Student Blog: Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, Again?

I am a huge Mamma Mia fan and I cannot get enough of it. When the movie version premiered, starring the incomparable Meryl Streep as Donna, the world went wild. Having her singing and dancing while living her best life on a Greek island was all we ever needed. And then, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again came out, to less positive reviews. While I loved the addition of Cher, I do understand why people didn't feel the same way about the sequel as they did the first movie. It was a good time and let us sit back and enjoy, but did we need it? And now, there is a third movie in the works. I understand that Mamma Mia is now a franchise that makes a ton of money, but I feel like by constantly creating new movies, the spirit of it is being ruined. The first movie was about love, family, and just having a good time. By constantly adding layers to this story to make it feel deeper, it takes away the free-spiritedness of the original story. Musicals have a shelf-life and I think Mamma Mia has already hit theirs.

All musicals have a shelf life, whether they take action on it or not. For example, Cats was a huge hit for so long and then it died out. It was just the end for that show. While it did have another movie made and a few revivals, the original lifespan of the show had come to a natural end. The reputation of Cats changed dramatically with their 2019 movie and I fear that this is what is happening to Mamma Mia also. Would I love to see Cher and Meryl Streep sing ABBA songs for hours? Yes. But, I don't represent everyone and I think the general population is getting tired of Mamma Mia.

While I understand that money is incredibly important for producers and everyone working on these projects, it is beginning to feel in-genuine. Bringing the show back onto stage is a different idea, and something that I think would work. There are plenty of people who would love to see Mamma Mia on the Broadway stage again because it is not an in-genuine continuation of the story, but a re-telling of a classic story that we all know and love. I think that with updated costumes, sets, and lighting the show could take on a whole new look. By trying to squeeze the life out of Mamma Mia fanatics, the people behind these projects are also squeezing the life out of the show. Personally, I did feel like the second movie strayed away from what the first movie was trying to say, with Donna dying and Cher coming into the picture. The simple, lovely story about family and love was turned into something totally different. Also, I'm not sure how many songs ABBA has left for them to use.

All in all, I love Mamma Mia and I love seeing theater being brought to the big screen. But maybe, we should give new musicals or less popular musicals a seat at the table instead of trying to force something viewers don't want down their throats.