades Kammerude, Anna Kelly, Grace Turvaville

Stage Craft

Instructor – Mr. Kasey Bass

Students – Tyler Bechel, Evan Beissel, Charles Engnes, Bryce Hoven, Charles Huff, Bethany Kaufer, Jacob Michels, Rowan Nelson, Adolfo Perez Mendez, Spencer Peterson, James Pritchard, Brycen Streich, Wyatt Thornton, Breken Young