MIDWEST — Growing up, Alisa Melendez would wake up to the Broadway cast recording of “Mamma Mia!” on Saturday mornings. It was her perfect way to start the weekend.
Her love of “Mamma Mia!” passed down to her from her parents.
(L to R) Alisa Melendez (Sophie Sheridan) and Christine Sherrill (Donna Sheridan) (Photo by Joan Marcus)
“My introduction to 'Mamma Mia!' it was my parents,” Melendez said. “It was the first Broadway show they ever saw when they went to New York together when I was very young. They came back with this soundtrack and I fell in love with it.”
They would listen to the album on the way to school in the car. She said she remembers her mom belting out “Dancing Queen” and ABBA hits.
Then the film came into her life. Naturally, it was a big hit in their San Diego-area household.
Melendez begged her mom to see the show for her 16th birthday in San Francisco.
A few years later, he went to Pace University to study musical theater. She studied Sophie Sheridan in class, but said she never imagined herself being her favorite character on her favorite show.
“I didn't think I would ever be Sophie, because I didn't think I ever looked like what I saw, which is usually—and everything I've seen—a smaller, smaller, blonde, white girl. And I'm not that. I am about 5'9”, pushing 5'10”, Mexican girl, Latina. I never thought [I could be Sophie] physically, and I thought my tone was different – my vocal tones,” she explained. “I thought I was just different, but it's so cool to be in this production that I get to play someone that I've always wanted to play, I've always looked up and see a lot of the cast is not what you think [when you think of] the original cast.”
In fact, just a few weeks ago, Melendez took the stage as Sophie at the same San Diego theater where she saw “Mamma Mia!” for the first time.
“It means the world. It means everything to little Alisa,” she said.
It also means a lot to her family, many of whom came to see the show when she was in California. Although Melendez may not have the short stature and long blonde hair, her family said they saw plenty of Melendez in the main character.
“When I came out, they were saying, 'Alisa, you were just being yourself.' I have a lot of me in Sophie. I grew up on the beach, in the water, sunshine girl,” she said. “I used to have tan lines in my crow's feet area because all I do is always smile in the sun. When I think of Sophie, this is what I think of: joy and an open heart.”
Alisa Melendez (Sophie Sheridan), and the Company of MAMMA MIA! 25th Anniversary Tour (Photo by Joan Marcus)
But when strangers are waiting at the tent door, he sometimes gets a different reaction.
“Well, it's funny, I walk out the stage door a lot of times and people say, 'I thought you were going to wear a blonde wig,' or 'You don't have blonde hair. So what is this?' And people are so fixated on an idea, so it's an honor to break those traditions and make people question – even if it's as simple as hair or height, skin, just different – but they still love it show,” he said.
He doesn't hesitate to be a catalyst for change and is happy to make people think differently, he said.
“It means people honoring my culture, honoring the other woman who came before me and how they paved the way — maybe not in the arts but in other areas, and how can I do that in musical theater as well, especially through a phenomenon that is “Mamma Mia!” where people have such a specific idea of what it usually is,” Melendez said.
Standing on the foundation of Mexican and Latina women who came before her, Melendez said she is optimistic about the next generation of Latina actresses.
When asked what she would say to a little girl in the audience who looks like her and wants to take the stage one day, she had some optimistic statements to share.
“You can and you will, girl. He continued. It is possible, and I think it is more possible now than ever, because [through] our generation, things are changing. But I think as the younger generation starts to grow up and bring their ideas about what they know – we've had those ideas for so long and we're starting to change them,” he said.
“Especially as she gets older, people like me … are starting to change that for her. And she's going to continue, so I think those opportunities are becoming more accessible as time goes on. I hope, I pray. And I'm lucky enough to have people above for making it possible for me too. So keep going, girl. You're beautiful and you deserve to be on stage and be seen.”
(L to R) Jalynn Steele (Tanya), Christine Sherrill (Donna Sheridan) and Carly Sakolove (Rosie) (Photo by Joan Marcus)
But “Mamma Mia!” it's not just about what people see on stage. It's about how they feel. Once again, Melendez returned to a key theme of the musical: Joy.
“What 'Mamma Mia! At least what I see, they are strangers, sitting next to each other, singing together, enjoying the joy on stage,” he said. “They have to surrender to joy… It reminds you of the people in life, why they are important and why they stuck. If people can take away the joy and love they have for the people in their lives, the way it's reflected in the show, I think that's what I would hope people take away.”
He said there is a “collective joy” that the audience and cast members experience together, which produces a “vibrant” and “electric” feeling. She said she likes that aspect, even admitting it helps her and her colleagues do their jobs better.
“It's surreal and makes me love waking up in the morning and going to bed at night knowing that we were a part of something so happy,” she said.
He encouraged those who want to sing along to embrace the urge. The tour stays true to the classic production that many have come to know and love.
“If you know it, you know it. That script hasn't changed, but the delivery of some of those songs, those lines, those words are so specific to those cast members that they're not like what you might think of the original,” he said. “We were always encouraged—even by our director—from the beginning to make it our own. We are not looking for the ideas of the originals. We're not looking for Amanda Seyfried at all. They really encouraged us to be ourselves. A lot of people will see that we bring out a lot of ourselves on stage. People make it fresh and new. It's a beautiful cast.”
Melendez herself said she chooses to bring fire to the show every night, igniting Sophie's spirit and beauty for all to see.
The Company of MAMMA MIA! 25th Anniversary Tour (Photo by Joan Marcus)
“Mamma mia!” dances across the Midwest in the first half of 2024 — including Cleveland Connor Palace Theatre from January 30 to February 4, Milwaukee's Marcus Performing Arts Center from February 20 to February 25, Columbus, Ohio Ohio Theatre from March 12 to March 17 and Madison, Wisconsin Center Overture from March 19 to March 24.
