Mamma Mia Creative & Crew

Director/Music Director/Queen of Etcetera...

Holly Rose

Holly is thrilled to be here at Federal Way High School to teach these talented young performers! In addition to teaching here, she also is the founder and artistic director of Rosebud Children’s Theatre Conservatory www.rosebudctc.org - founded in 2010. Some of Holly's credits include performing in A Narrow Bed (Wings Theatre, NYC), dancing alongside Smashmouth (Radio City Music Hall, NYC) and playing “Benten” in the World Premiere of The Kyogen Rope (O’Malley Theatre, Chicago) to name a few. Holly has earned a BFA in Musical Theatre from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University; a Performance Certificate from the American Musical & Dramatic Academy in NYC; an MBA with an emphasis in Project Management from the Keller Graduate School of Management; and a Certificate in teaching with endorsements in ELA and Theatre from Northwest Educational Development. And most recently, Holly received the 2024 "Inspirational Teacher Award" from Washington State Thespians, an affiliate of the Educational Theatre Association.

Choreographer

Koach "Giggz" Crosby

Koach Giggz is one of the most fearless choreographers in the industry. His west coast swagg mixed with his Southern energy, continues to captivate every audience that he performs for. Koach Giggz strives to continue to build unity between communities with movement and entertainment.

Stage Manager & Costumer

Melanie Downing

Melanie is in 11th grade and this is her sixth show with Federal Way High School Drama Department. Melanie was costume coordinator for Mary Poppins. Jr., and Dracula. Some other roles she has done include stage manager for Dracula and operating the fly rail for Once Upon A Mattress with Rosebud Children’s Theatre. Some of Melanie’s hobbies include crocheting and photography. Melanie would like to give a shout out to her friends and family for supporting her so much in theater. Enjoy the show!

Assistant Stage Manager

Lily Wright

Lily is in her junior year and this is her third show with the Federal Way High School Drama Department. Some other roles she has done are “Guy Who Bolts Everything Together” in Dracula and “Resident Weeper” in Mary Poppins Jr. Some of Lily’s hobbies include swearing this will be the last show. Lily would like to give a shout out to the crew kids who are always forgotten, Dr. House from hit TV show House M.D, and Gale because “I don’t know what I’d do without them”.

A1 Sound Technician

Lucas Burris

Lucas is in 11th grade and this is his 3rd show with Federal Way High School Drama Department. Some other roles he has done are Sound Technician for Suessical Jr and Dracula. Some of Lucas’s hobbies include gaming, listening to music, and playing soccer. Lucas would like to give a shout out to Ms Rose because she is a very nice teacher and is very supportive of his hopes and dreams.

A2 Sound Technician

Joseph Corey

Joseph is in 10th grade and this is his second show with Federal Way High School Drama Department. Some other roles he has done are Sound Technician in Dracula. Some of Joseph's hobbies include playing video games, watching tv, and being sick for every show :>. Joseph would like to give a shout out to all the people who forced him into theater because without them he wouldn't have decided to stick around and find out the fun he'd have here.

Followspot Operator

Gale Miller

Gale is a sophomore and this is their 5th show with the Federal Way High School Drama Department. They have worked as a Stage Manager for Rosebud Children’s Theatre’s production of Princess Whatsername, as well as Run Crew for Blithe Spirit and Mary Poppins. Jr, both with FWHS. Some of Gale’s hobbies include writing hyper-specific fanfiction, having arguments with their beta fish Bungo, and piecing together indie game lore. Gale would like to give a shout out to Lily Wright, for keeping them in check <3 and to Jacky/Acid. “Happy 3 year anniversary, I love you. Enjoy the show!”

Light Board Operator

Caleb Oyugi

Caleb is in 10th grade and this is his second show with Federal Way High School Drama Department. Some other roles he has done are light board operator for Dracula. Some of Caleb's hobbies include drawing. Caleb would like to give a shout out to Melanie Downing because “I wouldn't have been doing this if she hadn't invited me.”

