The students at Saranac Lake High School are putting on “Mamma Mia!” – the extremely popular jukebox musical featuring the music of legendary Swedish pop band ABBA.

Music Director Drew Benware said the students had been asking for “Mamma Mia!” for many years. The students bringing the family drama to life on stage are visibly excited about the show, which starts on Thursday and runs through Saturday.

“When you’re up there, it’s like it’s summer again already,” senior Jonah Seleni said. “It’s like a big party.”

Junior Lily Zander said the real world is scary and upsetting. The world of “Mamma Mia!” is upbeat and joyful. She’s enjoyed escaping to the flower-drenched villas of Greece.

Abby Walkow (Tanya), Ally Bourgeois (Sophie), Elliot Strack (Sky) and Lily Zander (Donna) arrive in Greece as they rehearse “Mamma Mia!” (Enterprise photo - Aaron Marbone)

“When you get up there, all of your problems just kind of disappear, because you’re singing all these fun ABBA songs that everyone loves,” senior Ally Bourgeois said. “You’re literally in Greece with all of your friends.”

“It’s ABBA, so it’s really hard not to have a fun time,” senior Jack Waters said. “I feel like you’d actually have to be trying not to actively enjoy it in order to not be smiling and laughing the whole time.”

They said their grandmothers are getting ready to groove, their moms are wearing ABBA-inspired outfits.

All the students said they honestly want people in the audience to get up and dance. They are literally begging people to put on funky outfits, dance along and not be afraid to make a fool of themselves.

“I want to look out there and see people having fun,” Bourgeois said.

Essie Ames as Ali and Sophie Colarusso as Lisa burst through a set of doors to sing as they rehearse “Mamma Mia!” on Tuesday. (Enterprise photo - Aaron Marbone)

She added that playing Sophie Sheridan comes naturally to her. Sophie’s a young girl who has fun with her friends. When she wants to find out who her dad is, she does it in a fun way – secretly inviting three men she found mentioned in her mother’s diary to her wedding to figure out which one will walk her down the aisle.

Zander plays Donna, her mother. She’s a strong lady, but when her past unexpectedly comes up, she doesn’t know how to deal with it.

Zander said the character of Donna is important to her. She plays it a little scared all the time, but trying to hold her composure.

“But anytime any of these three freaks come in the room it’s like, ‘Oh God! Everything’s wrong! What am I going to do?'” Zander said, gesturing to Ebin Meissner, Seleni and Waters – who play the three potential fathers.

Waters plays Sam Carmichael, a successful and wealthy architect who is confident around the other two dads but becomes timid and shy when he’s around Donna. The two have a “rocky past.” He left her to go get married – a marriage which is now over.

Ally Bourgeois sings as Sophie as she rehearses “Mamma Mia!” (Enterprise photo - Aaron Marbone)

Seleni plays Bill Austin, an “adventure dad” who is an intrepid traveler but gets frightened by the idea of walking Sophie down the aisle.

Meissner plays Harry Bright, a rich banker from England.

“He has stacks,” Meissner said.

Harry and Donna left on a good note, so when he sees her again, it brings up nostalgia.

Aislynne McCarty and Abby Walkow make up two of “The Three Dynamos” with Zander.

Klara Weakley and Eliza Endries peek around a corner as they rehearse “Mamma Mia!” on Tuesday. (Enterprise photo - Aaron Marbone)

For Walkow, playing Tanya – a wealthy, thrice-divorced socialite who “goes with the flow” and hasn’t worked much – has been fun, because the character is completely different than who she is as a person and who she intends to be.

McCarty said Rosie is spunky and fun. Similar to who she is in real life, just maybe a bit more so.

“She’s a hoot,” McCarty said.

Meissner said he enjoys the dancing the most. It’s energetic, and infectious.

All the lead actors have grown up loving ABBA.

Jack Waters as Sam and Ally Bourgeois as Sophie rehearse “Mamma Mia!” on Tuesday. (Enterprise photo - Aaron Marbone)

“The hardest part of learning the music was learning that sometimes you don’t get to sing the part you already know,” Walkow said.

Waters has always been a big ABBA fan. His dad is, too. They were both already planning to perform “Super Trouper” at the Hootenanny open mic even before the musical was announced.

Bourgeois had seen the musical on Broadway and said it was “mind-altering.”

For the past five months they’ve been listening to ABBA nonstop.

“It’s making me really excited for my last summer with all of my dear friends,” Waters said.

“It’s a show about friends,” Walkow said.

McCarty added that it’s all about bonding – groups of friends mingling with other groups of friends and becoming larger friend groups.

This came easy for the students to present on stage. They’re all great friends in real life. They said being on stage is just another way for them to spend time together.

McCarty and Walkow have a lot of scenes together. Their characters are humorous, but they’re also making each other laugh naturally, bouncing off one another with their larger-than-life characters.

Meissner said it’s about self-discovery.

“I hope it inspires a lot of people to … take a chance, pun intended,” Waters said.

Benware said “Mamma Mia!” is a complete contrast from last year’s “A Man of No Importance” – which was powerful and profound, but quite heavy and dour.

The setting has changed from the drizzly streets of Dublin to the sunny beaches of Greece.

Benware said one of his goals is that if a student is in four musicals over the course of high school, that they get a real range of songs, tones, moods and messages to present on stage.

This musical also features a larger cast. Benware said he’s trying to grow the “garden of students” for future SLHS productions and the freshmen class came out in droves this year. The school has a healthy “bumper crop” now.

Benware said the Saranac Lake energy for high school musicals is rooted in tradition. He said he stands on the shoulders of great directors like Helen Demong, Jessica Deeb, Jackie Kalinowski, Fred Baker and Wayne Davison. From an early age, he said students start attending musicals and begin dreaming young about the day they could be on stage.

Mike Uchal has been teaching a set design and sculpture class with 14 students, building sets and props every day since the start of the school year. He said this is a unique program that gets technology students involved in theater and theater students involved in technology – introducing a bit of cross-pollination for both programs.

The tech students learn carpentry, electrical, design, welding, finishing and painting as they work, as well as problem-solving skills.

They built a full-size tree for the stage and went through trial and error figuring out how to hang it from the rafters and transport across the school from the shop to the stage.

Uchal said he also worked with Chris Gosling’s engineering class on some pneumatics and electricity for a “confetti surprise” at the finale.

Benware said the pit orchestra is “on fire” this year. They bought synthesizer patches to make their sound match ABBA exactly.

“Mamma Mia!” will be on stage at the SLHS auditorium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door.

(Enterprise photo - Aaron Marbone)

Ebin Meissner as Harry strums a few chords as he rehearses “Mamma Mia!” on Tuesday. (Enterprise photo - Aaron Marbone)

Jonah Seleni as Bill twirls Ally Bourgeois as Sophie as they rehearse “Mamma Mia!” on Tuesday. (Enterprise photo - Aaron Marbone)

Jonah Seleni as Bill and Ebin Meissner as Harry rehearse “Mamma Mia!” on Tuesday. (Enterprise photo - Aaron Marbone)