Mama Mia! returns
to CCT
for a fun-filled ABBA songfest
Reviewed by Joe Blenkle/Sacramento
Stage & Theatre
Lisa Mandel,
Lauren Mufson and Laura Ware in a scene from MAMMA MIA! playing at the
Community Center Theatre through Nov. 13. Photo by Joan
Marcus.
After a successful run in 2003, MAMMA MIA! returned to Sacramento's
Community Center Theatre for a two week stay, Nov. 2-13, 2005.
It's always interesting seeing a musical of this
magnitude for a second time. It's been just long enough where you can
remember what it is about and some of the songs in it, but a lot of the
little things that made it enjoyable the first time around have been
forgotten and you can delight in rediscovering them again.
MAMMA MIA! is mostly about the music, but it also
tells the tale of a 20-year-old girl named Sophie Sheridan (Bekah Nutt)
who is about to get married.
Sophie, who grew up without a father, anxiously
tries to find him so he can give her away at the wedding. The only
problem is - after reading her mother's diary - she learns it could be
any one of three men. So she invites them all to the wedding!
Donna (Lauren Mufson), the mom, is beside herself
when she learns what her daughter has done, but with the help of her
two friends Tanya (Lisa Mandel) and Rosie (Laura Ware), who formerly
made up a 70s rock-pop trio, Donna copes with the situation and
continues with the plans for her daughter's wedding.
Things are never that simple though and what results
is a funny romp with all three men thinking they are Sophie's father
and Sophie still not knowing for sure who her real father is.
This production of MAMMA MIA! suffered from a slow
start and the opening songs sounded a little off, but it quickly
recovered as the story developed and the show got into some of the more
well-known ABBA songs.
Songs such as "Dancing Queen," "Money, Money,
Money," "Knowing Me, Knowing You," and, of course,
"Mamma Mia!" are only a few of the numbers that had the audience -
young and old - singing along.
Sophie's three dads - Eddie, Harry and
Bill (played by Michael Grayman, Brad Wills and Milo Shandel) were
great in this production, playing off each other, as well as the rest
of the cast, as they slowly came to realize the real reason they had
been invited to the wedding.
Probably the best part of the show is the end,
however, when Donna, Tanya and Rosie come out of "retirement" for
one last show-stopping set of numbers - complete in their 70's-ish
ABBA-style outfits. In 2003, we made the mistake of heading to the exit
when we thought the show was over and the cast had taken their bows.
But the good part is just starting! Mandel, Mufson and Ware reappeared
- along with the rest of the cast - for rollicking renditions of
"Dancing Queen" and "Waterloo."
Amazingly, there are 13
productions of MAMMA MIA!running concurrently around the
world (10 permanent productions and 3 tours). With a worldwide gross of
over one billion dollars and audiences of more than 20 million people.
That gives you an idea of just how popular this show is!
MAMMA MIA! runs through Sunday, November
13. Evening performances
for MAMMA
MIA!
are Tuesday (in the second week of performance only) at 8 p.m.,
Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sunday (in the first week
of performance only) at 7:30 p.m. Matinees are Thursdays, Saturdays and
Sundays at 2 p.m. Ticket prices for MAMMA
MIA!
range from $15 - $67.50. They are available
through the Community Center Box Office, 1301 L Street, Sacramento,
(916) 264-5181, the Wells Fargo Pavilion Box Office, 1419 H Street,
Sacramento, (916) 557-1999, or online at Tickets.com. For more information,
visit sacBroadwaySeries.com.
For more information on MAMMA MIA! - visit the
official web site at: www.mamma-mia.com.
