Posted: Nov. 11, 2009

The songs were written and popularized well before their time, and in a land far away from suburban Milwaukee.

But a group of students from Hales Corners Lutheran School and Martin Luther High School helped keep the memory of the Swedish disco group ABBA alive and well by performing alongside the tribute band ABBA Mania last month at the Milwaukee Theatre.

A group of 19 students sang two songs - "Fernando" and "I Have A Dream" - with the bell-bottomed band.

The kids got involved after parent Lisa Ungerecht responded to an ad from the theater looking for a group of students to perform with the band, which often invites local children on stage.

Some of the students were familiar with the disco group's work through the musical "Mamma Mia." For many, an explanation was required and questions like "Who's Fernando?" needed to be answered.

"We had to explain it a little bit," parent Tom Ungerecht said. "Some of them know it; some not so much. They've gathered history on it and did their research on it."

Students practiced only a few times before taking the stage Oct. 27 for a final run-through. They got the five-star treatment hanging out backstage in the green room and received a brief talk from the creator of the show.

"This is a lovely, lovely venue here, so I'm sure you're going to enjoy it," creator Mark Thomas told the group just prior to taking the stage to practice.

Students said they were both excited and nervous. Most of them were used to performing in front of an audience, though admittedly not on the scale of the Milwaukee Theatre.

"We're pretty nervous," said David Kucharski, 15, a student at Martin Luther High School, about two hours before the show began. "But (practice) has been good. It's been easy most of the time."

By the time it was over, all those nerves went by the wayside and the performance went off without a hitch. The group even received a standing ovation from the several hundred people in attendance at the theater.

The real ABBA hasn't toured in 28 years, but the tribute band was created in 1999 and has recreated the live stage performance around Europe and the United States ever since.