Mamma Mia!
Encyclopedia
Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British
playwright
Catherine Johnson
, based on the songs of ABBA
, composed by Benny Andersson
and Björn Ulvaeus
, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia
", the plot is fictional, not biographical. Björn Ulvaeus
and Benny Andersson
, who composed the original music for ABBA, were involved in the development of the show from the beginning. Anni-Frid Lyngstad
has been involved financially in the production and she has also been present at many of the premieres around the world.
The musical includes such hits as "Super Trouper
", "Lay All Your Love On Me
", "Dancing Queen
", "Knowing Me, Knowing You
", "Take A Chance On Me
", "Thank You for the Music
", "Money, Money, Money
", "The Winner Takes It All
", "Voulez Vous" and "SOS
". Over 42 million people have now seen the show which has grossed $2 billion dollars worldwide. A film adaptation
starring Meryl Streep
, Colin Firth
, Pierce Brosnan
, Amanda Seyfried
, Christine Baranski
and Julie Walters
was released in July 2008.
Mamma Mia! is based on the songs of ABBA
. ABBA was a Swedish pop
/dance
group active from 1972–1982 and was one of the most internationally popular pop groups of all time, topping the charts again and again in Europe, North America and Australia. Following the premiere of the musical in London in 1999, ABBA Gold topped the charts in the United Kingdom again. This musical was the brainchild of producer Judy Craymer. She met songwriters Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson in 1983 when they were working with Tim Rice
on Chess
. It was the song "The Winner Takes It All" that suggested to her the theatrical potential of their pop songs. The songwriters were not enthusiastic, but they were not completely opposed to the idea.
In 1997, Craymer commissioned Catherine Johnson
to write the book for the musical. In 1998, Phyllida Lloyd
became the director for the show. It is unusual for three women to form the collaboration behind a commercial success in musical theatre.
at the Prince Edward Theatre
on 6 April 1999 and
transferred to the Prince of Wales Theatre
on 9 June 2004, where it is playing as of 2011. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd
with choreography by Anthony Van Laast
, the original cast featured Siobhan McCarthy, Lisa Stokke, and Hilton McRae. The show will move to the Novello Theatre
in September 2012 after the 2012 Olympics.
at the Royal Alexandra Theatre on 23 May 2000, directed by Phyllida Lloyd with choreography by Anthony Van Laast, with the production designed by Mark Thompson and lighting by Howard Harrison. It closed on 22 May 2005.
at the Winter Garden Theatre
on 18 October 2001 and is currently running, as of 2011. The director is Phyllida Lloyd with choreography by Anthony Van Laast.
, opening at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in February 2003 and closing on January 4, 2009. In June 2005, Mamma Mia! played its 1000th performance in Las Vegas, becoming the longest-running West End/Broadway musical in Las Vegas. The clothes and scenarios from this production are now used in Brazil.
in 2002, and has since played more than 120 cities as of its 6th anniversary in 2008.BWW News Desk. " 'Mamma Mia!' US Tour Hits 2500th Show Tonight" broadwayworld.com, February 27, 2008 The 10th anniversary Australian Tour has just finished its run in Brisbane. There was also an Australasian Tour from 2001–2005, and a Dutch tour in 2009 - 2010. The International Tour has visited Dublin, Edinburgh, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Estonia, Lisbon, Brussels, Paris, Cologne, Oberhausen, Munich, Erfurt, Vienna, Liepzig, Frankfurt, Zurich, Berlin, Vienna, Belfast, Edinburgh, Pretoria, Manchester, Doha, Dubai, Copenhagen, Riga, Helsinki, Tel Aviv, Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei, Budapest, Bratislava, Prague, Bristol, Vilnius, Horsens, Glasgow, Athens, Monte Carlo, Paris, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Turku, Helsinki, Istanbul, Malmo, Kuala Lumpur, Vienna, Milan, Geneva, Trieste, Florence, Aalborg, Forli, Lisbon, Bangkok, Christchurch, Auckland, Wellington, Taiwan, Newcastle, Baden Baden, Hanover, Munich, Nurnburg, Graz, Basel, Liverpool, Belgrade, Cork and Linkoping.
A South African tour is beginning at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town on 11 August 2010, and will be followed by 3 months at The Teatro at Montecasino in Johannesburg. The production stars an all local cast.
As of 2011, the musical has been performed in sixteen languages: English
, German
, Norwegian
, Japanese
, Dutch
, Flemish, Korean
, Spanish
, Swedish
and Russian
, French
, Danish
, Italian
, Portuguese Indonesian
and Chinese
. In addition to the tours, the show has had (and in some cases, still has) permanent productions in London, Toronto, New York, Hamburg, Rome, Tokyo, Utrecht, Las Vegas, Seoul, Stuttgart, Madrid, Osaka, Daegu, Stockholm, Antwerp, Moscow, Seongnam, Gothenburg, Fukuoka, Berlin, Barcelona, Nagoya, Mexico, Milan, and Brazil. Lone van Roosendaal has played Donna in three different countries and in three different languages: English, Dutch (understudy) and German. Jackie Clune
plays Donna in the International Tour cast.
China
is preparing its own rendition of the musical, set to debut at Shanghai Grand Theater on July 10, 2011.
") but doesn't know who he is. Sophie discovers her mother's old diary and finds entries which describe intimate dates with three men (Sam Carmichael, Bill Andersson, and Harry Bright) ("Honey, Honey
"). Sophie believes that one of these men is her father and, three months prior to the wedding, sends each an invitation to her wedding writing in the name of her mother, Donna, without letting the unsuspecting latter know.
The day before the wedding, Donna begins receiving guests at her taverna
. The first to arrive are her old best friends, Tanya, a rich woman who has been married and divorced three times, and Rosie, an unmarried, carefree woman. The trio used to be a girl group
called Donna and the Dynamos. The three women catch up and talk about how their lives have been ("Money, Money, Money
").
Later that day, Sophie's three possible fathers arrive: Sam (an American architect), Harry (a British banker), and Bill (a Swedish writer and adventurer). Sophie convinces them not to tell Donna that she invited them ("Thank You for the Music
"). Donna is surprised to see her ex-lovers ("Mamma Mia
") and leaves in tears. Donna, crying, explains to Tanya and Rosie the situation, and they cheer her up ("Chiquitita
"). Tanya and Rosie try to convince Donna that she can still be the girl that she once was ("Dancing Queen
").
Sophie had hoped that she would know her father the moment she saw him, but is now only confused. She tries to tell her fiancé, Sky, how she feels without confessing what she has done. Sky tells her that he will be the only man she ever needs ("Lay All Your Love on Me
").
At Sophie's hen night, Donna and the Dynamos don their old costumes and perform a song, "Super Trouper
". Sam, Bill and Harry accidentally walk in on the party, but the guests persuade them to stay ("Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
"). Sophie first pulls Sam out of the room to talk to him. After he asks why he is here, she is overcome with guilt, and goes to talk to Harry instead. But Harry asks if Sophie's father is at the party, and she tells him the whole truth. Lastly, she draws Bill aside to talk with him. She learns that Bill has an aunt Sophia who left all her money to Donna's family. Bill learns that Donna built the taverna with money she inherited from a friend she lived with when Sophie was a baby; that friend was Bill's aunt. They both think that this means he is her father.
