Mecca Productions in Brandon is set to roll out it's presentation of Mamma Mia starting on Thursday night, and there is a familiar face to Dauphin residents in the cast.
City Economic Development manager Martijn van Lujin, fresh off of directing Theatre Amisk's recent presentation of Nana's Naughty Knickers, will play the role of Bill in this musical.
van Lujin says he has been a part of Mecca Productions for a number of years.
"Just before COVID had actually started, when I first got wind of an adult production that took place in Brandon called Spamalot, which was a musical based on Monty Python. I had always wanted to do a musical, but I always thought that I can not sing, so maybe I should not do musicals. But it was a bucket list thing so I signed up, I auditioned, and I got a part. And the rest is history."
van Lujin admits it is a big time commitment for him and his family.
"We always joke that we are not a hockey family - we are a theatre family, but it feels the same way. We are on the road a lot with travel to Brandon sometimes 2 - 3 times a week for rehearsals. It is pretty intense, but it is a short-term thing from January to April timeline. But we love it."
The show will go from April 10th to 13th at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium.
If you are interested in checking out Martijn's performance, tickets are available at the WMCA box office.
