More time has now passed since the West End debut of “Mamma Mia!” than has elapsed between the central plot point of the musical (the conception of bride-to-be Sophie in 1979) and its main action (her actual wedding in 1999 or 2000).
This makes the beloved show, in effect, a period piece — a portrait of the late ‘90s heavily steeped in the enduring magic and mystique of the ‘70s. Jeans are low-rise but flared, fringe is in, and so forth. In 2024, “Mamma Mia!” plays as it always has, as a celebration of the music of ABBA wrapped in an effervescent tale championing the multiplicities of love. That particular tale also makes for great theater: one mother, one daughter, three men and one unknown paternal provenance.
It’s not the kind of story that dulls over time. Indeed, the touring production of “Mamma Mia!” that opened at the West Herr Auditorium Theatre on Nov. 19 proved its staying power a quarter-century after its premiere. A packed house proved how the ebullient show has also become a bit of a rite of passage; plenty of seeming mother-and-daughter duos dotted the crowd, happily connecting over the timeless melodies.
“Mamma Mia!” is perfect in its own skin — the camp of the show matches the camp of its all-ABBA soundtrack. (Former “New York Times” theater critic Ben Brantley notably called the show “a giant singing Hostess cupcake.”) But in the role of matriarch Donna, Christine Sherrill booms and bellows, adding all the gravity necessary to sell the drama and make her showcase tune, “The Winner Takes It All,” land with maximum impact. While she frequently goes bigger than the Swedish pop compositions themselves — arguably the real stars of the show — Sherrill is magnetic.
As her daughter Sophie, the beaming Amy Weaver is the right vessel for the show’s eternal earnestness. She finds her place within the songs and doesn’t overwork what she’s been given, allowing standouts like “Lay Your Love on Me” and “Thank You for the Music” to float skyward. Her chemistry with Sherrill provides the show’s emotional foundation.
Sherrill’s moments with the Dynamos, Donna’s flashy pop group from the ‘70s, are immediate highlights, especially any time Jalynn Steele is on the stage as Tanya. A master of physical comedy and glamor, Steele is a real scene stealer, whether holding her own in a dance battle against young men half her age or recreating the charm of the girl group’s musical heyday.
Though the show’s second act drags on with perhaps one too many ABBA songs, it’s no fault of the performers, who give it their all through lesser cuts like “Our Last Summer” and “Slipping Through My Fingers.” They can’t all be “Dancing Queen,” after all.
Then again, the sheer plurality of musical moods in “Mamma Mia!” continue to sustain it. The show perhaps helped kick off the larger Broadway success of the jukebox musical as it stands now. In the past two years alone, new works centering the songs of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Alicia Keys and several others have popped up. (RBTL will stage “MJ: The Musical” in December.)
How many of these will likewise run for 25 years? The smart money is on few, if any. There is only one “Mamma Mia!,” and when a professional stage performer locks into “SOS” while standing in front of an impossibly blue, impressionistic Greek isle backdrop, the winner does, in fact, take it all.
For overwhelming proof that the winner is “Mamma Mia!,” the show’s grand finale is enough to make even a skeptic crack a smile and likely even clap along. After two hours of narrative, the entire company stages an encore of three of the most beloved songs in the history of pop music. That kind of move wouldn’t work for just any show.
But this is “Mamma Mia!” Knowing me, knowing you, it’s the best we can do.
“Mamma Mia!” runs Nov. 19-24 at West Herr Auditorium Theatre, via Rochester Broadway Theatre League. Ticket info here.
Patrick Hosken is an arts reporter for CITY. He can be reached at patrick@rochester-citynews.com.
This article appears in Nov 1-30, 2024.
