You could say that John Gallagher brings a world of experience to his role in JMT’s production of “Mamma Mia”, which premiers tonight at the Jenkintown High School Auditorium.

John is a Jenkintown born and bred, but he spent much of his adult life traveling the world as a civilian “non-appropriated funded employee” of the United States military. In other words, John worked for various self-supporting enterprises set up by the government to entertain the troops. In that capacity, John managed clubs in Hawaii, Japan, Singapore, and elsewhere.

John’s sense of the flamboyant and his joie de vivre made him a natural for club promotions, where among other things, he played a Bud Light penguin for five years.

“The troops loved me!” he said with no small pride.

No one would describe John Gallagher as a wallflower, so upon his return to the states and Jenkintown, he readily gravitated to the spotlight of community theater.

“I love the camaraderie of it,” he told me. “At first, it’s kind of like high school where the older and the younger cast members band together, but after three months of intense rehearsals, everyone just becomes one big group.”

In “Mamma Mia”, John is part of the ensemble cast, playing small rolls in both acts but also part of the chorus. At this point, John has built up quite a resume of shows. Besides Jenkintown Music Theater productions of “Titanic”, “Chicago”, and tonight’s “Mamma Mia”, he’s also appeared in six productions with the Willow Manor Players and two more in Temple Sinai productions.

His high-energy persona plays well in musical theater, but he says he’s often humbled by the talent of the lead performers — and this production is no exception. He also speaks very highly of the show’s director Deb Schrager, who John credits for bringing it all together.

Community Theater provides residents a great opportunity to enjoy a great show by people, mostly volunteers, who are putting their hearts and souls into their performances. It’s a lot closer to home than Broadway, much less expensive, and it does far more to make our towns great places to live.

Find out more about “Mamma Mia” and all of its excellent cast at the the show’s website.