Discover the joy and excitement of ‘Mamma Mia!’ as it returns to Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre. This beloved ABBA musical promises a delightful experience for fans and newcomers alike.
‘Mamma Mia!’ Broadway Review: A Joyful Return
If you love Mamma Mia!, you’re going to love Mamma Mia!! The touring production of the hit ABBA musical is making a six-month stop on Broadway, returning to the Winter Garden Theatre, where it captivated audiences when the century began.
A Homecoming of Joy
As the ninth-longest running Broadway show of all time, Mamma Mia! ran for 14 years at the Winter Garden following its opening shortly after the Towers fell. This touring production’s stop at the Garden feels like a joyous homecoming.
Audience Reactions
Well, joyous if you’re a Mamma Mia! fan, more strenuous if you’re not. By now, it seems everyone knows which group they belong to. Judging by the audience responses at the reviewed performance, Mamma Mia! is calling its fans home with the siren songs of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. The duo is having a big Broadway season, with their infrequently revived Chess coming to the Imperial this fall, featuring Aaron Tveit, Lea Michele, and Nicholas Christopher.
Production Quality
The flaws – and they are not insignificant – remain. Catherine Johnson’s book is as hokey and stitched-together as ever; in fact, two or three outdated jokes fall flat, particularly one about getting one’s tongue around a little Greek (seriously, just cut it). Phyllida Lloyd’s direction has, after all these years, done nothing but mark time. Anthony Van Laast’s choreography is more energetic than inventive.
Visual Appeal
Not that any of this matters to the built-in audience, and why should it? The costumes are bright, gaudy, and kitsch, while Howard Harrison’s lighting design takes us from sun-washed Greek Island high noon to blue and orange sundown and deep purple balmy nights. Mark Thompson’s production design is efficient, with a set consisting of little more than a facade of a white-washed Greek building that pivots to show its interior, a modest taverna where all the action unfolds.
Enthusiastic Cast
The cast, many making their Broadway debuts, is enthusiastic and game for whatever the often absurd book throws at them. Handed some of the catchiest songs in pop music history, the actors on stage make the most of the opportunity, even if some voices, particularly among the younger performers, aren’t always strong enough to cut through the loud orchestrations. Those songs include the title track, “Dancing Queen,” “The Winner Takes It All,” “Money, Money, Money,” and “Take a Chance on Me.” Stick around for the curtain call for “Waterloo.”
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Story Overview
The story remains methodical and silly. Set in the late 1990s on a Greek island, Mamma Mia! borrows and waters down some of Shakespeare’s comedy tropes – a wedding, mysterious identities, long-buried secrets, and unexpressed longings – to tell the story of young Sophie (Amy Weaver) and her doting, protective mom Donna (Christine Sherrill). Sophie is about to wed Sky (Grant Reynolds), and her one wish is to discover which of three men is her biological father. She invites all three potential candidates (Rob Marnell, Jim Newman, and Victor Wallace) to the wedding, without her mom’s knowledge, none of the possible dads knowing why they’re on the guest list.
Supporting Characters
Joining in the merriment and chaos are Donna’s old pals Rosie (Carly Sakolove) and Tanya (scene-stealer Jalynn Steele). Once a popular singing trio, the reunited group is destined to don their old very ABBA-ish costumes before the night is done. And Mamma Mia! keeps its promises.
Title: Mamma Mia!
Venue: Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre
Direction: Phyllida Lloyd
Choreography: Anthony Van Laast
Book: Catherine Johnson
Music & Lyrics: Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Cast: Christine Sherrill, Amy Weaver, Carly Sakolove, Jalynn Steele, Rob Marnell, Jim Newman, Victor Wallace, and Grant Reynolds.
Running time: 2 hr 30 min (including intermission)
