Metropolis regular on the road with 'Mamma Mia!'
Longtime subscribers of the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre might be pleased to hear that Michelle Weissgerber, an actress who has appeared in seven productions with the Arlington Heights theater, has just joined the national tour of the worldwide hit musical “Mamma Mia!” this month.
The phenomenally successful 1998 jukebox musical that shoehorns ABBA pop hits into a plot about a bride seeking out her father's identity returns to Chicago yet again for an eight-performance engagement at the Oriental Theatre now through Sunday, Jan. 29.
For Weissgerber, the Chicago return of “Mamma Mia!” is especially fortuitous in timing as she adjusts to her first national touring job and her switch to a union actress with Actors' Equity Association.
“I've been auditioning for this part probably for about three years,” said Weissgerber, noting that her last “Mamma Mia!” audition was in April of 2011 and that she was offered the ensemble job (which includes understudying the prominent roles of Donna and Tonya) just two weeks before Christmas. “I of course said, ‘Yes.'”
Not that Weissgerber was in desperate need of work. Since moving to Chicago from her hometown of Pittsburgh in 2003, Weissgerber was able to build a career performing in various capacities.
“I had a 9-to-5 job the first year I moved here, but after that I really established myself and got a bit of a client base,” Weissgerber said.
Weissgerber's other Chicago-area credits include a long stint touring with TheatreBAM's “Schoolhouse Rock Live!” and appearing in the TV series “The Chicago Code,” but it was at the Metropolis where she was able to show off her acting range by appearing in comedies like “Lend Me a Tenor” and “The Butler Didn't” and serious dramas such as “Side Man.”
“She's quite an adventurous and charismatic actress,” said Robin M. Hughes, the artistic director and director of production at Metropolis. “We're going to miss her because she has become a part of our family (at the Metropolis), but now we're excited that the greater theater family can enjoy her.”
Though Weissgerber will largely be in the background of “Mamma Mia!,” she says the ensemble essentially has to learn the entire vocal score of the show since they provide so much of the backing vocals, which are sung offstage in sound booths.
As part of her first national tour, Weissgerber is excited for the chance to visit cities she's never been to before. There's also the push to keep fit and look good that is an interesting quirk with “Mamma Mia!” In fact, the cast is given gym passes in practically every city on the tour.
“This cast is so in shape,” Weissgerber said. “It's crazy because I've got a lot of catching up to do.”
And since the musical is set on a Greek island, “the tour provides us all with free tanning or spray tanning,” Weissgerber said. “I thought that was interesting because, you know, a lot of theater people are pretty pasty because we're in the dark all the time.”
“Mamma Mia!”
<b>Location:</b> Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago; (800) 775-2000 or <a href="http://BroadwayInChicago.com">BroadwayInChicago.com</a>
<b>Showtimes:</b> 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, Jan. 24-27; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29
<b>Tickets:</b> $18-$85