MAMMA MIA!
A really fun night at the theater.
MAMMA MIA! first premiered in London in 1999 and opened on Broadway in 2001. It has become a global entertainment phenomenon, which has now been seen by over 60 million people worldwide. MAMMA MIA! is written by Catherine Johnson, with the Music and Lyrics by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, members of the group ABBA. As a side bar, as I write in my recently published memoir, I met Benny and Bjorn in Spain. They were competing in a music competition before they joined ABBA. This production at the Kennedy Center is directed by Phyllida Lloyd. It is as much fun as any of the other productions I have seen. This is a play that leaves you happy, and not being able to get the music out of your head. Many audience members might remember MAMMA MIA from the film with Meryl Streep as Donna, Christine Baranski as Tanya, and Julie Walters as Rosie. The actors on stage at the Kennedy Center are clearly a match to them.
For anyone who doesn’t know the story of Mamma Mia!, it takes place on a small Greek island where Donna has built a taverna and brought up her now twenty-year-old daughter, Sophie, as a single mom. They are now planning Sophie’s wedding to Sky. Sophie has always wondered who her father was and Donna has never told her. Then Sophie discovers her mother’s old diary and finds out her mother had affairs with three men, Bill, Sam, and Harry, twenty-one years ago. She assumes one of them must be her dad. So, without telling her mother she invites all three to her wedding. The play is about the craziness that ensues.
The music is all ABBA and the songs like "Money, Money, Money," "I Have a Dream", "Super Trouper", "The Winner Takes It All", and "Dancing Queen", are those which most people of a certain age could sing along with. It all leads to a fun night in the theater.
This production is great and the entire cast is superb. They can all sing, dance, and act. Jalynn Steele as Tanya, Carly Sakolove as Rosie, and Christine Sherrill as Donna, all command the stage with their beautiful voices, and comedic talent. Not to be outdone is Alisa Melendez as Sophie, or her three possible dads, Jim Newman as Bill Austin, Rob Marnell as Harry Bright, and Victor Wallace as Sam Carmichael. Then Grant Reynolds as Sophie’s husband to be, Sky, is great. They all get the chance to show off their voices individually, and they all shine. The total talent in the ensemble is breathtaking to watch, and listen too.
The Creative team has outdone themselves. Choreographer, Anthony Van Laast; Lighting Designer, Howard Harrison; Musical Supervision and Orchestrations, Martin Koch, and Conductor and Keyboard, Matthew Croft.
MAMMA MIA! will be at the Kennedy Center Opera House through September 1, 2024. I urge you to get your tickets today. This is a really fun show!