[NEohioPAL]MAMMA MIA! LEAVES AUDIENCE CHEERING

[Roy Berko]

MAMA  MIA! LEAVES AUDIENCE CHEERING AT  STATE THEATRE

		Roy Berko
	(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

	--Times Newspapers--

	Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times

On April 6, 1999 MAMA MIA! opened at the Prince Edward
Theatre in London.  The rest is theatrical history. 
At the curtain call the audience rose and began
singing and dancing in the aisles.  The same thing
happened in its Cleveland opening.   Since opening
night not a single ticket to a single show in London
has gone unsold.   Don’t be surprised if the same
thing doesn’t happen here now that the local word is
out.  
	
ABBA is a Swedish group that came to the attention of
the music public in 1974 when it won the Eurovision
Song Contest.   The quartet, named after the first
initial of the group’s members Agnetha Faltskog, Benny
Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Anni Frid Lyndstad, has
sold over 350 million records worldwide.  “Waterloo,”
the song they sang for the competition, topped pop
charts all over the globe.  Single records, platinum
albums, sold-out concerts and a hit film, ABBA--THE
MOVIE followed.  Songs such as “Dancing Queen,” “Take
A Chance On Me,” and “The Winner Takes It All” have
become number one on top-ten lists.
	
MAMA MIA! is the invention of  Judy Crayner who
perceived that there was a production to be created
with ABBA songs.  She eventually had playwright
Catherine Johnson create a play consisting of three
love stories: a young girl about to be married, her
mother about to confront the past, and an audience
about to jump out of their seats with joy. 

Twenty-two ABBA songs are sung during the two-act
musical which takes place on a tiny Greek Island where
a wedding is about to take place.  The slight story
revolves around Sophie Sheridan, the daughter of the
owner of a local taverna.  The mother, Donna, an
American who has hidden herself from her past, has
never revealed who Sophie’s father is.  Sophie finds
Donna’s old diary, which contains the names of three
past lovers, any one of whom could be “dad.”
Unbeknownst to Donna, Sophie invites the three to her
impending wedding.  The “mystery” is, who is the
father?  Besides the dads, Donna’s hysterically funny
friends, Tanya and Rosie are wedding guests.  Combine
the locals, the wedding participants, the guests, and
ABBA songs, and you have MAMA MIA! 
	
The show starts with a blast of music and a front
screen looking much like a lava lamp of movement. 
Audience members start to bob heads in time to the
pulsating music, and we are off on a fun-filled ride. 
The cast is explosive.  They dance, they sing, but
most of all, they shimmer with enthusiasm.  It’s hard
to stay in your seat as they exude energy.  Don’t be
surprised if the people sitting around you start
singing with the cast.
	
Knowledge of ABBA’s music is not necessary.  If you
don’t’ know it, you will soon appreciate it.  The
hysterically funny “Does Your Mother Know” and “Super
Trouper,” the beautiful “The Winner Takes It All,” the
poignant “Thank You for the Music,” and the explosive
title song all make up a fine musical score.
	
Kristie Marden makes for a cute Sophie.  Ellen Harvey
and Robin Baxter are total delights as Donna’s best
friends.  Monique Lund sings and acts the role of
Donna with competency.  James Kall, a native
Clevelander, as one of the father-want-to-bes, has a
wonderful singing voice and nice sense of comedy. 
Though he sometimes goes over the edge, Pearce
Bunting, is fine as the Crocodile Dundee Australian. 
Don Noble, as the other possible dad, sings better
than he acts.  The best of the bunch, however, may
well be the singing and dancing chorus.  They are a
powder keg of excitement which the audience catches.  
 
	
Why oh why do band directors of musicals seem to
believe it is more important for their sound to be
heard rather than the words to the songs?  The band
often overshadows the performers and many words are
lost due to lack of sound balance. 
	
All in all, MAMA MIA! lives up to its advanced
billing.  Go see the show with the attitude of having
a good time, listening to some of the world’s best
recognized pop music, getting involved.  Leave your
worries at home and as one of the songs says, think of
ABBA and say, “Thank You for the Music.”
	
Side comment:  Why, with such an obvious hit show,
didn’t the Playhouse Square Foundation book MAMA MIA!
in an open-ended run?  For sure, between all of its
facilities, most of them empty during the summer
months, the Playhouse Square complex has space for
such a venture.  The Toronto version was booked for a
month run and, two years later, it is still playing to
sold out crowds.  
This is a see-it-more-than once type show.  As one of
the public relations people told me after the opening
night, “just as RENT proved to be a draw that demanded
more performances, this show will return.” Let’s hope
so!	
	
For tickets to MAMA MIA!, which runs until August 4
call 216-241-6000 or 800 766-6048, visit online at
www.playhousesquare.com or stop at the Play House
Square box office.  Tickets are priced from $15 to $57.

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