“You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life.”
“Mamma Mia!” the musical scripted around hit ABBA songs, is that lyric Broadway-ified. It’s not here to impress you with its writing; after all, “jive” and “life” don’t truly rhyme. It’s not ashamed of a vast cultural shift, like that smooth, out-of-place slang term “jive.” And, above all, it wants nothing more than for you to have a spectacular time.
Playing now through Sunday at the Fox Theater, “Mamma Mia!” delivers that “Dancing Queen” promise and then some. It’s hard to describe the wildly popular show to a non-fan: A musical featuring all ABBA songs? A title like a pizza parlor? That iconic image of a brunette bride dressed all in white? I first saw “Mamma Mia” at age 18, when I walked into a London theater without any idea of what the show would be and a millennial’s nonchalance towards the music of ABBA. Those cotton candy Swedish pop songs all hyped up on melody? They’re fun, sure, but what kind of musical could they make?
Turns out they make a fantastic one, a laugh-out-loud and infectious production that audiences worldwide return to over and over again, as I found myself doing this past Tuesday. Like the songs themselves, the plot of “Mamma Mia!” aims for incandescent silliness: single mom and ex-rock chick Donna is preparing her taverna on a Greek island for the wedding of her daughter, Sophie. Meanwhile, when Sophie finds her mother’s diary from the year she was conceived, she invites three men to the wedding – any one of whom could be her father. She doesn’t tell anyone her plan, and as Sam, Bill and Harry arrive, she quickly realizes how complicated it will be to determine which one is supposed to walk her down the aisle.
The show feels like one giant, technicolor dance party where the cast is having as amusing a time as the audience, and the Fox’s production showcases that you’re-invited-to-the-party charm nicely. The set is simple, with the step-like white architecture of a Greek hotel augmented by a more complicated lighting design which guides us through seaside sunsets, nighttime bachelorette parties and trippy dream sequences. The costumes are colorful and beachy, the women in bright swimsuits, flowing dresses and tailored tunics, the men in resort wear and short Daniel-Craig-as-James-Bond swim trunks. When Donna and her best friends Tanya and Rosie bust out their old Donna and the Dynamos costumes, we get the true nod to 1970’s ABBA: Spandex, sparkle and flared pant legs.
The rare musical where each song is as infectious as the next, “Mamma Mia!” keeps a wonderful pace through 22 of ABBA’s most memorable pop songs and slow jams. Georgia Kate Haege is the highlight of the show as Donna, her voice perfect, bringing both motherly love and womanly independence to the stage as she hugs her daughter in overalls and then busts moves in Spandex. The audience roared when she sang the climactic ballad and perhaps most vocally-challenging song, “The Winner Takes it All.” Fan favorites “Does Your Mother Know” and “Take a Chance on Me” also garnered enthusiastic applause.
A vehicle of pure happiness, “Mamma Mia!” is a guilty pleasure without the guilt. Oh, and if you watched the weak 2008 film rendition starring Meryl Streep, don’t let that color your opinion. You probably spent the entire movie praying for Pierce Brosnan to make it through his next song with his dignity intact. Skip the film and see the show. You’ll likely be dancing in your seat.