Sophie asks Bill to walk her down the aisle, but Bill wants to discuss it first with Donna. This has been her secret after all. But no one knows yet that even Donna does not know who the father is, because she slept with the three men in such swift succession. Sophie insists that they must not tell Donna anything ("The Name of the Game
") and finally, Bill agrees.
Afterward, everybody crashes the hen party (including the boys from the stag party
). During the dance, Sam pulls Sophie aside and tells her that he has figured out why she invited him. He knows that he is her father, and promises to walk her down the aisle the next day. Then, Harry approaches Sophie, apologizing for being so slow on the uptake, and he is also convinced that she is his daughter and promises to walk her down the aisle. Sophie leaves the party, hopelessly confused; she doesn't want to turn any of them down ("Voulez-Vous
").
").
Sophie is upset, and Donna assumes that Sophie wants to cancel the wedding and offers to handle all the details. Sophie is offended and vows that her children will not grow up not knowing who their father is. As Sophie storms out of the room, Sam enters and tries to tell Donna that Sophie may not be all she seems, but Donna will not listen ("One of Us
"). She hates Sam; at the end of their affair, she said she never wanted to see him again. But it seems that Sam was the man Donna cared about the most, and both of them wish they could go back to the start ("SOS
"').
At the beach, Harry asks Tanya what the father of the bride ought to be doing for Sophie's wedding. Tanya explains that for her part, her father gave her his advice and then paid. Pepper, one of the guys who works at Donna's taverna, makes advances to Tanya, but she rebuffs him ("Does Your Mother Know
").
Sky finds out what Sophie has done in inviting Sam, Harry and Bill to the wedding. He accuses her of wanting a big white wedding only so that she can find out who her father is. He is very hurt that she kept this plan a secret from him. He storms off just as Sam walks in. Sam tries to give Sophie some fatherly advice by describing his failed marriage ("Knowing Me, Knowing You
"), but Sophie is not consoled.
Harry offers to Donna to pay for the wedding, and they reminisce about their fling ("Our Last Summer
"). Sophie arrives and Donna helps her get dressed. She cannot believe her daughter is going to be a bride ("Slipping Through My Fingers
"). Donna admits that her own mother disowned her when she learned that she was pregnant. They reconcile and Sophie asks her mother if she will walk her down the aisle. Sam arrives and tries to speak to Donna again, but she does not want to see him, and asks him to leave. He refuses, and a bitter confrontation ensues. Donna tells Sam that he broke her heart, presumably when she found out he was engaged ("The Winner Takes It All
"). It emerges that the two still love each other dearly, albeit against Donna's better judgment.
Rosie is making final preparations in the taverna when Bill arrives. He's upset because he has received a note that Donna will be walking Sophie down the aisle. Bill reaffirms his commitment to the single life, but Rosie has become attracted to him, and urges him to reconsider ("Take a Chance on Me
"). They are about to have sex in the taverna, but the guests arrive, leaving Rosie quite stunned.
The wedding begins, with Donna walking Sophie down the aisle. Before the priest has a chance to begin the ceremonies, Donna acknowledges to everyone that Sophie's father is present. Sophie tells her mother that she knows about her father. Donna realizes that Sophie invited them to the wedding for that very reason. The issue of Sophie's parentage is left unsettled, as none of them have any idea whether they are actually her father. Everyone involved agrees that it does not matter which one of them her biological parent is, as Sophie loves all three and they are all happy to be "one-third of a father" and a part of her life at last. Finally, Harry, who has made frequent references to his "other half" throughout the show, is revealed to be in a committed gay relationship with a man named Laurence (Nigel or George in some productions, Peter in the Russian version, José Francisco in the Mexican version and Adamastor Costa e Silva in the Brazilian Production).
Suddenly, Sophie calls a halt to the proceedings. She is not ready to get married and Sky agrees with Sophie about not getting married. Sam seizes his chance and proposes to Donna in order to prevent the wedding preparations from going to waste. He explains that he loved her, even when he left to get married. It is revealed that he called off the wedding with his fiancée and came back to the island, only to be told that Donna was going out with another man (Bill). He went back, married his fiancée and had children but he got divorced. Surprisingly, Donna accepts, ("I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
"). In the end, Sam and Donna are married, and at the end of the night, Sophie and Sky depart on a round-the-world tour ("I Have A Dream
") .
", "Mamma Mia
", and "Waterloo", featuring Donna, Tanya, Rosie, Sam, Bill, and Harry in ABBA-inspired costumes.
Act II
Encore
, produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman, written by Catherine Johnson directed by Phyllida Lloyd and with Tom Hanks
, Rita Wilson
, Björn Ulvaeus
, and Benny Andersson
as executive producers. Meryl Streep
stars as Donna Sheridan and Amanda Seyfried
as Sophie and Pierce Brosnan
as Sam Carmichael. The movie also features Christine Baranski
, Dominic Cooper
, Colin Firth
, Stellan Skarsgård
and Julie Walters
. It premiered July 18, 2008 in the US. Most of the songs remained intact with the exceptions of "Under Attack", "One of Us", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", and "Thank You for the Music". "Knowing Me, Knowing You" was used as the wedding music and "Thank You for the Music" is sung during the second half of the end credits. The first half is occupied with a "Dancing Queen" reprise and "Waterloo". "When All Is Said and Done", a song not used in the musical, was added for the film sung by Sam, Donna, and the company. "Our Last Summer" was used earlier in the movie, with Sophie, Bill, Sam, and Harry singing it. "The Name of the Game" while filmed, was subsequently edited out of the film for the final cut. The song is included in full on the motion picture soundtrack - an abbreviated version of the song and scene appear on the DVD/bluray as a supplement.
On any given day, there are at least seven performances of Mamma Mia! being performed around the globe. On May 15, 2005, Mamma Mia! surpassed the original Broadway runs of The Sound of Music
, The King and I
, and Damn Yankees
with 1,500 performances. On September 14, 2011, it surpassed Miss Saigon
to become the 10th longest-running Broadway musical of all time with 4,098 performances.
When Mamma Mia! opened in Russia, it received a very positive response. As of January 2008 "Mamma Mia!" became the longest daily running show in the history of Russian theatre.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
Catherine Johnson
Catherine Johnson
Catherine Johnson is a British playwright, producing works for stage and television. She is best known for her script for the musical Mamma Mia! and screenplay for the film of the same name, which became the highest grossing UK film of all time and the biggest selling UK DVD of all time in January...
, based on the songs of ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
, composed by Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
and Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia
Mamma Mia (song)
"Mamma Mia" is a song from ABBA's 3rd album, ABBA, written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus & Stig Anderson, with the lead vocals shared by Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The song "Mamma Mia" is a common song used in bands or orchestras...
", the plot is fictional, not biographical. Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
and Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
, who composed the original music for ABBA, were involved in the development of the show from the beginning. Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Anni-Frid Prinzessin Reuss von Plauen , is a Norwegian-born Swedish pop singer...
has been involved financially in the production and she has also been present at many of the premieres around the world.
The musical includes such hits as "Super Trouper
Super Trouper (song)
-A-Teens version:"Super Trouper" was A-Teens' second single from their 1st album The ABBA Generation, a cover of ABBA's song. When the single came out in the fall of 1999, it became a hit around the globe, just as its predecessor "Mamma Mia", also an ABBA cover...