Light Board Operator

Ariana Sanchez-Ortega

Ariana is in the eleventh grade and this would be their second show with Federal Way High School Drama Dept. A role they've done before is being a lighting board operator for Mary Poppin. Jr, some of Ariana’s hobbies include sitting up in the sound-booth and waiting patiently, as well as playing DND with the bros, not to mention sketching/doing digital art. Ariana would like to shout out Wilbur Anderson for “giving me the courage to try and be apart of something like this”

Original Creative Team

Björn Ulvaeus (Music & Lyrics)

1945 Björn was born on 25 April in Gothenburg. When he was six years old, the family moved to the small town of Västervik, and this is where Björn grew up. In the mid-Fifties, Björn fell in love with rock’n’roll and skif e. By the early Sixties, he was a member of a folk group called the West Bay Singers. 1963 The group entered a talent contest arranged by Swedish radio. This led to discovery by songwriter and publisher Stig Anderson and his partner, Bengt Bernhag. Stig and Bengt had recently started a record company called Polar Music. The band acquired a new name, the Hootenanny Singers, and quickly became one of Sweden’s most popular groups of the Sixties. 1966 Björn had a chance meeting with Benny Andersson, himself a member of Sweden’s number-one pop group, The Hep Stars. They hit it off and wrote their rst song together, ‘Isn’t It Easy to Say’. Björn recorded a couple of solo singles in the late Sixties, at which point he also started concentrating more on his collaboration with Benny Andersson. 1970 Björn and Benny started releasing records as a duo and also staged a cabaret show together with their fiancées, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. 1971 Björn and Agnetha married on 6 July.

1972-82 ABBA.

1982 Björn and Benny started writing the musical Chess with lyricist Tim Rice.

1984 A concept album for Chess was released in the autumn.

1986 The musical opened in London’s West End in May.

1988 Chess received its Broadway premiere. A reworked version of the musical opened in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2002.

1990 Björn and Benny decided to write a new musical. This time, they wanted to write exclusively in Swedish, and they chose the Emigrants novel series by author Vilhelm Moberg as the basis for their work.

1995 The resulting musical, Kristina från Duvemåla (Kristina from Duvemåla), opened in October. The show ran for three and a half years at various theatres in the Swedish cities of Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm. Björn and Benny’s most recent musical is Hjälp sökes (Help Wanted), a collaboration with playwright Kristina Lugn and Kristina director Lars Rudolfsson. Björn writes many of the lyrics for the Benny Andersson Orchestra, and has involved himself in the stagings of MAMMA MIA!.

2008 MAMMA MIA! THE MOVIE was released.

2016 MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY opened in Stockholm in January, with Björn as one of the producers.

2018 MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN was released.

Benny Andersson (Music & Lyrics)

1946 Benny was born on 16 December in Stockholm. 1952 He received accordion lessons from his father and grandfather. 1964-68 Benny was a member of the Hep Stars, Sweden’s most popular rock band in the Sixties. During this time, he began composing music. ‘Sunny Girl’ and ‘Wedding’ were huge hits for the Hep Stars.

1972-82 ABBA.

1982-84 Benny composed the music (together with Björn Ulvaeus and Tim Rice) for the musical Chess. 1987 He began collaborating with Orsa Spelmän and recorded three albums rooted in Swedish folk music: Klinga Mina Klockor, November 1989 and Fiolen Min. 1990-95 Working with Björn, Benny composed the music to Kristina från Duvemåla, which premiered in October 1995.

1995 Benny received the title of professor from the Swedish government.

2001 His collaboration with Orsa Spelmän led to the formation of Benny Andersson’s Orchestra, a 16-man constellation with vocalists Helen Sjöholm and Tommy Körberg. Thus far, this has resulted in seven CD albums and several summer tours.

2007 Benny was inducted in to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.

2008 He was appointed Honorary Doctor of the College of Humanities at Stockholm University, and at Luleå University of Technology in 2012.

Benny Andersson is married to former TV producer Mona Nörklit. They have one child, Ludvig Andersson. Benny also has two children from a previous marriage, Peter Grönvall and Helene Odedal. He has six grandchildren: Charlie, Felix, Fabian, Malin, Viola and Leonard.

Catherine Johnson (Book)

Theatre includes: Rag Doll, Renegades, Suspension (Bristol Old Vic), Too Much Too Young (Bristol Old Vic and London Bubble),

Boys Mean Business, Dead Sheep, Little Baby Nothing (Bush Theatre, London), Shang- a-Lang (Bush Theatre and UK tour) and MAMMA MIA! (worldwide). Also Through the Wire and A Letter to Lacey (NT Connections).

Film includes: Catherine wrote the screenplay for MAMMA MIA! THE MOVIE, released in July 2008.

Television includes: Casualty, Byker Grove, Love Hurts, Gold, Linda Green, original screenplays for Rag Doll and Where’s Willy? (HTV) and Sin Bin (BBC), the series Love in the 21st Century (Channel 4) and Dappers (BBC3).

Other work includes: Creative Consultant on ABBA the Museum, Stockholm.

Awards include: Catherine has won the Bristol Old Vic/HTV Playwriting Award, Thames Television’s Writer-in-Residence Award and Thames Television’s Best Play Award and was nominated in 2002 for a Tony Award for Best Musical Book for MAMMA MIA!.