Tickets for Mamma Mia» Mamma Mia Reviews

Not Everyone Enjoyed Mamma Mia

ross — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:32:09 +0000

By JOY TIPPING / The Dallas Morning News
jtipping@dallasnews.com

At the end of the intermission for Mamma Mia!, currently onstage at Fair Park Music Hall, there’s a frantic, psychedelic disco-light show flashed on the curtain, accompanied by music at an eardrum-piercing level. My friend said it made her dizzy.

That’s pretty much my reaction to the entire show. And we’re not talking “gleeful, had a little too much to drink, so happy I’m limp” dizzy. More like “this is a two-and-a-half- hour carnival ride that’s making me queasy, and they’re not letting me off anytime soon.”

Don’t get me wrong, I love ABBA, on whose songs the show is constructed. But except for a handful of numbers, I’d rather eat nails than sit through another showing of this version, brought in by the Dallas Summer Musicals. If you’re an ABBA fan, you’d be better off spinning your home disco ball, glamming up in your bell-bottom PJs and cranking up ABBA Gold.

The plot, such as it is, concerns a young woman (Liana Hunt) who, on the eve of her wedding, determines to find out the identity of her father. She invites the three most likely candidates to the bucolic Greek isle where her mother (Michelle Dawson) has settled, and chaos, of course, ensues. But no one seems to much care who turns out to be Daddy mia, so there’s absolutely no conflict. This lends an “I can take it or leave it” blasé air to the whole affair – and if the characters don’t care, you can bet the audience won’t.

Of the two dozen numbers, only “Take a Chance on Me” totally fits the plotline and the characters. The delightful Kittra Wynn Coomer (as Rosie) and Martin Kildare (as Bill, one of the potential dads) convince you, albeit momentarily, that you’re watching a terrific piece of musical theater. “Voulez-Vous,” the Act 1 closer, also distinguishes itself, primarily by featuring actual choreography, as opposed to the pogo-style hopping that accompanies most of the songs.

Even the Dallas Summer Musicals audience, notoriously overgenerous with standing ovations, couldn’t be persuaded to rise during curtain calls at Tuesday night’s opening, at least not until the Big Finale. That was great fun, because it was just singing and dancing and over-the-top 1970s costumes. No unwieldy plot to make you think, or try to make sense of things, or other things that might hurt your brain.

Kylie to perform at Abba tribute

ross — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:06:25 +0000

According to BBC News

Minogue’s performance will come ahead of her first North American tour

Kylie Minogue will give her only live UK performance this year at London’s Hyde Park in September, as part of an Abba tribute concert.

The singer, 41, will perform Super Trouper and will be joined on stage by Abba’s Benny Andersson for a rendition of When All Is Said And Done.

Abba’s Bjorn Ulvaeus will also perform at the 13 September show. So, with the Mamma Mia musical riding high, the songs of Abba are getting a new lifeline.

Other acts confirmed for the gig, organised by BBC Radio 2, include Lulu, Chaka Khan and The Feeling.

Minogue said: “The opportunity to perform classic Abba songs on stage with members of Abba really is a dream come true.

“Their music has played such a great part in my life from a very early age and I’m thrilled I’ll be able to share that with them personally.”

US tour

Thank You For The Music: A Celebration of the Music of Abba, which will be hosted by Chris Evans and broadcast live on Radio 2, will also feature jazz musician Jamie Cullum, former Texas lead singer Sharleen Spiteri and Elaine Paige.

The West End cast of Abba musical Mamma Mia! will also perform.

Minogue’s performance comes ahead of her first tour of North America, starting on 30 September in Oakland, California, and finishing at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom on 13 October.

Mamma Mia A Hit

ross — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:30:51 +0000

Mamma Mia! is the mother of all musicals – it’s official.

According to a poll, the Mirror reports that the Abba-based West End hit Mamma Mia is now more popular than far longer-running shows.

A survey rated Mamma Mia the best – followed by Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Grease and the Rocky Horror Show.

The findings of the poll for Churchill Insurance reflect the huge success of the film version, starring Meryl Streep.

A Churchill spokesman said: “The film has sent the musical Mamma Mia! to the top of the popularity chart.”

Mamma Mia Musical at Palm Beach

ross — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:15:57 +0000

According to TCPALM, one fabulous show that is well-worth the drive to West Palm Beach is “Mamma Mia!”

On opening night, Aug. 4 at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, the audience was full of mothers and daughters. Lots of guys too, but the moms and their kinder (of all ages) topped the attendance scale. The house was packed, and a very appreciative audience it was.

It’s no wonder all the gals were there. This show was created by three women, producer Judy Craymer, writer Catherine Johnson and director Phyllida Lloyd, who also repeated their jobs with the big screen version for Universal Pictures starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard.

The secret to the mega-success this show is two-fold. First, it masterfully brings together the world of pop music, which appeals to the young audience members, and musical theater, which easily grabs the attention and love from us oldsters.

Secondly, we can see so much of ourselves in the story and place ourselves on the stage with the cast. It was extremely difficult not to dance in the aisles throughout the performance Tuesday night.

We wanted to be up there rocking to those ABBA timeless hits including “Dancing Queen,” “Take a Chance on Me,” “Waterloo,” and “Mamma Mia!”

This show is really great entertainment– from a music standpoint with those legendary ABBA (the chart topping Swedish singing group of the 1970’s) songs, from a mother-love standpoint and from a happy uplifting standpoint — you just have to come out smiling when you see it.