Charlottetown Festival production of Mamma Mia! a thrill for choreographer

Audiences at the Confederation Centre of the Arts have been raving about a new production for the 2016 Charlottetown Festival, the popular musical Mamma Mia!

The show always has lots of fans thanks to all the ABBA music it features, but it's another element that has the crowds buzzing: all the dancing.

The company has been stealing the show with some slick dance moves under the mirror ball, and that's great news for choreographer Kerry Gage.

As she told Mainstreet's Angela Walker, landing that job has been a dream come true.

"I'm so grateful," said Gage on the line from her home in Toronto. "When I was asked to do Mamma Mia!, I jumped up and down and had a bit of disbelief, and shock. And I thought, 'Yes! My bucket list! Yes!'"

Confederation Centre veteran

It wasn't just the show that was attractive to Gage, it's the stage too.

"I've had a love affair actually with the Confederation Centre for the Arts," she explained. "I've been so lucky to visit the Island and be on the main stage since 1998 actually, when I started performing in Anne of Green Gables."

Her career has grown with each experience at P.E.I.'s renowned theatre.

She's moved from being an assistant and associate choreographer to the director and choreographer of the Young Company, but this is her first job as the head choreographer at Confederation Centre.

"It's so much fun, it's right up my alley," Gage said. "Mamma Mia! is just delightful and beautiful and light-hearted and fun and energetic, and that is my style. That's the type of work I like to create. It was just a thrill to do, and just an honour to be asked."

All-ABBA family

And, it's in the family too. "Mamma Mia! has a funny place in my world, because my husband did Mamma Mia! in Toronto, for three years," she laughed. "And the irony is we had a no-ABBA rule in our house for a long, long time. Although I loved it! I absolutely loved Mamma Mia! the first time I saw it, I was so enamoured, and of course I'm a big ABBA fan."

While she's thrilled to know crowds are enjoying her work, she's full of praise for the dancers.

"There's always a bit of shock when you put your platform shoes on, and realize you've gottobe dancing for four minutes in platform shoes and lycra," she said. "You know what the show dictates, but there are certain moments when you go, 'OK, this is what we're going to do, we're going to dance in flippers.

"I have to say that company is fantastic and they were on board from the word go. As soon as you start singing ABBA, it's a room full of joy. It's pretty fantastic, and so clever. I think Mamma Mia! is an absolutely beautiful musical."

Mamma Mia! runs until Sept. 3 at the Homburg Theatre, with shows at 1:30 p.m. and 8 p.m

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