Who can help but dance when the wonderful music of ABBA comes on? Irresistible classics like “Dancing Queen” fill the Jerry’s Habima Theatre production of “Mamma Mia!,” now playing at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta through March 30. Jerry’s Habima Theatre is Georgia’s only theatrical company featuring actors with disabilities and professional actors from the community. The MJCC’s founding director of theater and visual arts, Kim Goodfriend, joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes via Zoom, along with actor Cynthia Outman, who performs in their production of “Mamma Mia.”
Interview highlights:
The feeling of getting the troupe back together after the postponement:
“Delicious,” said Goodfriend. “Our first rehearsal was scheduled for … [the] first and only snow day of 2022, so we didn’t have a rehearsal that day. So the next day, we worked together again, and it was lovely to see everybody, and with those abbreviated hugs that everybody’s doing, you run towards someone and then realize we’re not hugging anymore. That was wonderful and difficult, and it became a journey that we all went on.”
She continued, “Maybe even four weeks ago, I was still wondering if we would get to a place where we were talking about live performances. So I’m quite happy to be doing this and being here and working with Cynthia again.”
Why Habima Theatre’s actors love it, even in challenging times:
“Habima has been different for me because we haven’t been able to socialize with our friends as much. We have to wear a mask every day, and we’re not supposed to hug each other since we have to socially distance. But there’s a good thing about sitting alone — it gives me a chance to look over my lines and choreography, and it makes me a better actor,” said Outman.
“I want people to know that I love acting, and I put my whole self into it every time I perform,” Outman said. She later added, “Habiba is very important to people who have special needs. It is an outlet for us to get our inner emotions out. It lets us show the world that we are capable and talented. It helps us to reach for the stars for new opportunities to grow, in a place where we feel safe, supported, encouraged and inspired.”
Watching Outman grow as an actor through her work with Habima:
“There’s a lot of joy now. She’s not so worried about where the next blocking piece is or what her next line is, and so I have been seeing some wonderful emotions, joy and fun, from Cynthia,” said Goodfriend.
“I will also tell you that, I think, as we were maybe all in denial that … when it was 2020, and we wouldn’t come back, a lot of us just packed up our scripts and said, ‘You know, we’re going to save these things,” Goodfriend recalled. “When we don’t know something, and if it’s not in the stage manager’s book or in the director’s book, we ask Cynthia what the blocking is for some things because she has it all written down, every version of it, in her script — who goes where, who does what. And so she’s our backup.”
More information about Jerry’s Habima Theatre and tickets for their production of “Mamma Mia,” playing through March 30, can be found at www.atlantajcc.org/our-programs/special-needs/jerrys-habima-theatre.
