Displaying items by tag: Mamma Mia!

Broadway In Chicago is ecstatic to announce that individual tickets for the 25th Anniversary Tour of MAMMA MIA! will go on sale on Friday, March 1. The ultimate feel-good show based on the songs of ABBA, will play Broadway In Chicago's James M. Nederlander Theatre (24 W. Randolph St.) for a limited three-week engagement, April 30 – May 19.

Since premiering in London in 1999 and on Broadway in 2001, the irresistible musical has captured the hearts of millions around the globe. The sunny, funny tale of a mother, a daughter, and three possible dads on a Greek island paradise, all unfolding to the storytelling magic of ABBA's timeless songs, has now been seen live on stage by 65 million people across the world and turned into two record-breaking movies – MAMMA MIA! The Movie and MAMMA MIA! Here We Go Again.

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.

Also produced by Judy Craymer, MAMMA MIA! The Movie became the highest grossing live action musical film of all time upon its release in 2008. A second film, MAMMA MIA! Here We Go Again, opened in July 2018 and is the most successful live musical movie sequel of all time. The films starred a host of stars including Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper, Lily James, and Cher.

With music & lyrics by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus, MAMMA MIA! is written by Catherine Johnson, directed by Phyllida Lloyd, and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast. The production is designed by Mark Thompson; with lighting design by Howard Harrison; sound design by Andrew Bruce and Bobby Aitken; and musical supervision, additional material and arrangements by Martin Koch.

The North American tour is booked by The Booking Group with casting by Tara Rubin Casting.

MAMMA MIA! is produced by Judy Craymer, Richard East, and Björn Ulvaeus for Littlestar in association with Universal. Amy Jacobs of Bespoke Theatricals is the Executive Producer in association with Work Light Productions.

The special edition cast recording of MAMMA MIA! is available on Decca Broadway.

For information about MAMMA MIA! visit www.mammamiathetour.com

Follow on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @MammaMiaTheTour

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Performances are Tuesday through Thursday at 7:00 p.m. (with Wednesday matinee at 1:00 p.m. on May 8 and May 15), Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 1:00 p.m. (with an additional performance on Sunday, May 5 at 6:30 p.m.)

TICKET INFORMATION

Individual tickets for the 25th Anniversary Tour of MAMMA MIA! will go on-sale to the public on Friday, March 1 and range from $52.50 - $137.50 with a select number of premium tickets available. Tickets are available now for groups of 10 or more by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For more  information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO

Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 24 years has grown to be one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country. A Nederlander Presentation, Broadway In Chicago lights up the Chicago Theater District entertaining up to 1.7 million people annually in five theatres. Broadway In Chicago presents a full range of entertainment, including musicals and plays, on the stages of five of the finest theatres in Chicago's Loop including the Cadillac Palace Theatre, CIBC Theatre, James M. Nederlander Theatre, Auditorium Theatre, and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place.

For more information and tickets, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

Facebook @BroadwayInChicago ● Instagram @broadwayinchicago ● TikTok @broadwayinchicago ● #broadwayinchicago

Opening night, February 21, 2019, at Drury Lane Theatre brought yet another colorful, energy- charged musical, this time in its latest production, "Mamma Mia!" Always a totally enjoyable night out, this production held tight the integrity of the original production and even threw in a few special surprises. Being a fan of both the movie and the stage musical, I noted early on how the producers of this particular play 'mixed it up' to bring the same story line while using their own style, effectively putting their own stamp on it.

If you are not familiar with the musical that features a wonderful Abba-filled soundtrack, the story takes place on a Greek island where Donna Sheridan, along with her daughter Sophie have made a life by opening a cozy, boutique hotel along the oceanfront. Business is good and their life doesn’t come without the usual problems, but it’s a good life.

The story really begins when twenty-year-old Sophie announces she is getting married. Donna wants to throw an amazing wedding and the planning begins. The only problem is that Sophie really wants her father to walk her down the aisle, but she has no idea who her father is. So…what does she do? She pries through her mother’s journal and narrows her father down to three men that Donna documented sleeping with just under a year before Sophie was born. Now knowing which one of the three is her father, Sophie invites all three – without her mother knowing. The hilarity really begins once the three show up on the island for the wedding and, thus, the guessing game commences.

Rebecca Hurd's performance as Sophie Sheridan, is wonderfully done, and her singing voice extremely good, as her range speaks for itself.  Donna, played by Susie McMonagle, also meets the challenge singing a variety of fun and emotional songs, while coming across nicely as Sophie’s caring and protective mother. Especially standing out was one of Donna's love from the past was Sam, portrayed by Jeff Parker. Unlike 'Pierce Bronson' who minimally sang in the movie, Jeff wows us with his powerful, engaging voice many times during the play.

