West End Wednesday: MAMMA MIA!

Mamma Mia! is a 1999 British jukebox musical using the music of the popular Swedish band, ABBA. The musical tells the story of Donna, the proprietor of a taverna on a Greek Island. She lives there with her daughter Sophie who is about to be wed. Sophie has never known the true identity of her father but due to some investigation, believes it to be one of three men and unbeknownst to Donna, Sophie invites these three men to the wedding in order to find out once and for all. 

Judy Cramer, the lead producer, pitched the idea of a musical using their songs to ABBA band members, Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, in early 1980 when they were working on CHESS. Although initially unconvinced, by the mid-90s, the writers had given Craymer their permission and Craymer commissioned playwright Catherine Johnson to pen the book in 1997. A year later, director Phyllida Lloyd came on board to helm the production. Although the musical shares similar plot points with the 1968 film Buona Sera, Mrs Campbell, Johnson has cited that she didn’t draw any inspiration from the film. 

The show opened on 6 April 1999 at The Prince Edward Theatre in London’s West End. The production had choreography by Anthony Van Laast. The opening night cast included Siobhan McCarthy as Donna, Jenny Galloway as Rosie, Louise Plowright as Tanya, Hilton McRae as Sam Carmichael, Nicolas Colicos as Bill Austin, Paul Clarkson as Harry Bright, Lisa Stokke as Sophie Sheridan and Andrew Langtree as Sky. The show opened to positive reviews and was a box office success. The show transferred to The Prince of Wales Theatre, opening in June 2004, before transferring to its current location at The Novello Theatre in 2012. Pandemic aside, Mamma Mia! has been running in the West End for 22 years. The production was nominated for three 2000 Olivier Awards, winning for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical for Jenny Galloway’s turn as Rosie. 

The Toronto production opened in May 2000 at The Royal Alexandra Theatre where it played for half a decade. The Broadway production opened for previews at The Winter Garden Theatre on 5 October 2001 having previously played a limited tour of the United States, starting in San Francisco, in November 2000. The show transferred to The Broadhurst Theatre, reopening on 2 November 2013 where it stayed a further two years before closing out its run, on 12 September 2015. The opening night cast included Louise Pitre as Donna Sheridan, Judy Kaye as Rosie, Karen Mason as Tanya, David W. Kelley as Sam Carmichael, Ken marks as Bill Austin, Dean Nolen as Harry Bright, Tina Maddigan as Sophie Sheridan, and Joe Machota as Sky. The show was nominated for five 2002 TONY Awards, but failed to win any. 

In 2008, the motion picture adaptation of Mamma Mia! was released. The film retained producer Judy Craymer, as well as original directed Phyllida Lloyd in her motion picture directorial debut, and original book-writer Catherine Johnson adapted her book into the screenplay. The adaptation was largely faithful to the show with a few musical cuts here and there and quickly became the biggest box office success in UK history and the best-selling DVD in UK history. The film starred Meryl Streep as Donna Sheridan, Julie Walters as Rosie, Christine Baranski as Tanya, Pierce Brosnan as Sam Carmichael, Stellan Skarsgaard as Bill Austin, Colin Firth as Harry Bright, Amanda Seyfried as Sophie Sheridan and Dominic Cooper as Sky. A sequel to he film, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, was released in 2018, which told the story of how Donna met Sam, Bill and Harry in her youth. 

Mamma Mia! is one of most successful musicals of all time with multiple incarnations in internationally. 

If you haven’t listened Besties, where have you been and get on this ABBA wonder-bus!

Cast album available on streaming services. 

FACTS:

Music: Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus
Lyrics: Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus
Book:  Catherine Johnson 

Theatre: The Prince Edward, The Prince of Wales and The Novello Theatre
Run: 6 April 1999 – Present 

TONYS:

(NOMINATED) Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical – Catherine Johnson, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical – Louise Pitre, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical – Judy Kaye, Best Orchestrations – Benny Anderson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Martin Koch.

OLIVIERS:

(WON) Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical – Jenny Galloway

(NOMINATED) Best New Musical, Best Actress in a Musical – Siobhan McCarthy, Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical – Louise Plowright.