", "Lay All Your Love On Me
Lay All Your Love on Me
"Lay All Your Love on Me", is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA in 1980 for their Super Trouper album. It was released only as a 12-inch single in 1981 in limited territories, rather than as a standard 7-inch record. At the time, it was the highest selling 12-inch record in UK chart...
", "Dancing Queen
Dancing Queen
"Dancing Queen" is a pop song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in August 1976, but was first performed two months earlier, on 18 June 1976, during a Royal Variety Show in Stockholm the evening before the Swedish royal wedding. It was the follow-up single to the hit "Fernando"...
", "Knowing Me, Knowing You
Knowing Me, Knowing You
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" is a hit single recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson, with the lead vocal sung by Anni-Frid Lyngstad. During recording sessions, it had the working titles of "Ring It In" and "Number 1, Number 1"...
", "Take A Chance On Me
Take a Chance on Me
"Take a Chance on Me" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in 1978 as the second single from their fifth studio album, simply called The Album. The song has been featured on a number of ABBA compilations such as ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits.-History:The working title of "Take a...
", "Thank You for the Music
Thank You for the Music
"Thank You for the Music" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally featured on the group's fifth studio album ABBA: The Album and was released as a single on November 6, 1983, to promote the Epic Records compilation album Thank You for the Music: A Collection of Love Songs...
", "Money, Money, Money
Money, Money, Money
"Money, Money, Money", originally "Gypsy Girl", is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song, like most ABBA songs, was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. It was released as a single on November 1, 1976, as the follow-up single to "Dancing Queen, both from the album Arrival...
", "The Winner Takes It All
The Winner Takes It All
"The Winner Takes It All" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. Released as the first single from the group's Super Trouper album on July 21, 1980, it is a ballad in the key of F-sharp major, reflecting the end of a romance...
", "Voulez Vous" and "SOS
SOS (ABBA song)
Agnetha Fältskog's version was the second single from her fifth Swedish solo-album Elva kvinnor i ett hus . It was the only song from this album not to have been composed by Fältskog herself....
". Over 42 million people have now seen the show which has grossed $2 billion dollars worldwide. A film adaptation
Mamma Mia! (film)
Mamma Mia! is a 2008 musical/romantic comedy film adapted from the 1999 West End/2001 Broadway musical of the same name, based on the songs of successful pop group ABBA, with additional music composed by ABBA member Benny Andersson...
starring Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
, Colin Firth
Colin Firth
SirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...
, Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
, Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Michelle Seyfried is an American actress, singer-songwriter and former child model. She began her career as a child model when she was 11, and at 15 began her career as an actress, starting off with uncredited roles and moving on to recurring roles on As the World Turns and All My...
, Christine Baranski
Christine Baranski
Christine Jane Baranski is an American stage and screen actress, and is perhaps best known for her Emmy Award winning portrayal as "Maryanne Thorpe" in the sitcom Cybill, and her Emmy nominated portrayal of "Diane Lockhart" in The Good Wife...
and Julie Walters
Julie Walters
Julie Walters, CBE is an English actress and novelist. She came to international prominence in 1983 for Educating Rita, performing in the title role opposite Michael Caine. It was a role she had created on the West End stage and it won her BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Actress...
was released in July 2008.
Background
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
. ABBA was a Swedish pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
/dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
group active from 1972–1982 and was one of the most internationally popular pop groups of all time, topping the charts again and again in Europe, North America and Australia. Following the premiere of the musical in London in 1999, ABBA Gold topped the charts in the United Kingdom again. This musical was the brainchild of producer Judy Craymer. She met songwriters Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson in 1983 when they were working with Tim Rice
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
on Chess
Chess (musical)
Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...
. It was the song "The Winner Takes It All" that suggested to her the theatrical potential of their pop songs. The songwriters were not enthusiastic, but they were not completely opposed to the idea.
In 1997, Craymer commissioned Catherine Johnson
Catherine Johnson
Catherine Johnson is a British playwright, producing works for stage and television. She is best known for her script for the musical Mamma Mia! and screenplay for the film of the same name, which became the highest grossing UK film of all time and the biggest selling UK DVD of all time in January...
to write the book for the musical. In 1998, Phyllida Lloyd
Phyllida Lloyd
Phyllida Lloyd CBE is an English director, best known for her work in theatre and as the director of the most financially successful British film ever released, Mamma Mia!.-Career:...
became the director for the show. It is unusual for three women to form the collaboration behind a commercial success in musical theatre.
Original London production
The musical opened in the West EndWest End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
at the Prince Edward Theatre
Prince Edward Theatre
The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster.The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone, with an interior designed by Marc-Henri Levy and Gaston Laverdet...
on 6 April 1999 and
transferred to the Prince of Wales Theatre
Prince of Wales Theatre
The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre on Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in the City of Westminster. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner...
on 9 June 2004, where it is playing as of 2011. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd
Phyllida Lloyd
Phyllida Lloyd CBE is an English director, best known for her work in theatre and as the director of the most financially successful British film ever released, Mamma Mia!.-Career:...
with choreography by Anthony Van Laast
Anthony Van Laast
Anthony Van Laast is a choreographer, mainly for the stage, concerts, television and film. His works have appeared in the West End and on Broadway.-Career:Van Laast was born in Sussex, UK...
, the original cast featured Siobhan McCarthy, Lisa Stokke, and Hilton McRae. The show will move to the Novello Theatre
Novello Theatre
The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster.-History:The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of the Waldorf Hotel, both being designed by W. G. R. Sprague. The theatre opened as the Waldorf Theatre on 22 May 1905, and was...
in September 2012 after the 2012 Olympics.
Toronto production
It opened in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
at the Royal Alexandra Theatre on 23 May 2000, directed by Phyllida Lloyd with choreography by Anthony Van Laast, with the production designed by Mark Thompson and lighting by Howard Harrison. It closed on 22 May 2005.
Original Broadway production
Prior to the musical's Broadway engagement, it made its US debut in San Francisco, California at the Orpheum Theatre from 17 November 2000 to 17 February 2001, moving next to Los Angeles, California at the Shubert Theatre from 26 February 2001 to 12 May 2001, and finally to Chicago, Illinois at the Cadillac Palace from 13 May 2001 to 12 August 2001. The musical opened on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
at the Winter Garden Theatre
Winter Garden Theatre
The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1634 Broadway in midtown Manhattan.-History:The structure was built by William Kissam Vanderbilt in 1896 to be the American Horse Exchange....
on 18 October 2001 and is currently running, as of 2011. The director is Phyllida Lloyd with choreography by Anthony Van Laast.
Las Vegas production
In the United States, Mamma Mia! played in Las VegasLas Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
, opening at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in February 2003 and closing on January 4, 2009. In June 2005, Mamma Mia! played its 1000th performance in Las Vegas, becoming the longest-running West End/Broadway musical in Las Vegas. The clothes and scenarios from this production are now used in Brazil.
