Diane and I traveled to Sheas Performing Arts Center to see Mamma Mia!: The Musical. This the 6th time I’ve seen Mamma Mia! : The Musical. I first saw it in Toronto in 2002. Over 65 million people have seen Mamma Mia! : The Musical and it has set the record for premiering in more cities faster than any other musical in history. The first city to produce the show after London was Toronto, where it ran from May 23, 2000, to May 22, 2005. Now touring companies like the one that just came to Buffalo travel all around the country putting on this delightful show.
As many of you know, ABBA was Bill Crider’s favorite musical group. He had all the albums and knew all the words to the ABBA songs. But when I was talking with Bill at the BOUCHERCON in Toronto in 2004, I was shocked when Bill said he’d never seen Mamma Mia! : The Musical. So I walked from the hotel to the Royal Alexandra Theatre–just a couple blocks away–and bought three tickets. Later that day, Bill, Judy, and I were watching a talented group of actors singing and dancing to ABBA music. And Bill ended up dancing in the aisle!
The plot of Mamma Mia! : The Musical begins with a young woman mailing invitations to her Wedding. Raised by a single mother (Donna), Sophie has longed to know her father. But Donna refused to tell Sophie about him. Sophie finds her mother’s diary from 20 years ago and discovers Donna had encounters with three men within a short period of time. Sophie suspects one of these three men is her father. Sophie forges Donna’s name on the invitations and mails them out. A few weeks later, all three men arrive on the Greek island where the Wedding will take place. In addition, Donna’s two close girlfriends arrive to add to the mix of subplots.
If you enjoy ABBA music, you’ll enjoy Mamma Mia! : The Musical. It’s silly, fun, and you may find yourself dancing in the aisles, too. GRADE: A
SONG LIST:
| Act I “Overture/Prologue” – Sophie “Honey, Honey” – Sophie, Ali & Lisa “Money, Money, Money” – Donna, Tanya, Rosie, Pepper & Company “Thank You for the Music” – Sophie, Sam, Harry & Bill “Mamma Mia” – Donna & Company “Chiquitita” – Donna, Tanya & Rosie “Dancing Queen” – Donna, Tanya & Rosie “Lay All Your Love on Me” – Sky, Sophie & Male Ensemble “Super Trouper” – Donna, Tanya, Rosie & Female Ensemble “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” – Female Ensemble” The Name of the Game” – Sophie & Bill” Voulez-Vous” – Company | Act II “Entr’acte” – Orchestra “Under Attack” – Sophie & Company “One of Us” – Donna “SOS” – Donna & Sam “Does Your Mother Know” – Tanya, Pepper & Company “Knowing Me, Knowing You” – Sam “Our Last Summer” – Harry & Donna “Slipping Through My Fingers” – Donna & Sophie “The Winner Takes It All” – Donna “Take a Chance on Me” – Rosie & Bil l”I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do” – Sam, Donna & Company “I Have a Dream” – Sophie |
I thought ABBA was okay but I wasn’t as wild about them as Bill was! Seems to me they did a lot of disco style music! Death before disco!
Bob, you’re right about the disco vibe in ABBA music. They liked to dress up in outlandish outfits, too. Bill Crider loved the music and the band!
I wish I had gotten to see Bill dancing in the aisles! We agree with you about MAMMA MIA! We first saw it in London in August of 2000. It became a thing – in London at the time, the show had 5:00 Friday matinees, so we’d eat lunch, go see the show, then go to Amalfi, a favorite Italian restaurant a couple of blocks away. We saw it:
8/25/00
8/24/01
8/20/02 a Tuesday evening performance
8/16/03 Saturday matinee
11/11/05 after Jackie retired, we made one last trip (we thought at the time) to London, saw the usual 5:00 Friday show.
4/1/11 this was our actual last trip to London. Yep, Friday 5:00 show.
8/26/11 Saturday matinee on Broadway. Fun, but we preferred the London.
Jeff, I took my mother to Vegas in 2005 and bought tickets to MAMMA MIA! at Mandalay Bay (MAMMA MIA! recently celebrated 1000 performances there). And, like Bill Crider, my mother jumped up and danced in the aisle, too!
Love it and ABBA.
Patti, I never get tired of listening to ABBA music or seeing MAMMA MIA!
Not a fan. I find them as about as interesting as Tony Orlando and Dawn or the Fifth Dimension. Unfortunately I was dragged to the movie version. Hated it. Had to run home and put on a Springsteen album to clear my head.
Steve, I’m not a fan of the movie versions, either. Pierce Brosnan can’t sing!