Katie Kerr to return for 2019 production of Mamma Mia!

Katie Kerr will be returning to the lead role of Sophie for the 2019 production ofMamma Mia! at the Confederation Centre of the Arts.

Kerr first took the role of Sophieduringthe 2016 production in Charlottetown. The actoralso played the iconic role of Anne Shirley in Charlottetown's production ofAnne of Green Gables:The Musicalin 2013.

"It's no wonder Katie has since played the role across Canada; she is a tour de force as Sophie," said artistic director Adam Brazier.

Mamma Mia!follows Sophie played by Kerr a woman on the verge of marriage who discovers her mother's diary, which reveals the identities of three of her mother's old flames.

After reading the diary, Sophie decides to invite all three men to her wedding and embarks on a journey to figure out which of her mother's old beaus is her father. The story takes place on the Greek islands and unfolds with the help ofsome ofABBA's greatest hits.

New show

RebeccaPoffis set to star as Sophie's mother, Donna.Poffperformed in the Festival's 2018 concert performance ofThe House of Martin Guerre. She also appeared inJesus Christ SuperstarandAnne of Green Gables:The Musical.

The Festival will officially kick off on June 28 and is slated to close for the season on Sept. 28.

The summer 2019 season will see a new production,KronborgThe Hamlet Rock Musical, directed by Mary Francis Moore. P.E.I.-born AaronHastelowwill star as Shakespeare's tormented Hamlet who is plagued by the need to avenge his father's death.

KronborgThe Hamlet Rock Musicalruns from June 28 until July 20.

Hastelowwill also be playing Sophie's fianc, Skye, in the production ofMamma Mia!

Play Reading Series is back

The Watermark Theatre has also announced its lineup for the summer 2019 season.

It will include a production ofBoeing Boeingand thePulitzer Prizewinning playCrimes of the Heartby Beth Henley.

The Watermark will also bring back its Play Reading Series for a second year and will aim to showcase Prince Edward Island's very own up and coming playwrights.

A selection process will begin over the next few months with the aim to choose three new, unpublished and unproduced plays to showcase during the series, which will take place in August.

Music Reignited series returns

A list of playwrights and plays will be released in spring 2019.

Watermark'sMusic Reignited series will also return, curated by RobOakie,and will show off some of the Island's musicians and their interpretations of classic composers.

A list of confirmed featured musicians will be announced in the coming months.

More P.E.I. news