Touring productions
Mamma Mia has a North American Tour, Spanish Tour, South African tour, Japanese tour, Korean tour and an International Tour. The US tour started in Providence, Rhode IslandProvidence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
in 2002, and has since played more than 120 cities as of its 6th anniversary in 2008.BWW News Desk. " 'Mamma Mia!' US Tour Hits 2500th Show Tonight" broadwayworld.com, February 27, 2008 The 10th anniversary Australian Tour has just finished its run in Brisbane. There was also an Australasian Tour from 2001–2005, and a Dutch tour in 2009 - 2010. The International Tour has visited Dublin, Edinburgh, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Estonia, Lisbon, Brussels, Paris, Cologne, Oberhausen, Munich, Erfurt, Vienna, Liepzig, Frankfurt, Zurich, Berlin, Vienna, Belfast, Edinburgh, Pretoria, Manchester, Doha, Dubai, Copenhagen, Riga, Helsinki, Tel Aviv, Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei, Budapest, Bratislava, Prague, Bristol, Vilnius, Horsens, Glasgow, Athens, Monte Carlo, Paris, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Turku, Helsinki, Istanbul, Malmo, Kuala Lumpur, Vienna, Milan, Geneva, Trieste, Florence, Aalborg, Forli, Lisbon, Bangkok, Christchurch, Auckland, Wellington, Taiwan, Newcastle, Baden Baden, Hanover, Munich, Nurnburg, Graz, Basel, Liverpool, Belgrade, Cork and Linkoping.
A South African tour is beginning at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town on 11 August 2010, and will be followed by 3 months at The Teatro at Montecasino in Johannesburg. The production stars an all local cast.
International productions
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
, Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, Flemish, Korean
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Portuguese Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
and Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
. In addition to the tours, the show has had (and in some cases, still has) permanent productions in London, Toronto, New York, Hamburg, Rome, Tokyo, Utrecht, Las Vegas, Seoul, Stuttgart, Madrid, Osaka, Daegu, Stockholm, Antwerp, Moscow, Seongnam, Gothenburg, Fukuoka, Berlin, Barcelona, Nagoya, Mexico, Milan, and Brazil. Lone van Roosendaal has played Donna in three different countries and in three different languages: English, Dutch (understudy) and German. Jackie Clune
Jackie Clune
Jackie Clune is a British entertainer, noted as a woman journalist, actress, voiceover artiste and radio/TV broadcaster. She performs cabaret, and is known for her one-woman shows and late Karen Carpenter tribute act...
plays Donna in the International Tour cast.
China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
is preparing its own rendition of the musical, set to debut at Shanghai Grand Theater on July 10, 2011.
Synopsis
Act I
On the Greek island of Calicos, Sophie, a 20-year-old young woman, is preparing to marry her fiancé, Sky. She wants her father to walk her down the aisle, ("Prologue: I Have A DreamI Have a Dream
"I Have a Dream" is a 17-minute public speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered on August 28, 1963, in which he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination...
") but doesn't know who he is. Sophie discovers her mother's old diary and finds entries which describe intimate dates with three men (Sam Carmichael, Bill Andersson, and Harry Bright) ("Honey, Honey
Honey, Honey
"Honey, Honey" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released as the second single from their second studio album, Waterloo, after the success of the title track winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.-History:...
"). Sophie believes that one of these men is her father and, three months prior to the wedding, sends each an invitation to her wedding writing in the name of her mother, Donna, without letting the unsuspecting latter know.
The day before the wedding, Donna begins receiving guests at her taverna
Taverna
Taverna refers to a small restaurant serving Greek cuisine, not to be confused with "tavern". The Greek word is ταβέρνα and is originally derived from the Latin word taberna...
. The first to arrive are her old best friends, Tanya, a rich woman who has been married and divorced three times, and Rosie, an unmarried, carefree woman. The trio used to be a girl group
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
called Donna and the Dynamos. The three women catch up and talk about how their lives have been ("Money, Money, Money
Money, Money, Money
"Money, Money, Money", originally "Gypsy Girl", is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song, like most ABBA songs, was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. It was released as a single on November 1, 1976, as the follow-up single to "Dancing Queen, both from the album Arrival...
").
Later that day, Sophie's three possible fathers arrive: Sam (an American architect), Harry (a British banker), and Bill (a Swedish writer and adventurer). Sophie convinces them not to tell Donna that she invited them ("Thank You for the Music
Thank You for the Music
"Thank You for the Music" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally featured on the group's fifth studio album ABBA: The Album and was released as a single on November 6, 1983, to promote the Epic Records compilation album Thank You for the Music: A Collection of Love Songs...
"). Donna is surprised to see her ex-lovers ("Mamma Mia
Mamma Mia (song)
"Mamma Mia" is a song from ABBA's 3rd album, ABBA, written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus & Stig Anderson, with the lead vocals shared by Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The song "Mamma Mia" is a common song used in bands or orchestras...
") and leaves in tears. Donna, crying, explains to Tanya and Rosie the situation, and they cheer her up ("Chiquitita
Chiquitita
"Chiquitita" was the first single release from Swedish pop group ABBA's Voulez-Vous album, their sixth for Polar, and their fifth for Epic and Atlantic...
"). Tanya and Rosie try to convince Donna that she can still be the girl that she once was ("Dancing Queen
Dancing Queen
"Dancing Queen" is a pop song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in August 1976, but was first performed two months earlier, on 18 June 1976, during a Royal Variety Show in Stockholm the evening before the Swedish royal wedding. It was the follow-up single to the hit "Fernando"...
").
Sophie had hoped that she would know her father the moment she saw him, but is now only confused. She tries to tell her fiancé, Sky, how she feels without confessing what she has done. Sky tells her that he will be the only man she ever needs ("Lay All Your Love on Me
Lay All Your Love on Me
"Lay All Your Love on Me", is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA in 1980 for their Super Trouper album. It was released only as a 12-inch single in 1981 in limited territories, rather than as a standard 7-inch record. At the time, it was the highest selling 12-inch record in UK chart...
").
At Sophie's hen night, Donna and the Dynamos don their old costumes and perform a song, "Super Trouper
Super Trouper (song)
-A-Teens version:"Super Trouper" was A-Teens' second single from their 1st album The ABBA Generation, a cover of ABBA's song. When the single came out in the fall of 1999, it became a hit around the globe, just as its predecessor "Mamma Mia", also an ABBA cover...
". Sam, Bill and Harry accidentally walk in on the party, but the guests persuade them to stay ("Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ", originally titled "Been and Gone and Done It", is one of Swedish pop group ABBA's biggest disco hits. It was recorded and released in 1979 with "The King Has Lost His Crown" as the B-side. It appears on ABBA's Greatest Hits Vol...
"). Sophie first pulls Sam out of the room to talk to him. After he asks why he is here, she is overcome with guilt, and goes to talk to Harry instead. But Harry asks if Sophie's father is at the party, and she tells him the whole truth. Lastly, she draws Bill aside to talk with him. She learns that Bill has an aunt Sophia who left all her money to Donna's family. Bill learns that Donna built the taverna with money she inherited from a friend she lived with when Sophie was a baby; that friend was Bill's aunt. They both think that this means he is her father.
Sophie asks Bill to walk her down the aisle, but Bill wants to discuss it first with Donna. This has been her secret after all. But no one knows yet that even Donna does not know who the father is, because she slept with the three men in such swift succession. Sophie insists that they must not tell Donna anything ("The Name of the Game
The Name of the Game
"The Name of the Game" is a 1977 song by Swedish pop group ABBA, and was released as the first single from the group's fifth studio album, The Album...
