Camelot Spotlight on Swedish supergroup ends Sunday
By Jim Flint for Ashland.news
If you were driving through Talent recently — at the right time — you may have heard the sound of hundreds of tapping feet and clapping hands reverberating from within the Camelot Theatre.
That’s what happens when fans of ABBA pack an auditorium for a tribute concert.
“Spotlight on ABBA” is playing at Camelot through Sunday, May 26. At matinee and evening concerts, four talented Rogue Valley singers perform the Swedish group’s popular songs — timeless music that transcends generations and cultures.
Julia Funk, who wrote, directed and choreographed the show, says audiences have embraced the performances with enthusiasm.
“ABBA is huge,” she said. “This is a super ambitious Spotlight. Usually, they’re done with no set and minimal costumes. My production team used platforms scrapped from the ‘Next to Normal’ set to elevate the musicians. Lighting designer Kate Landon and costume designer Jason Kramer went above and beyond to create an expansive spectacle. A little sparkly fabric and trial and error with the infamous disco ball complete the scene.”
Funk, 27, of Talent, crafted a narrative that pulls the songs together, a device used successfully for Camelot’s Spotlight series on singers and composers.
Like a rock concert
“It’s a rock concert feeling with crazy costumes and lights,” she said.
Funk has sung in several Spotlights herself and has been part of the Camelot community for several years. She holds a BFA in theater with an emphasis on original works. She reached out to the Camelot, expressing an interest in spearheading the project, and management said yes.
Her vision for the show was to tell the story from rags to riches, depicting ABBA’s journey from Swedish start-up band to worldwide phenomenon.
“By the end of Act 2, we have accelerated into an epic disco concert which has audiences clapping and dancing along,” Funk said.
Bringing the iconic sound to life at the Camelot are singers Zaq Wentworth, Kelly Jean Hammond, Janina Brown, and Austin Kelly. Alek Robbins is the narrator.
Hammond, 37, of Ashland, is no stranger to Rogue Valley audiences. She has performed at Camelot before and sings with Southern Oregon Repertory Singers.
She remembers hearing ABBA for the first time as a kid, having acquired the “Mamma Mia” soundtrack of the 2001 Broadway musical from the BMG Music Club.
“I fell in love with the music instantly,” she said. “Ever since, ABBA has been part of my DNA. Such iconic pop music!”
A singer all her life, and armed with a bachelor of music degree from Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, Calif., and an MBA from Portland State, she nonetheless discovered ABBA would take some work.
The ladies have range
“The ABBA ladies definitely have range,” she said. “Some of the notes we sing are so low! And that’s not something I say lightly. I sang the tenor part in high school choir. ‘Fernando’ and ‘Money, Money, Money’ have some real basement notes.”
Another challenge happens back stage.
“We have not one but two crazy-quick changes,” Hammond said. “The pure chaos going on backstage during those moments can be hilarious. Sequins and platform heels are flying.”
Brown, 39, of Medford, has been a stage junkie all her life. Her dad played the guitar and did backup vocals on the worship team at their church, and her mom, a Sunday school teacher, helped organize church skits and productions.
To prepare for the Camelot gig, she brushed up on ABBA music, watched documentaries, and listened to their hits on repeat for months.
“ABBA’s genius lies in their fun, repetitive tracks,” she said. “They’re all earworms, and the huge pool of songs we got to choose from was overwhelming.”
She enjoys all the ABBA music but says “As Good as New” is her favorite. The song kicks off Act. 2 of the Camelot Spotlight performance.
Sassy and fun
“There’s a fun harpsichord intro,” she said, “and one of the sassiest and fun-to-sing verses, plus a mood shift into a more classical style chorus.”
She likes the ABBA vocal style, treating the voice more as an instrument, with little showboating.
“For the most part, they keep vibrato and runs or turns out of their stylings,” she said.
Wentworth, 30, of Medford, does three or four shows a year, recently taking his first out-of-town gig in California.
“What I love about this show is that we are able to bring so much of ourselves into the performance,” he said. “And rather than simply portraying characters, we’re paying homage, telling the stories of this iconic group and celebrating their profound impact on music.”
He finds the harmonies and repetition of ABBA’s music catchy, but requiring effort to pull it off.
“We all had to put in a lot of additional work making sure our harmonies were right and that we were making it as similar to the music everyone knows and loves,” he said.
His favorite ABBA song is “Waterloo.”
“It’s a really high-energy song that gets everyone grooving,” he said. “We get to sing, dance, and give the audience a good time.”
Funk said not everybody is an ABBA enthusiast but might become one after attending the show.
“Someone in the audience on opening night recognized me and said, ‘I was not an ABBA fan, but now I am. You sold me!’ What more can you ask for,” Funk said.
And about those “earworms” Hammond mentioned: like those little bugs, ABBA’s tunes may burrow into your brains and keep hitting the repeat button. Remedy? Just sit back and enjoy.
Tickets are $40. For more information about show dates and times, and to purchase tickets, go to camelottheatre.org.
Reach writer Jim Flint at jimflint.ashland@yahoo.com.
