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Winter Garden
1634 Broadway
New York
www.mamma-mia.com |
Music and Lyrics by Benny
Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd
Reviewed October 2001
Running time 2 hours 30 minutes
Price range $57 - $100 |
Click here to buy the CD
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Audiences in London had a good time at this musical featuring the songs of
Abba, so Mamma Mia! was a hit. Audiences in Toronto had a good time at this
bright and lively show, so Mamma Mia! was a hit. Audiences in Los Angeles had
a good time with this leading lady, so Mamma Mia! was a hit. Now audiences in
New York are having one fabulous time and Mamma Mia! is going to be a hit at
the Winter Garden Theatre for quite a while to come. |
Storyline: 22 of Abba’s greatest hits are used to tell the story of a
young girl on a Greek island who is getting married and wants her dad to
give her away. The difficulty is her single mom never said who her dad might
be. From mom’s diary she determines it could have been any one of three of
her mom’s former boy friends, none of whom she has ever met. So she invites
all three to the wedding and tries to figure out which one should walk her
down the aisle.
Louise Pitre makes a great Broadway debut as the mom while Karen Mason and
Judy Kaye make welcome returns to Broadway as her “best buddies.” Another
fine B’way bow is Tina Maddigan as the daughter. The gals all have the best
numbers but there are fine performances by the three men as well.
It is all colorful, up-tempo and delightful with songs that will be familiar
to even those who don’t think they remember who Abba was. (From 1974 to 1984
the Swedish pop group had an amazing string of hits ranging from “Dancing
Queen” through “Thank You For The Music.”) Half of the fun is figuring out
how Catherine Jones works each of these well known songs into the story she
created.
Nothing is taken too seriously in this clever and energetic show. The set,
the costumes, the lighting and – most of all – the performances are all
bright and delightful. Where else can you see scuba divers dance in their
flippers? The sound system delivers a live-performance quality that captures
the Abba sound and the entire evening ends with the audience on its feet,
bouncing to the music. |
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