Although the most prestigious of acting schools are located in New York and Los Angeles, the UA School of Theatre Arts has good reason to pat itself on the back for producing successful actors. This is particularly true this week with the return of one “”dancing queen”” who has really made it.
Sarah Braslow graduated from the UA in 1997 with a bachelor of fine arts in musical theater and is returning not only to see how her alma mater is holding up but also to perform in “”Mamma Mia,”” brought here by UApresents.
The show opened Tuesday night, and Braslow felt that those who came to watch on her old stomping grounds embraced it.
“”Tucson, well, we always have a wonderful audience,”” Braslow said. “”But I think they had a great time.””
Braslow, a New York native, wanted, as most people do as they embark on their college journeys, to get as far away from home as possible, knowing she would return there to pursue her career post-graduation.
“”I always knew I would have a professional career in musical theater, and I saw the campus and I loved the program,”” Braslow said. “”I loved the professors and the environment.””
Upon graduation, Braslow returned home to New York and planned to look for jobs.
“”I do some lead work, but a big chunk of what I do is dancing,”” she said.
Braslow, an actress and dancer, has had the opportunity to be in a variety of performances all over the country. However, she does not hold back any of the perks that go along with the job. She starred in and was given the role of dance captain in “”A Funky Fairytale,”” a ’70s version of “”Cinderella”” done in the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City.
“”I actually got to live upstairs of the Trump Plaza, that was incredible,”” Braslow said.
Maybe “”Mamma Mia”” will not make it to any of the hotels owned by the poorly coiffed real estate mogul, but it is going to be pretty much everywhere else. The cast just finished performances in Phoenix and will continue on to Denver after the shows in Tucson before making their way to the East Coast.
“”East Coast, West Coast, everybody seems to love the show,”” Braslow said. “”It’s a well-loved show, and hopefully we’ll be around for a while.””
Braslow is the assistant dance captain of the show as well as a swing, which she explained is quite a bit of work.
“”It’s kind of like an understudy but we have to know everybody’s part,”” Braslow said. “”We learn up to four vocals of every song. Every song that sounds like it has a back-up track is actually being sung backstage. So yeah, we have to learn a lot.””
The show is about a young girl who is about to get married and has to figure out which of three potential men is actually her father. The entire show is set the tunes of ABBA.
“”They’re fun, party kind of numbers,”” Braslow said. “”We call it controlled chaos.””
And even after all is said and done in the storyline of “”Mamma Mia,”” Braslow said the party continues.
“”Never leave after the first bow, it’s not over,”” Braslow said. “”The biggest dance numbers are at the very end.””
More “”Mamma Mia”” performances will be held this evening and throughout the weekend. Tonight’s show is at 7:30 p.m., Saturday’s performances will be at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday’s shows are at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. All performances will be held at Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. Tickets for tonight’s performance are between $38 and $62 and $15 for student tickets. Friday, Saturday and Sunday matinee tickets are between $46 and $72 for all audiences and Sunday evening’s tickets are from $38 to $62.