") and finally, Bill agrees.
Afterward, everybody crashes the hen party (including the boys from the stag party
Bachelor party
A bachelor party , also known as a stag party, stag night or stag do , a bull's party , or a buck's party or buck's night , is a party held for a man shortly before he enters marriage, to celebrate his "last night of freedom" or merely to spend...
). During the dance, Sam pulls Sophie aside and tells her that he has figured out why she invited him. He knows that he is her father, and promises to walk her down the aisle the next day. Then, Harry approaches Sophie, apologizing for being so slow on the uptake, and he is also convinced that she is his daughter and promises to walk her down the aisle. Sophie leaves the party, hopelessly confused; she doesn't want to turn any of them down ("Voulez-Vous
Voulez-Vous (song)
"Voulez-Vous" is a eurodisco track by Swedish pop group ABBA, written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus . Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad shared the lead vocals....
").
Act II
(Entr'acte) Sophie is having a nightmare, involving her three possible fathers all fighting for the right to walk her down the aisle and wakes up despairing ("Under AttackUnder Attack
"Under Attack" is the latest widely-released single by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally featured as a track on the 1982 compilation album The Singles: The First Ten Years, but was released as a single the following year in most countries. In the United Kingdom however, it was released on...
").
One of Us (ABBA song)
"One of Us" from 1981 was the first single from Swedish pop group ABBA's final studio album The Visitors, their eighth for Polar, and their seventh for Epic and Atlantic...
"). She hates Sam; at the end of their affair, she said she never wanted to see him again. But it seems that Sam was the man Donna cared about the most, and both of them wish they could go back to the start ("SOS
SOS (ABBA song)
Agnetha Fältskog's version was the second single from her fifth Swedish solo-album Elva kvinnor i ett hus . It was the only song from this album not to have been composed by Fältskog herself....
"').
At the beach, Harry asks Tanya what the father of the bride ought to be doing for Sophie's wedding. Tanya explains that for her part, her father gave her his advice and then paid. Pepper, one of the guys who works at Donna's taverna, makes advances to Tanya, but she rebuffs him ("Does Your Mother Know
Does Your Mother Know
"Does Your Mother Know", originally "I Can Do It", is the name of a song recorded in 1979 by Swedish pop group ABBA and was the second single to be released from their album Voulez-Vous. The B-side was "Kisses of Fire", also taken from the album.-History:...
").
Sky finds out what Sophie has done in inviting Sam, Harry and Bill to the wedding. He accuses her of wanting a big white wedding only so that she can find out who her father is. He is very hurt that she kept this plan a secret from him. He storms off just as Sam walks in. Sam tries to give Sophie some fatherly advice by describing his failed marriage ("Knowing Me, Knowing You
Knowing Me, Knowing You
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" is a hit single recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson, with the lead vocal sung by Anni-Frid Lyngstad. During recording sessions, it had the working titles of "Ring It In" and "Number 1, Number 1"...
"), but Sophie is not consoled.
Harry offers to Donna to pay for the wedding, and they reminisce about their fling ("Our Last Summer
Our Last Summer
"Our Last Summer" is a song by ABBA from the group's seventh studio album, Super Trouper. It was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.Recording for this track began on 4 June 1980 in Polar Music Studios...
"). Sophie arrives and Donna helps her get dressed. She cannot believe her daughter is going to be a bride ("Slipping Through My Fingers
Slipping Through My Fingers
"Slipping Through My Fingers" is a song written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA from their 1981 album, The Visitors, with lead vocals by Agnetha Fältskog...
"). Donna admits that her own mother disowned her when she learned that she was pregnant. They reconcile and Sophie asks her mother if she will walk her down the aisle. Sam arrives and tries to speak to Donna again, but she does not want to see him, and asks him to leave. He refuses, and a bitter confrontation ensues. Donna tells Sam that he broke her heart, presumably when she found out he was engaged ("The Winner Takes It All
The Winner Takes It All
"The Winner Takes It All" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. Released as the first single from the group's Super Trouper album on July 21, 1980, it is a ballad in the key of F-sharp major, reflecting the end of a romance...
"). It emerges that the two still love each other dearly, albeit against Donna's better judgment.
Rosie is making final preparations in the taverna when Bill arrives. He's upset because he has received a note that Donna will be walking Sophie down the aisle. Bill reaffirms his commitment to the single life, but Rosie has become attracted to him, and urges him to reconsider ("Take a Chance on Me
Take a Chance on Me
"Take a Chance on Me" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in 1978 as the second single from their fifth studio album, simply called The Album. The song has been featured on a number of ABBA compilations such as ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits.-History:The working title of "Take a...
"). They are about to have sex in the taverna, but the guests arrive, leaving Rosie quite stunned.
The wedding begins, with Donna walking Sophie down the aisle. Before the priest has a chance to begin the ceremonies, Donna acknowledges to everyone that Sophie's father is present. Sophie tells her mother that she knows about her father. Donna realizes that Sophie invited them to the wedding for that very reason. The issue of Sophie's parentage is left unsettled, as none of them have any idea whether they are actually her father. Everyone involved agrees that it does not matter which one of them her biological parent is, as Sophie loves all three and they are all happy to be "one-third of a father" and a part of her life at last. Finally, Harry, who has made frequent references to his "other half" throughout the show, is revealed to be in a committed gay relationship with a man named Laurence (Nigel or George in some productions, Peter in the Russian version, José Francisco in the Mexican version and Adamastor Costa e Silva in the Brazilian Production).
Suddenly, Sophie calls a halt to the proceedings. She is not ready to get married and Sky agrees with Sophie about not getting married. Sam seizes his chance and proposes to Donna in order to prevent the wedding preparations from going to waste. He explains that he loved her, even when he left to get married. It is revealed that he called off the wedding with his fiancée and came back to the island, only to be told that Donna was going out with another man (Bill). He went back, married his fiancée and had children but he got divorced. Surprisingly, Donna accepts, ("I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do
"I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" was a hit single for Swedish pop group ABBA, and was their next major worldwide hit after Waterloo. It was the second single to be released from their ABBA album, and one of the last songs to be recorded for the album...
"). In the end, Sam and Donna are married, and at the end of the night, Sophie and Sky depart on a round-the-world tour ("I Have A Dream
I Have a Dream
"I Have a Dream" is a 17-minute public speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered on August 28, 1963, in which he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination...
") .
Finale and bonus
After the usual performers' bows to the audience, the cast performs the following songs together: "Dancing QueenDancing Queen
"Dancing Queen" is a pop song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in August 1976, but was first performed two months earlier, on 18 June 1976, during a Royal Variety Show in Stockholm the evening before the Swedish royal wedding. It was the follow-up single to the hit "Fernando"...
", "Mamma Mia
Mamma Mia (song)
"Mamma Mia" is a song from ABBA's 3rd album, ABBA, written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus & Stig Anderson, with the lead vocals shared by Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The song "Mamma Mia" is a common song used in bands or orchestras...
", and "Waterloo", featuring Donna, Tanya, Rosie, Sam, Bill, and Harry in ABBA-inspired costumes.
