National webcast will feature Music Theatre Wichita and cast of Mamma Mia!

Music Theatre Wichita will take a virtual center stage on Saturday, with a spotlight on the regional theater’s work and a reunion of a 2016 favorite.

The theater will be the focus of a 1 p.m. Saturday episode of “Stars in the House” at starsinthehouse.com, a web series that celebrates performing arts during its pandemic-forced down time.

The MTW episode will reunite the cast and directors of 2016’s “Mamma Mia!”

“It was just the perfect talking point to bring together folks from both coasts and locally,” producing artistic director Wayne Bryan, who directed the musical, said. “And it’s such an upbeat show.”

The “Mamma Mia!” match, Bryan said, came thanks to Cara Statham Serber, a Wichita East grad and former youth performer in Music Theatre Wichita, who is assistant on the web program.

“Cara put our name in the mix, and they said it sounded like fun,” Bryan said.

“Stars in the House” is hosted by Seth Rudetsky, an actor-musician-playwright who is afternoon host on Sirius XM’s “On Broadway” channel.

“He really is Mr. Musical Theater right now,” Bryan said. “We’ve very honored to be a part of the programming.”

Rudetsky’s husband, James Wesley, is co-host.

The hour-long episode will reunite performers from the “Mamma Mia!” cast — Kim Huber, Paula Leggett Chase, Karen Robu, Vince Corazza, Thom Sesma and Damon Kirsch — along with music director Thomas W. Douglas and choreographer Brian J. Marcum.

“Kim and Paula and Thom are people who have been here just repeatedly, so has Damon Kirsch. And Karen is just an incredible treasure,” Bryan said. “It’s a way for us to show the East Coast and West Coast that we have some wonderful, unique talents here as well.”

Both coasts are represented in the lineup, he said, along with Wichita veteran actress Robu and Marcum, who has recently moved to Kansas.

The hour will feature clips of shows the performers have done in MTW, Bryan said, and one song live, accompanied by Rudetsky.

“Mostly it’ll be a reflection on what theater is and the friendships we make and what we’re missing during this very strange summer,” Bryan said.

Huber, who was recently elected to the board of Actors Equity in Los Angeles, will talk about the pandemic-forced state of the theater, Bryan said.

“She has insight into what the unions are saying about the relative safety of the things we can do in theater and how we can get back and going,” he said. “Hopefully it’ll be an informative hour, with an emphasis on entertainment foremost.”

“Mamma Mia!” opened on Broadway in 2001, less than a month and a half after the 9/11 attacks.

“It was one of those things that got people through that crisis,” Bryan said. “It was a beacon of upbeat feeling.”

Bryan said he the mood then compares to the current malaise.

“I came away from that experience with so much respect for the show,” he said. “There are very few musicals that celebrate multigenerational female friendships, and I can see why it has retained its popularity so significantly.”

Viewing of the episode is free, and there will be buttons where those watching can contribute to Music Theatre Wichita and/or The Actors Fund, whose services include emergency financial aid for performers.

“It’s really doing amazing work right now with so many people in the theater industry running out of work and health insurance and running out of employment,” Bryan said. “It’s a really worthy cause.”

Bryan echoed the thoughts of Robu about participating in the reunion.

“The only shame about this is that it’s virtual and we can’t give each other a big hug right now,” he echoed the Wichita actress. “I think everybody could sure use one.”

This story was originally published August 21, 2020 at 5:01 AM.