Juliette Ojeda spent four years auditioning for the role of Sophie Sheridan in Mamma Mia! before she got the part.

The Cuban-American actress, raised in Hialeah in Miami-Dade County, opens the ABBA jukebox musical's 25th Anniversary Tour at the National Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 27 for a run through Sunday, Nov. 15. It is her first principal role on a national tour.

Ojeda first saw Mamma Mia! on a cruise ship as a kid and told her mother she wanted to perform in it someday, according to her personal website. She grew up inspired by Cuban cabarets and parades that drew her into choir, theater and dance. Her parents had listened to ABBA in secret during their childhoods in Cuba, where access to that music felt restricted, she told El Tiempo Latino in an interview published Oct. 12.

As a child, Ojeda learned ABBA songs in their Spanish versions, including "Chiquitita" and "I Have a Dream." She believed ABBA was a Spanish-language group.

She started auditioning for the role during her first year at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where she studied musical theater. In that first audition she advanced to the final stages but was told she was too young. She kept trying. Between auditions, she competed on NBC's The Voice, Season 24, and later joined the Broadway cast of The Notebook: The Musical as a swing.

When the latest Mamma Mia! audition came around, Ojeda entered the process to cover the lead. She got bigger news. She was cast as the principal Sophie.

In her El Tiempo Latino interview, Ojeda called performing a natural part of life that brings her happiness. She told the paper Sophie had been her dream role from the start, saying she had told her agent early on that she wanted the part someday.

A Spectrum News 1 review of the tour's Milwaukee stop in September described Ojeda as "absolutely captivating with infectious hope, sweetness and spunk."

She is not alone onstage. Jessica Crouch, whose credits include the original Broadway cast of Pretty Woman: The Musical, plays Sophie's mother, Donna Sheridan. Victor Wallace, who played Sam Carmichael on Broadway at the Winter Garden and in the final Broadway cast at the Broadhurst, reprises the role on tour. Jalynn Steele, another Broadway Mamma Mia! veteran, plays Tanya.

Ojeda travels on tour with her service dog, Jackson, named after painter Jackson Pollock. Jackson helps her manage anxiety.

The show runs 2 hours and 35 minutes with one intermission and is recommended for ages 6 and up. After curtain call, the cast performs a mini concert with neon spandex, glitter and additional dance numbers.

If you go

  • What: Mamma Mia! 25th Anniversary Tour
  • Where: National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.
  • When: Tuesday, Oct. 27 through Sunday, Nov. 15
  • Tickets: broadwayatthenational.com