If you think your life is confusing, just imagine that you're about to get married, but don't know which of three men could be your father! Enter
Mamma Mia!Mamma Mia! is the hit stage play entertaining audiences around the world. The plot is based on the 1968 movie
Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell in which an Italian woman slept with three American GIs and became pregnant. Since she doesn't know who the father was, she convinced all three to support her and her daughter financially. At a unit-wide reunion, the mother tries to keep all of the men away from her daughter, who all believe to be theirs. In order to save her reputation, she told her daughter that she was the widow of an Army Captain named Campbell, like the soup, which she loved.
The Movie vs. The Play
Mamma Mia! is very similar to the 1968 movie upon which the play is based.
Mamma Mia! is set on a Greek island with a bride's quest to find her father before she gets married. The story brings out her mother's old skeletons from the past 20 years. It's a trip down the aisle they will not forget!
Not only is the story hilarious, but it's the music that really makes
Mamma Mia! pop.
Mamma Mia! uses songs from ABBA, a Swedish pop group that was popular from 1972 to 1982. ABBA is an acronym for the first letter of the band's members – Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid. ABBA's songs were used in the making of the musical.
Mamma Mia is an actual song from the group. Other well-known hits from
Mamma Mia! include "Dancing Queen," "I Have a Dream," "Super Trouper" and " Thank You for the Music."
Mamma on Broadway
The stage production of
Mamma Mia! did not begin on Broadway. Instead,
Mamma Mia! began in London at the Prince Edward Theatre on April 6, 1999. Judy Craymer created the musical, British playwright Catherine Johnson was brought on to write the book, and in 1998, Phyllida Lloyd became the show's director. Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson composed original score for
Mamma Mia! and were hands-on in the development of the show. Another ABBA member, Anni-Frid contributed financially to the production.
After its West End production opening in 1999,
Mamma Mia! began touring abroad quite extensively.
Mamma Mia! cracked up audiences in Toronto, Boston, and Washington D.C. in 2000. The tour continued to Broadway (finally!) and Australia in 2001. Several U.S. cities had a chance to see Mamma Mia! during 2002. In 2003, Mamma Mia! toured Las Vegas and Utrecht. Madrid, Spain was next in 2004. Sweden saw the 'dancing queens' in 2005. Antwerp and Moscow were next up in 2006. Manchester and Barcelona welcomed
Mamma Mia! in 2007. Istanbul was the prized spot for 2008. Oslo and Mexico will see
Mamma Mia! in 2009.
With a tour schedule like that, no one should have missed their chance to see Mamma Mia! Since its debut in 1999,
Mamma Mia! has grossed a staggering $2 billion and has been seen by over 30 million viewers.
Riding on the success of the stage production,
Mamma Mia! The Movie hit theaters in July 2008. The movie stars Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Julie Water, Amanda Seyfriend, Colin Firth and Christine Baranski.
Let Mamma Mia! dance its way into your hearts with laughter and a good time. Tickets aren't hard to find to this spectacular musical production. Take your daughter, sister, mom or best friend!