Many years later, ‘Mamma Mia!’ still means fun

By Rich Fahey

BOSTON —   Twenty-three years after “Mamma Mia!” first hit the stage in Boston during the show’s first national tour in 2001, I still recall the explanation from a press representative about what the hit musical was all about.

“It takes place on a Greek island where a young girl invites three possible fathers to her wedding. There’s no original score. The. music is all by the Swedish pop group Abba. And it’s selling out every show in Toronto.”

I looked at her with blank eyes and thought theater-goers in Toronto had collectively lost their minds. Or maybe it was a Canadian thing.

Not so. To date, “Mamma Mia!” has been seen in 50 productions in 16 different languages grossing more than $4 billion at the box office.

“Mamma Mia!” opened on Broadway in 2001 where it played for a record-breaking 14 years, first at the Winter Garden Theatre, then at the Broadhurst Theatre. The show also toured North America from 2000-2017 with four different touring companies spanning this period.

Now the 25^th anniversary edition of the worldwide hit has landed at the Citizen Bank Opera House, and everything people loved about the show is still there with juiced-up production values – lighting, projections, etc. –added along the way.

And it seems a new generation of theater-goers are seeing the show alongside the many repeat customers. And, after seeing several different productions of “Mamma Mia!” I have to admit it still works, joining “Jersey Boys” as one of the two most successful jukebox musicals in history.

The jukebox at times evolves into a giant sing-along, especially when mega-hits such as “Dancing Queen” roll in, one of 22 numbers in the throbbing electro-pop score by the Swedish super-group Abba’s Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. They are all well-known and irresistible.

Anthony Van Laast’s choreography has spawned a number of sprightly, high-energy, creative production numbers performed by a talented dance ensemble

There are no villains in “Mamma Mia!” Just a cadre of pleasant folk, such as Sophie Sheridan (Alisa Melendez), the 20-year-old who has grown up on a Greek island where her mother Donna (Christine Sherrill) has struggled to keep her taverna, saddled with a huge mortgage, open.

She has fallen in love with Sky (Grant Reynolds) and the two are planning a wedding on the island.  But first, she would like to have the father she’s never met there, and finds in her mother’s diary notes about the three men her mother spent time with the summer before she was born.

There’s Sam Carmichael (Victor Wallace ), now a divorced father of two, whose fight with Donna ended up pushing her into the arms of two others: Bill Austin (Jim Newman), a globetrotting travel writer who hasn’t put down roots anywhere and sees no reason to; and Harry Bight (Rob Marnell), formerly known as the guitar-playing “Headbanger” but now a staid Londoner.

To Sophie’s surprise, they all say yes, and show up together at her mother’s taverna the day before the wedding, Chaos ensues.

Also on hand for the ceremonies are two of Donna’s BFFs who serve as perfect comic foils: Rosie (Carly Sakolove) and Tanya (Jalynn Steele), two-thirds of the former girl group Donna and the Dynamos, who reunite for the occasion. Rosie is averse to long relationships and Tanya is a three-time loser in the game of marriage, but neither will end up being lonely during the weekend.

The book by Catherine Johnson is like a tree on which to hang the 22 musical numbers, but she’s created a likable crew of characters and there’s enough humor provided along the way to make it all go down easy.

The voices are strong across the board, lifting several of the numbers into show-stopper status, especially in Act II when Sherill’s Donna delivers a searing rendition of “The Winner Takes It All.” Wallace as Sam is every bit her equal vocally in numbers such as “Our Last Summer.”

“Mamma Mia!” has no message or hidden meaning. It’s not trying to say something other than: Fun to be had here. And, 25 years later, it’s still fun.

Director Phyllida Lloyd knows what she’s doing, having directed “Mamma Mia!” in London, on Broadway, and worldwide. She hasn’t tinkered too much with what works, save for updating in areas such as sound, light and projections.

You are advised to stay put when the show seems to be ending …. because it isn’t. There’s more to come, and more colorful costumes and platform shoes.

You’ll probably be up there happily gyrating with the rest of the Baby Boomers when the encore of “Dancing Queen” is performed.

The 25^th anniversary national touring production of “Mamma Mia!” Book by Catherine  Johnson, music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, and some songs with Stig Anderson. At the Citizens Bank Opera House through Oct. 6. Tickets start at $50. BroadwayinBoston.com.