Musical numbers
Act I- Overture - Orchestra
- "Prologue: I Have A Dream" - Sophie
- "Honey, HoneyHoney, Honey"Honey, Honey" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released as the second single from their second studio album, Waterloo, after the success of the title track winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.-History:...
" - Sophie, Ali, and Lisa - "Money, Money, MoneyMoney, Money, Money"Money, Money, Money", originally "Gypsy Girl", is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song, like most ABBA songs, was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. It was released as a single on November 1, 1976, as the follow-up single to "Dancing Queen, both from the album Arrival...
" - Donna, Tanya, Rosie, Sky, Sophie and Company - "Thank You for the MusicThank You for the Music"Thank You for the Music" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally featured on the group's fifth studio album ABBA: The Album and was released as a single on November 6, 1983, to promote the Epic Records compilation album Thank You for the Music: A Collection of Love Songs...
" - Sophie, Sam, Harry, and Bill - "Mamma MiaMamma Mia (song)"Mamma Mia" is a song from ABBA's 3rd album, ABBA, written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus & Stig Anderson, with the lead vocals shared by Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The song "Mamma Mia" is a common song used in bands or orchestras...
" - Donna and Company - "ChiquititaChiquitita"Chiquitita" was the first single release from Swedish pop group ABBA's Voulez-Vous album, their sixth for Polar, and their fifth for Epic and Atlantic...
" - Tanya, Rosie, and Donna - "Dancing QueenDancing Queen"Dancing Queen" is a pop song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in August 1976, but was first performed two months earlier, on 18 June 1976, during a Royal Variety Show in Stockholm the evening before the Swedish royal wedding. It was the follow-up single to the hit "Fernando"...
" - Tanya, Rosie, and Donna - "Lay All Your Love on MeLay All Your Love on Me"Lay All Your Love on Me", is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA in 1980 for their Super Trouper album. It was released only as a 12-inch single in 1981 in limited territories, rather than as a standard 7-inch record. At the time, it was the highest selling 12-inch record in UK chart...
" - Sky, Sophie, and Company - "Super TrouperSuper Trouper (song)-A-Teens version:"Super Trouper" was A-Teens' second single from their 1st album The ABBA Generation, a cover of ABBA's song. When the single came out in the fall of 1999, it became a hit around the globe, just as its predecessor "Mamma Mia", also an ABBA cover...
" - Donna & the Dynamos - "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ", originally titled "Been and Gone and Done It", is one of Swedish pop group ABBA's biggest disco hits. It was recorded and released in 1979 with "The King Has Lost His Crown" as the B-side. It appears on ABBA's Greatest Hits Vol...
" - Sophie, Ali, Lisa, and Company - "The Name of the GameThe Name of the Game"The Name of the Game" is a 1977 song by Swedish pop group ABBA, and was released as the first single from the group's fifth studio album, The Album...
" - Sophie and Bill - "Voulez-VousVoulez-Vous-CD re-issues, bonus tracks:Voulez-Vous was remastered and reissued in 1997 with two bonus tracks:"Summer Night City" – 3:34 "Lovelight" – 3:18Voulez-Vous was remastered and reissued in 2001 with three other bonus tracks:...
" - Company
Act II
- Entr'acte - Company
- "Under AttackUnder Attack"Under Attack" is the latest widely-released single by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally featured as a track on the 1982 compilation album The Singles: The First Ten Years, but was released as a single the following year in most countries. In the United Kingdom however, it was released on...
" - Sophie and Company - "One of UsOne of Us (ABBA song)"One of Us" from 1981 was the first single from Swedish pop group ABBA's final studio album The Visitors, their eighth for Polar, and their seventh for Epic and Atlantic...
" - Donna - "S.O.SSOS (ABBA song)Agnetha Fältskog's version was the second single from her fifth Swedish solo-album Elva kvinnor i ett hus . It was the only song from this album not to have been composed by Fältskog herself....
" - Donna and Sam - "Does Your Mother KnowDoes Your Mother Know"Does Your Mother Know", originally "I Can Do It", is the name of a song recorded in 1979 by Swedish pop group ABBA and was the second single to be released from their album Voulez-Vous. The B-side was "Kisses of Fire", also taken from the album.-History:...
" - Tanya, Pepper and Company - "Knowing Me, Knowing YouKnowing Me, Knowing You"Knowing Me, Knowing You" is a hit single recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson, with the lead vocal sung by Anni-Frid Lyngstad. During recording sessions, it had the working titles of "Ring It In" and "Number 1, Number 1"...
" - Sam - "Our Last SummerOur Last Summer"Our Last Summer" is a song by ABBA from the group's seventh studio album, Super Trouper. It was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.Recording for this track began on 4 June 1980 in Polar Music Studios...
" - Harry and Donna - "Slipping Through My FingersSlipping Through My Fingers"Slipping Through My Fingers" is a song written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA from their 1981 album, The Visitors, with lead vocals by Agnetha Fältskog...
" - Donna and Sophie - "The Winner Takes It AllThe Winner Takes It All"The Winner Takes It All" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. Released as the first single from the group's Super Trouper album on July 21, 1980, it is a ballad in the key of F-sharp major, reflecting the end of a romance...
" - Donna - "Take a Chance on MeTake a Chance on Me"Take a Chance on Me" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in 1978 as the second single from their fifth studio album, simply called The Album. The song has been featured on a number of ABBA compilations such as ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits.-History:The working title of "Take a...
" - Rosie and Bill - "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I DoI Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do"I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" was a hit single for Swedish pop group ABBA, and was their next major worldwide hit after Waterloo. It was the second single to be released from their ABBA album, and one of the last songs to be recorded for the album...
" - Sam, Donna and Company - "I Have A DreamI Have a Dream"I Have a Dream" is a 17-minute public speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered on August 28, 1963, in which he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination...
" - Sophie
Encore
- "Mamma MiaMamma Mia (song)"Mamma Mia" is a song from ABBA's 3rd album, ABBA, written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus & Stig Anderson, with the lead vocals shared by Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The song "Mamma Mia" is a common song used in bands or orchestras...
" - Company - "Dancing QueenDancing Queen"Dancing Queen" is a pop song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in August 1976, but was first performed two months earlier, on 18 June 1976, during a Royal Variety Show in Stockholm the evening before the Swedish royal wedding. It was the follow-up single to the hit "Fernando"...