The song 'Dancing Queen' done by the trio of friends, Donna, Rosie (Elizabeth Ledo) and Tanya (McKinely Carter), a.k.a. Donna and the Dynamos many years earlier, reminded the friends of a time in their life when there wasn't a care in the world – and it comes across throughout the theatre perfectly. The way they sang together couldn't help but make the audience smile. The trio together, and in their individual performances, adds an extra dose of fun to the performance!

Liam Quealy who played Sky, Sophie's fiancé had his friends rallying around him to celebrate the upcoming wedding. One very funny moment is when Sky and his friends dance on stage in full swim gear to ‘Under Attack’ causing the audience to laugh at the antics. The song and dance numbers are many, each time energy, coordination and amazing talent taking over the stage. Compliments to the creative folks behind that act, and so many others during the two-hour-thirty-minute performance.

The entire cast and ensemble are wonderful as the Abba hits keep rolling from beginning to end.  “Mama Mia” is a dreamy, uplifting production that is sure to please.

"SOS" - Get your tickets to see “Mamma Mia” at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace.  Playing from February 21st – April 14th, tickets can be purchased at www.drurylanetheatre.com.

The plot is simple enough. Donna Sheridan raises her daughter Sophie now twenty-years-old, on a Greek island where she runs a small island resort. Sophie, about to get married, wants to be walked down the aisle by her father. Problem is, she doesn’t know who her father is. A bit of snooping through her mother’s diary offers three possibilities, leading her to invite each to her wedding, much to her mother’s chagrin as Bill Austin (Steve O’Connell), Harry Bright (Michael Gillis) and Sam Carmichael (Jeff Diebold) show up to the island where Sophie figures to find out which is her real father. Again, the plot isn’t very complicated. But we do not see Mamma Mia! for its plot, we see it because it’s Abba charged soundtrack is fun, the set and costumes are colorful, the dance numbers are contagious and the show has a good share of laughs. Simple, light and fun - the perfect anecdote to escape from the daily, or not-so-daily, doldrums so many of us endure, if even for two hours and twenty minutes.

Currently running at Paramount Theater in Aurora, we get a production equipped with a slightly different set from the traditional Mamma Mia! look fans have come to known, and it works quite well. Accompanied by a full backdrop flooded with video projections of waves gently making their way to the shoreline and trees with leaves softly blowing in the wind, it’s easy to get lost in the rich island atmosphere. Though the set design limits the larger dance numbers, this production makes it work with its own unique choreography that rivals most other presentations. 

A strong ensemble bolsters a capable cast, the musical numbers strongest during choruses or added backing vocals. Though Amy Montgomery as Donna can carry a tune, her voice is just enough to warrant her taking on the leading role. However, she is often strengthened by surrounding cast members during harmonies, and by the way – the harmonies throughout the show are fantastic across the board! But Montgomery clearly has the personality and charisma for the role, overall making her casting sensible. Donna’s two sidekicks Tanya (Jennifer Knox) and Ali (Sara Sevigny) are wonderfully played, each character getting their respective laughs and admirably tackling their vocal duties. Sevigny truly shines as Ali during her duet with Bill, “Take A Chance On Me” displaying a great sense of comic timing (as well as O’Connell), while Knox hits one out of the park in her gritty number “Does Your Mother Know” showing off her dancing prowess in a heated exchange with Pepper, the young flirt who has eyes for her since her arrival to the island. 

We can easily buy into Dieblod, Gillis and O’Connell as Donna’s three past love interests, each also adding to the production with fine vocal offerings and just the right touch of physical humor. Diebold is no stranger to the role of Sam Carmichael having toured with Mamma Mia! on the Broadway North American Tour.    

Still, you can’t have a successful production of Mamma Mia! without a strong Sophie, and Kiersten Frumkin is just that. Vocally on par for each of her many numbers, Frumkin is able to capture the essence of Sophie, projecting a true sense of wonder, hope and elation into her role, creating a believable twenty-year-old optimist that we can’t help but relate with and root for. 

Though Mamma Mia! is far from a profound life lesson, it does promote self-acceptance in many ways and leaves us with hope that past mistakes can sometimes be corrected, even if twenty years later. 

With one Abba hit after another Mamma Mia! grabs its audience from its opening number “I Have a Dream” and doesn't let go until after its finely built crescendo finale number “Waterloo”, where each seat in the theater is now empty due to its occupants dancing and clapping along with the cast. 

Mamma Mia! is the feel good night out everyone can use to take in some great music and have some healthy laughs that will have audience members wanting to do it all over again. Mamma Mia! is being performed at Paramount Theatre through October 30th. For tickets and/or more show information visit www.paramountaurora.com. 

As Sophie sings along with Bill, Harry and Sam, “Thank you for the music”.

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