With Mother's Day coming up this weekend, why not talk about a show I have seen live, via local production, which is the jukebox musical "Mama Mia". Not to mention there is a movie adaptation, and a sequel to the film but not on the stage. The show featuring the work of ABBA but tied to an original story is one of the biggest smashes in terms of jukebox musicals and has also had a long run in term of public productions. When I saw it back in 2018, I remember it being goofy fun, with fun music, so for this post I will be focusing on the stage version, I am sure I will come across the film versions sooner or later. And the first one which I have seen can wait, oh it can wait.
This show follows Sophie, who is soon to be married and is holding the ceremony at her mother's nice island resort, but there is one problem, Sophie wants her father to walk he down the isle but she doesn't know who her biological father is. So she reads her mom's old journal and invites three of her old boyfriends to the wedding and whacky shenanigans ensue. With the wedding, the mothers friends visiting, past romances, current flings, and tons of flirting, all the while Sophie tries to solve this mystery leads to a zany, light hearted, sometimes touching show. There are so many characters that backstory is minimal as is character growth, leading to a conclusion that left me confused but indifferent. This show focuses on being comedic and as an outlet to play some of ABBA's greatest hits, and in terms of the narrative sometime I laughed, and other times I laughed for the wrong reasons.
This show is a musical romantic comedy, so this is not some deep think piece, it's more akin to a Hallmark Christmas movie with a much larger budget and set during the summer. When I saw it live, I found myself enjoying the music, sometimes laughing at how ridiculous things got on stage, and other times laughing because some of the punchlines were actually funny. The song choice is really good, and the performance that I saw was well acted. The slower moments were a tad hit and miss because there are so many characters that I found it hard to grow attached to them, but sometimes I found them sweet and a tad touching.
This show is mostly high energy, the temptation to stand up and dance along was indeed there, but the slower songs were a nice change of pace and gave a little bit of character development. This show is packed to the brim with songs, with very little time before the next one begins. That being said if you are an ABBA fan then this show is great, a goofy plot with fun music numbers. For example there is a scene both on stage and in the film where a group of scuba divers form a chorus line, I just had to accept it and laugh because I could not fathom why we needed it, but it was still hilarious. It just appeared out of nowhere and was done and that was it, as are many aspects of this show. From the romances, to even the backstories, everything in the plot just comes and goes.
The music is beyond fun, there are many high energy picks, with a few slower songs to stand out. They pull many songs from ABBA, so I ended up finding a couple songs I did not know about and enjoyed. The songs many of us know such as "Take A Chance On Me" and "Dancing Queen" are present and they lead to fun group numbers and choreography. The music fits into the plot and works well with it, and the way the production I saw used the title song "Mama Mia" was very well staged and a pure delight.
This show is still enjoyable, as long as you are fine with ABBA music, because if not then unfortunately that is basically seventy-five percent of the show. Tied together with a plot we have seen many times before, but it is so goofy and at times beyond random that is harmless. It can make for a lighthearted and very fun night at the theater. I did not regret going as it left with tunes to hum along too, a story that had me laughing, and stories to tell. It was not boring which is the worst experience one can have in the theater, and I have been bored before. This show is filled to the brim and if your civic theater is playing this show, it is an enjoyable time. The music is light and fun with a plot to match, a good time.
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