" - Donna, Tanya, Rose and Company - "Waterloo" - Donna, Tanya, Rose and Company
Principal roles and cast
| Character | Original London Cast (1999) | Original Broadway Cast | Original German cast (2003–2004) | Original Dutch cast (2003-2006) | Original Madrid Cast (2004) | Original Flemish Cast (2006) | Current London Cast | Current Broadway Cast | Original Mexico City Cast (2009–2010) | Current Dutch Tour Cast (2010) | Original Oslo cast (2009) | Current Pakistan Cast (2009–2010) | Original South African Cast (2010–2011) | Current Brazilian Cast (2010–2011) | Current North America Tour Cast (2010) | Current French Cast (2010–2011) | Current Italian Cast (2010 - 2012) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donna | Siobhán McCarthy Siobhán McCarthy Siobhán Mary Ann McCarthy is a television and stage actress. She is married to theatrical sound designer Andrew Bruce, and resides in London with her husband and two children, Kieran and Juliet.... |
Louise Pitre Louise Pitre Louise Pitre is an actress in musical theatre on Broadway and in Canada. She is best known for her role as Donna Sheridan in the ABBA-themed musical Mamma Mia!, which earned her a 2002 Tony Award nomination.-Biography:... |
Caroline Fortenbacher | Simone Kleinsma Simone Kleinsma Simone Kleinsma is an award winning musical theatre actress in the Netherlands.-Personal life:On June 5, 1990, Simone married Guus Verstraete, a Dutch television director... |
Nina Nina (singer) Nina, is a Spanish musical actress and singer.She started in the 1980s with bands like "Costa Brava" or "Xavier Cugat"... |
Vera Mann | Sally Ann Triplet | Lisa Brescia Lisa Brescia Lisa Brescia, born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is an American musical theatre actress who has performed as lead and understudy in several Broadway shows. Raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lisa went on to pursue acting and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts... |
Rocío Banquells Rocío Banquells María del Rocío Banquells Nuñez , is a Mexican pop singer and actress, best known for her work on television, the stage and cinema of Mexico and Latin America. Her mezzo voice is one of the most versatile voices from Mexico... |
Lone Van Roosendaal | Heidi Gjermundsen Broch Heidi Gjermundsen Broch Heidi Gjermundsen Broch is a Norwegian actress, singer and musical artist.Gjermundsen went at Paul McCartney's famous Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts in 1995-1997... |
Kiran Chaudhry | Gina Shmukler | Kiara Sasso Kiara Sasso Kiara Sasso is a Brazilian actress and singer.Mainly working on stage, she played "Christine" in The Phantom of the Opera, "Belle" in Beauty and the Beast, Ellen in Miss Saigon and "Maria" in The Sound of Music.... |
Kaye Tuckerman | Sophie Delmas | Chiara Noschese |
| Rosie | Jenny Galloway Jenny Galloway Jenny Galloway is a British actress, and singer best known for her stage career.Theatre credits include:* Madame Thénardier - Les Misérables* Widow Corney - Oliver!... |
Judy Kaye Judy Kaye Judy Kaye is an American singer and actress. She has appeared in stage musicals, plays, and operas. Kaye has been in long runs on Broadway in the musicals The Phantom of the Opera, Ragtime and Mamma Mia!-Biography:... |
Jasna Ivir | Doris Baaten Doris Baaten Doris Baaten is a Dutch voice actor.Baaten performed various female voices on Sesamstraat, the Dutch co-production of Sesame Street. She also provided the voice for female roles, such as Countess Dahling Von Dahling and Deena, and was featured in musical numbers during the 1980s... |
Paula Sebastián | Lulu Aertgeerts | Joanna Monro Joanna Monro Joanna Monro is a British actress and former TV presenter who, in the 1980s, appeared on the BBC show That's Life! with Esther Rantzen.... |
Jennifer Perry | Anahí Allué | Mylène d’Anjou | Kjersti Elvik Kjersti Elvik Kjersti Elvik is a Norwegian actress, born in Bergen. She was educated at the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre, and started her career at Trøndelag Teater... |
Sanam Saeed | Ilse Klink | Andrezza Massei | Mary Callanan | Karen Gluck | Giada Lo Russo |
| Tanya | Louise Plowright Louise Plowright Louise Plowright is a British actress, who trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and first came to prominence playing abrasive hairdresser Julie Cooper in the television soap opera EastEnders from 1989 to 1990.... |
Karen Mason Karen Mason Karen Mason is an American theatre actress and singer.She was one of the featured cabaret vocalists at The Duplex Cabaret in the early 1980s. She has appeared at the Bay Area Cabaret, Empire Ballroom, San Francisco.... |
Kerstin Mäkelburg | Ellen Evers | Marta Valverde | Myriam Bronzwaar | Kim Ismay Kim Ismay -Theatre roles:*Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as Baroness*Mamma Mia as Tanya*Santa Claus The Musical as Ms Drift-Television roles:*EastEnders as Female Guard *The Bill as Barmaid *Bob Martin as Maxine... |
Judy McLane | María Fillipini | Anouk Van Nes | Arlene Wilkes | Zoe Viccaji | Kate Normington | Rachel Ripani | Alison Ewing | Marion Posta | Lisa Angiolillo |
| Sam Carmichael | Hilton McRae Hilton McRae Hilton McRae is a Scottish actor in the fields of theatre, television and film.-Career:McRae was part of the radical theatre group 7:84 before graduating from Edinburgh University, and by 1977 he had joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. His most mainstream American film was his role as Green... |
David W. Keeley | Frank Logemann | Hajo Bruins | Alberto Vázquez | Jan Schepens | William Tapley | John Hemphill John Hemphill (comedian) -Biography:Hemphill was born in Huntsville, Alabama and graduated from Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tennessee and University of Memphis. Following college Hemphill began his career at the Gaslight Dinner Theater in Memphis where he would accept freelance jobs as a singing telegram... |
Paco Morales | Bas Westerweel | Paul-Ottar Haga | Omair Rana | Anrich Herbst | Saulo Vasconcelos | John Sanders | Jerome Pradon | Michele Carfora |
| Bill Austin | Nicolas Colicos | Ken Marks | Ulrich Wiggers | Filip Bolluyt | Bruno Squarcia | Marc Coessens | Mark Gillis | Patrick Boll | Damian López | Rutger Le Poole | Nils Christian Fossdal | Osman Mumtaz | Murray Todd | Carlos Arruza | John-Michael Zuerlein | Patrick Mazet | Roberto Andrioli |
| Harry Bright | Paul Clarkson | Dean Nolen | Cusch Jung | Jon van Eerd | Nando González | Mark Tijsmans | Oliver Senton | David Beach | Beto Torres | Ad Knippels | Heine Totland | Akbar Merchant | Neels Clasen | Cleto Baccic | Paul DeBoy | Francis Boulogne | Gipeto |
| Sophie | Lisa Stokke Lisa Stokke Lisa Stokke is a Norwegian singer and actress. She has appeared most notably in the original West End-staging of the musical Mamma Mia!, later in Guys and Dolls and in the UK television series Jonathan Creek.-Acting career:... |
Tina Maddigan | Peggy Pollow | Céline Purcell | Mariona Castillo | Sasha Rosen | Dani De Waal | Liana Hunt | Gloria Aura | Elise Berends | Mari Lerberg Fossum | Zahshanne Z. Malik | Carmen Pretorius | Pati Amoroso | Chloe Tucker | Gaelle Gauthier | Elisa Lombardi |
| Sky | Andrew Langtree | Joe Machota | Jörg Neubauer | Oren Schrijver | Leandro Rivera | Davy Gilles | Craig Fletcher | Jordan Dean | Carlos Rivera Carlos Rivera Carlos Rivera Guerra, or better known as Carlos Rivera , is a Mexican singer who rose to fame by becoming the winner of the third generation of La Academia.-Biography:... |
John Vooijs | Espen Grjotheim Espen Grjotheim Espen Grjotheim is a Norwegian singer and actor who studied at the Bårdar Akademiet .Grjotheim plays Sky in Mamma Mia! at the Folketeateret, which premiered on 19 March 2009.... |
Shehzad Noor Butt | David Stephen Jubber | Thiago Machado | Happy Mahaney | Dan Menasche | Giuseppe Verzicco |
Film adaptation
Mamma Mia! was adapted as a filmMamma Mia! (film)
Mamma Mia! is a 2008 musical/romantic comedy film adapted from the 1999 West End/2001 Broadway musical of the same name, based on the songs of successful pop group ABBA, with additional music composed by ABBA member Benny Andersson...
, produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman, written by Catherine Johnson directed by Phyllida Lloyd and with Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
, Rita Wilson
Rita Wilson
-Early life:Wilson was born Margarita Ibrahimoff in Los Angeles, California.Her father, a Bulgarian who worked at a racetrack, was born in Greece. Before immigrating to the US, he had lived in Bulgaria and Turkey....
, Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
, and Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
as executive producers. Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
stars as Donna Sheridan and Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Michelle Seyfried is an American actress, singer-songwriter and former child model. She began her career as a child model when she was 11, and at 15 began her career as an actress, starting off with uncredited roles and moving on to recurring roles on As the World Turns and All My...
as Sophie and Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
as Sam Carmichael. The movie also features Christine Baranski
Christine Baranski
Christine Jane Baranski is an American stage and screen actress, and is perhaps best known for her Emmy Award winning portrayal as "Maryanne Thorpe" in the sitcom Cybill, and her Emmy nominated portrayal of "Diane Lockhart" in The Good Wife...
, Dominic Cooper
Dominic Cooper
Dominic Edward Cooper is an English actor. He has worked in TV, film, theatre and radio, in productions including Mamma Mia!, The Duchess, The History Boys, and The Devil's Double.- Early life :...
, Colin Firth
Colin Firth
SirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...
, Stellan Skarsgård
Stellan Skarsgård
Stellan John Skarsgård is a Swedish actor, known internationally for his film roles in Angels & Demons, Breaking the Waves, The Hunt for Red October, Ronin, Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist,...
and Julie Walters
Julie Walters
Julie Walters, CBE is an English actress and novelist. She came to international prominence in 1983 for Educating Rita, performing in the title role opposite Michael Caine. It was a role she had created on the West End stage and it won her BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Actress...
. It premiered July 18, 2008 in the US. Most of the songs remained intact with the exceptions of "Under Attack", "One of Us", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", and "Thank You for the Music". "Knowing Me, Knowing You" was used as the wedding music and "Thank You for the Music" is sung during the second half of the end credits. The first half is occupied with a "Dancing Queen" reprise and "Waterloo". "When All Is Said and Done", a song not used in the musical, was added for the film sung by Sam, Donna, and the company. "Our Last Summer" was used earlier in the movie, with Sophie, Bill, Sam, and Harry singing it. "The Name of the Game" while filmed, was subsequently edited out of the film for the final cut. The song is included in full on the motion picture soundtrack - an abbreviated version of the song and scene appear on the DVD/bluray as a supplement.
Original London production
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best New Musical | ||
| Best Actress in a Musical | Siobhan McCarthy Siobhán McCarthy Siobhán Mary Ann McCarthy is a television and stage actress. She is married to theatrical sound designer Andrew Bruce, and resides in London with her husband and two children, Kieran and Juliet.... |
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| Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical | Jenny Galloway Jenny Galloway Jenny Galloway is a British actress, and singer best known for her stage career.Theatre credits include:* Madame Thénardier - Les Misérables* Widow Corney - Oliver!... |
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| Louise Plowright Louise Plowright Louise Plowright is a British actress, who trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and first came to prominence playing abrasive hairdresser Julie Cooper in the television soap opera EastEnders from 1989 to 1990.... |
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Original Broadway production
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Drama Desk Award Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category... |
Outstanding Actress in a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since... |
Louise Pitre Louise Pitre Louise Pitre is an actress in musical theatre on Broadway and in Canada. She is best known for her role as Donna Sheridan in the ABBA-themed musical Mamma Mia!, which earned her a 2002 Tony Award nomination.-Biography:... |
|
| Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical was first awarded in the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has subsequently been awarded every year. In the 1993-1994 Drama Desk Awards the award was given under the name of Outstanding Supporting Actress - Musical... |
Judy Kaye Judy Kaye Judy Kaye is an American singer and actress. She has appeared in stage musicals, plays, and operas. Kaye has been in long runs on Broadway in the musicals The Phantom of the Opera, Ragtime and Mamma Mia!-Biography:... |
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| Karen Mason Karen Mason Karen Mason is an American theatre actress and singer.She was one of the featured cabaret vocalists at The Duplex Cabaret in the early 1980s. She has appeared at the Bay Area Cabaret, Empire Ballroom, San Francisco.... |
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| Tony Award Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway... |
Best Musical Tony Award for Best Musical This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Musical, first awarded in 1949. This award is presented to the producers of the musical.-1940s:* 1949: Kiss Me, Kate – Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Samuel and Bella Spewack... |
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| Best Book of a Musical Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to librettists of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligible... |
Catherine Johnson Catherine Johnson Catherine Johnson is a British playwright, producing works for stage and television. She is best known for her script for the musical Mamma Mia! and screenplay for the film of the same name, which became the highest grossing UK film of all time and the biggest selling UK DVD of all time in January... |
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| Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical | Louise Pitre Louise Pitre Louise Pitre is an actress in musical theatre on Broadway and in Canada. She is best known for her role as Donna Sheridan in the ABBA-themed musical Mamma Mia!, which earned her a 2002 Tony Award nomination.-Biography:... |
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| Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical This is a list of the winners and nominations of the Tony Award for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical. The award, introduced in 1950, was previously named as Best Performance by a Featured or Supporting Actress in a Musical until 1976.... |
Judy Kaye Judy Kaye Judy Kaye is an American singer and actress. She has appeared in stage musicals, plays, and operas. Kaye has been in long runs on Broadway in the musicals The Phantom of the Opera, Ragtime and Mamma Mia!-Biography:... |
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| Best Orchestrations Tony Award for Best Orchestrations -1990s:1997*Jonathan Tunick – Titanic**Michael Gibson - Steel Pier**Luther Henderson - Play On!**Don Sebesky and Harold Wheeler - The Life1998*William David Brohn – Ragtime**Robert Elhai, David Metzger and Bruce Fowler - The Lion King... |
Benny Andersson Benny Andersson Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!... , Björn Ulvaeus Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!... and Martin Koch Martin Koch (orchestrator) Martin Koch is a British music supervisor, orchestrator, conductor, and composer who won the 2009 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations and was a co-winner of the 2009 Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for Billy Elliot the Musical, sharing the honor with Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt of... |
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Response
Box office and businessOn any given day, there are at least seven performances of Mamma Mia! being performed around the globe. On May 15, 2005, Mamma Mia! surpassed the original Broadway runs of The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
, The King and I
The King and I
The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
, and Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League...
with 1,500 performances. On September 14, 2011, it surpassed Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
to become the 10th longest-running Broadway musical of all time with 4,098 performances.
When Mamma Mia! opened in Russia, it received a very positive response. As of January 2008 "Mamma Mia!" became the longest daily running show in the history of Russian theatre.