Broadway’s Mamma Mia! Star Amy Weaver on Finding Joy and Embracing Her Inner Mermaid

Age: 32

Hometown: St. Petersburg, FL

Current role: Amy Weaver plays Sophie in Mamma Mia! on Broadway. She graduated to the role from the ensemble in the second year of the show's North American tour.

Previous roles: The Western Kentucky University alum played Francine in the national tour of Jersey Boys and appeared in Dust and Shadow at Alliance Theatre.

The Vibes Are Great
There’s a popular internet legend that the stars of the movie Mamma Mia! were in a state of ouzo-induced inebriation while on set. Weaver is familiar with—and amused as anyone—by the video where Amanda Seyfried and her co-stars cavort around the Greek island of Skiathos. The vibes behind the scenes of the stage show are similar, said Weaver. “The vibes are great. Everybody, while being sober,” she clarified, “is in that state of mind.” Before arriving in New York, the Mamma Mia! company had been on the 25th anniversary North American tour together for 20 months. “We’re so comfortable with each other. There’s a certain camaraderie that’s built.” But there’s an extra thrill now that the show has arrived at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre. “It’s our set. It’s our costumes. We have some of the same team. So, on one hand, it felt like another tour stop. But on the other hand, there’s something else to be excited about. I’ve been getting re-excited every 10 minutes because we’re here.”

A Fan of ABBA, Sort Of
Weaver grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida. The beach was one obsession, music was another. “I would stay in my room all day on Saturday and listen to the radio, " she said. "I just couldn't get enough.” One of the groups Weaver really got into was ABBA. Well, technically, not ABBA, but the A*Teens, the short-lived ABBA tribute group made up of a quartet of Swedish 14 and 15-year-olds. “It’s kind of niche,” said Weaver, who retains a strong visual memory of the disco-ball surface of the compact disc. “I played it until it wouldn't play anymore. I wore out that CD. I realized later they were called the A*Teens because A stands for ABBA.” 

A Future Disney Adult is Born
Weaver discovered Walt Disney World her first year of high school. She developed a deep love of the Disney parks, and today it’s an essential part of her identity. “It’s not a theme park to me. It's not just rides and food. It's a whole artistic expression. It's everything.” Disney World was also the backdrop for a crucial life decision. One year, when she was singing with her high school choir at the Candlelight Processional at EPCOT, she got to watch the American pavilion's a cappella singing group, the Voices of Liberty, in rehearsals. The experience was genuinely life-changing. “I was like, I have to do this. I have to do this.” 

Flippin' Your Fins, You Might Get Farther Than You Think
Acquiring a BA in Musical Theater from Western Kentucky University, Weaver spent a couple of years performing on cruise ships. It was the perfect gig for that time in her life. “Every night I could just go out to the deck of the ship, look up at the moon, look out at the water,” she said. It was on one of these cruise ships that Weaver realized, as she matter-of-factly puts it, “I am a mermaid.” Weaver acquired her first swimmable mermaid tail—it was a secret Santa gift—and never looked back. “It was just the best feeling ever. It was so fun.” It’s more than just a piece of whimsical swimming gear, Weaver explained. “It's an expression of who you are—whatever that means to you. There's a magical feeling to it. There's a confidence that comes with it. I encourage anybody, and especially women and girls, to find whatever makes you feel like the most you and lean into that.”

Call Me a Princess, I Don't Mind
Back on dry land, Weaver worked as a performer at Hong Kong Disneyland, playing Merida, the headstrong princess from Pixar’s Brave. “Getting to work with her story and her character was really amazing.” Weaver thinks of the Disney princesses as inspirational figures. “I know people can argue, well, they're always saved by the prince. I don't see it that way. I see all of these moments where they’re the ones taking charge.”

You're Just Too Good To Be True
Weaver had been back from Hong Kong for about a year when she booked the national tour of Jersey Boys. She already loved the music. As a child, she went through a phase of singing along to “Big Girls Don’t Cry” every night, and during her cruise ship days, she stocked up for the Wi-Fi-free voyage by downloading a stash of Four Seasons tracks. Even more importantly, she found her “theater family” on that show, including ensemble member and dialect coach Justin Albinder, now her partner. “One of the themes in that show is family. Family is everything. And that show really did bring me some of the most—oh my God, I’m going to get emotional—some of the most special people in my life.”

How Can I Resist You?
The movie Mamma Mia! came out when Weaver was in high school, and as a massive ABBA/A*Teens fan, she was instantly hooked. Over the years, it became her comfort watch. “It’s the kind of movie that you watch when you need to just be re-inspired about life.” Landing a role in the national tour, and later stepping into the role of Sophie, was “a dream come true,” said Weaver. Performing the show’s irresistible pop hits is pure joy, but what moves her most is seeing the story’s themes connect with mothers and daughters in the audience. "The circumstances are so crazy, but the characters are so relatable—the ups and downs of a mother-and-daughter relationship, Sophie’s journey of self-discovery. I think it's important for women and girls to see Sophie and Donna, and especially Sophie, go on these journeys, looking for that thing within themselves. Their mermaid, if you will.”