Photos from Shubert Theatre "Mamma Mia!" is a musical
based on the songs of pop group ABBA.
By Barbara McGuire
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The disco flavored music of ABBA in the theatrical production
"Mamma Mia!" has already been well received in London and
Toronto.
The musical, based on the songs of ’70s pop group ABBA, makes
its Los Angeles debut tonight at the Shubert Theatre.
"I hope the American audience will receive it roughly the same
way as they have in London and Toronto," Björn Ulvaeus, ABBA
member and composer/producer of "Mamma Mia!," said in a phone
interview from his hotel room in Los Angeles.
"I’m very nervous about it, but L.A. is a record city and I
think our songs are very well known here," he continued. "I’m sure
it’s going to go down well."
"Mamma Mia!," which contains 2 original ABBA songs, is a
light-hearted and upbeat tale of a mother learning to let her
daughter grow up.
Sophie (Tina Maddigan), who is single-handedly raised by her
mother, has never known the identity of her father.
"I actually really relate to that character because my father
died when I was about 5, so, in a way, it’s like my mother really
did raise me," said Maddigan in a phone interview from San
Francisco.
One day, Sophie finds her mother’s diary and and learns of three
men who could each potentially be her father.
Mary Ellen Mahoney, Louise
Pitre, and Gabrielle Jones sing a number
in "Mamma Mia!". "It’s three months before her wedding and she just
decides to track them down and send them invitations," Maddigan
said. "Three of them actually show up for the wedding."
What follows is a fiasco as Sophie attempts to discover which
one is actually her real father.
The story, written by Cathy Johnson, was developed around the
popular ABBA songs.
While collaborating with Johnson, Ulvaeus said that he wanted to
make the story more important than the songs while keeping the
original lyrics.
"She listened to songs from the whole ABBA catalogue," Ulvaeus
said. "She found very quickly that there was a difference between
the songs from the early and late careers. The earlier ones were
teenage oriented and later on they became much more mature.
"Mamma Mia!" promises to offer something for die-hard ABBA fans
as well as others who may not be familiar with the group, Ulvaeus
said.
"You go to a dance club and you hear some remix of ‘Dancing
Queen’ – it’s music that really gets in your body and under your
skin and it just takes control of you," he said. "It’s music that I
think everybody loves. We have 4-year-old kids that come to the
show and they know the music.
With a seemingly endless list of top hits, ABBA’s infectious
songs contained in the production may even tempt some audience
members to get out of their chairs and start dancing, Maddigan
said.
"I was very worried about the first preview in London, not
having seen how the audience would react," Ulvaeus said.
"I was frightened that they would start singing, which would
totally kill the story. Thank God they didn’t. What they did, was
recognize the songs and say, ‘Oh, it’s that song,’ for like five
seconds, and then they’re back into the story again."
With popular songs like "Dancing Queen" and "Voulez-Vous,"
"Mamma Mia!" is an upbeat and uplifting tale of the loving bond
between mother and daughter.
"I think the best thing at the end of it is hearing the
audiences’ applause. You know that you’ve lifted their spirits and
that they’re walking out with a smile on their face; they’re
singing the songs," she said.
"I think if people don’t take the time to come and see it,
they’re really missing out. It’s uplifting, it’s a great story and
damn it, it’s a whole lot of fun."
MUSICAL: "Mamma Mia!" opens tonight at the
Shubert Theatre, 2020 Ave. of the Stars, Century City. Performances
are Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2
p.m. and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices range from $40 to $70
and can be purchased by calling (800) 447-7400 or by visiting
www.mamma-mia.com.