Review: Honey, Honey! MAMMA MIA! Is Sticky Sweetness Wrapped Around Abba's Tunes

It's kitschy. It's super-sweet. It's a fluffy sitcom planted around Abba's earworm from the 1970s. If that's your thing, then spray some glitter in your hair and boogie into the Hobby Center because the farewell tour of MAMMA MIA! is wrapping things up in a spandex bow.

MAMMA MIA! is one of the five longest running shows on Broadway, but then again, so was CATS. Some audiences like their musicals sans depth, and there's nothing wrong with that, unless you're one of those people who likes your art a little more complicated and emotionally reverberant.

This cotton candy musical has it's strengths; the infamous tunes by the 1970's Swedish band Abba are joyful and fun with obvious nostalgic impact for the audience I was with on Friday night. But the book by Catherine Johnson lacks cohesion and wit. There's silly humor and then there's witty humor; MAMMA MIA! marinates in the former variety. My hat is off to Johnson, though; how in the world do you link up songs like "Dancing Queen", "Money, Money, Money" and "Super Trouper"? You're meant to turn a blind eye to the clunky song placement and just revel in the music by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. It's not too hard to do; Abba made sure their audiences had fun and the cast of MAMMA MIA! seems to relish the music, too.

The show opens with our ingénue, Sophie, who is all of twenty and engaged. She's always wondered who her father is and her impending nuptials make that query even more desperate. For some reason her mother, Donna, has never told her anything about her father and wants to keep all romantic history in the closet. Plucky Sophie takes matters into her own hands and sends letters to the three possible men, inviting them to her wedding. The idyllic Greek island setting soon becomes jammed with Sophie's social circle, old friends/former band compadres from Donna's youth and (ta-da!) the three possible sperm suppliers. It quickly becomes a game of "who's your daddy?" and we wonder- is it Bill, the affable travel writer, Sam, the sexy architect who left Donna mad as hell, or Harry, the spiffy British financier?

Directed by Phyllida Lloyd, the cast is enthusiastic with their material and the song list unravels with good fun and an infectious beat. Betsy Padamonsky is very likable as Donna, a sort of spunky, independent woman with a lot of love for her daughter. Cashelle Butler gives an energetic if cartoonish performance as Tanya, the thrice-married, high maintenance buddy from days gone by. Sarah Smith plays Rosie with comedic flair and required silliness. Lizzie Marks gives Sophie a sweet, yearning quality. The prospective dads do a solid job of fleshing out their characters; Marc Cornes (Bill) is so kind-hearted and unassuming that you find yourself hoping he's the father. Cornes has a very pleasant speaking voice and a sweet stage chemistry with Marks. Andrew Tebo (Harry) projects the quintessential Englishman, and Shai Yammanee has a sensual quality and warmth that make it easy to understand how Donna fell for him. Dustin Harris Smith plays Sophie's athletic husband-to-be with plenty of magnetism and sexual chemistry. Austin Michael is hunky as flirtatious Pepper, nailing his funny lines, and Max Ehrlich does a fine job of playing laid-back Eddie, just one of the guys.

MAMMA MIA! boasts a high production value, with dynamic lighting design by Howard Harrison and deceptively simple but beautiful production design by Mark Thompson. Anthony Van Laast's choreography is fun to watch and perfectly suited to the show.

This is a limited engagement show at The Hobby Center, with performances from October 6 through October 9th. If you like kooky characters, silly scenarios, and Abba's music, grab yourself a ticket!

For tickets:http://www.thehobbycenter.org

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

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