Review: MAMA MIA at Overture Center

From the opening overture to the curtain call, Mama Mia is a fun and entertaining romp. Upbeat and rollercoaster-esque, the show takes you through a myriad of situations and emotions as Sophie attempts to discover her father, while her mother, Donna, fights off old feeling for a love thought long dead, all while dealing with the stress of hosting a wedding.

Slowly the different triads are introduced. First, we meet Sophie (Alisa Melendez) and her friends Ali (Haley Wright) and Lisa (L’Oreal Roache). Next, we meet Donna (Christine Sherrill) and her friends, “The Dynamos”, with vivacious Tanya (Jalynn Steele) and lovable goofball Rosie (Carly Sakolove). Then, the groom-in-waiting, Sky (Grant Reynolds) arrives with his entourage, Pepper (Patrick Park) and Eddie (Louis Griffin). Finally, the three potential fathers to Sophie all land on the small Greek island, having been invited by Sophie, under the guise of being Donna, to her wedding. Affected London banker Harry Bright (Rob Marnell), adventure traveler Bill Austin (Jim Newman), and divorced architect Sam Carmichael (Victor Wallace) add to the fun.

Sophie’s opening song, “I have a Dream” hits with emotion and clarity, as she reels in the audience with her presence. We are hooked. While Sophie has reeled in the audience, it’s Donna who lands us with “Money Money” giving a dazzling performance with the rest of the company.

The show is exactly what you expect it to be, fun and almost kitschy. The flipper parade was a scream. While the show was created from the movie, both appear to be crafted by an Abba fan around their favorite songs. Some of the songs just don’t really work for the situation (e.g. “The Name of the Game” sung by Sophie to Sam when trying to figure out which of the three is her father) and some feel contrived having parts of the show written around the song. (e.g. “I do I do I do” sung by the Cast as a marriage proposal takes place, but I won’t go into further detail in case there is one person in the world who doesn’t know how the show ends). While many of the characters are mere caricatures (Tanya, Rosie, Upper, Eddie, Harry, and Bill) they are all played as real as possible.

The breakout performance of the evening was Carley Sakolove. When Rosie sings in “Chiquitita” I heard audible gasps in the audience when she began to sing. I don’t know what everyone was expecting (it is a touring Broadway show after all) but they were all surprised and entranced by her voice. To be honest, it was an incredible voice and I, for one, couldn’t wait until her shining moment singing “Take a Chance”. It was well worth the wait but even felt like the director held her back some.

This was a great night; the show was very entertaining, and the curtain call got everyone on their feet dancing. So, dance your way to the Overture Center and get your tickets while you still can.

Madison, Wis. (Dec. 13, 2023) — Overture Center for the Arts announces that single tickets for the upcoming engagement of MAMMA MIA! in Madison will go on sale Friday, Dec. 15 at 11 a.m. at overture.org. The limited engagement of eight performances will run Tuesday, March 19 through Sunday, March 24.

 

MAMMA MIA! will play Tuesday through Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Beginning Friday, Dec. 15, tickets will be available at Overture’s Box Office and online at overture.org. To charge tickets, call 608-258-4141 (Monday-Saturday, 11-6, Sunday 12-6). Orders for groups of 10 or more may be placed by emailing groups@overture.org.

 

About MAMMA MIA!

Since premiering in London in 1999 and on Broadway in 2001, the irresistible musical has captured the hearts of millions around the globe. The sunny, funny tale of a mother, a daughter and three possible dads on a Greek island paradise, all unfolding to the storytelling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs, has now been seen live on stage by 65 million people across the world and turned into two record-breaking movies – MAMMA MIA! The Movie and MAMMA MIA! Here We Go Again.

 

To date, MAMMA MIA! has been seen in 50 productions in 16 different languages grossing more than $4 billion at the box office.   

MAMMA MIA! opened on Broadway in 2001 where it played for a record-breaking 14 years, first at the Winter Garden Theatre, then at the Broadhurst Theatre.  The show also toured North America from 2000-2017 with four different touring companies spanning this period. 

Also produced by Craymer, MAMMA MIA! The Movie became the highest grossing live action musical film of all time upon its release in 2008. A second film, MAMMA MIA! Here We Go Again, opened in July 2018 and is the most successful live musical movie sequel of all time. The films starred a host of stars including Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper, Lily James and Cher

With music and lyrics by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus, MAMMA MIA! is written by Catherine Johnson, directed by Phyllida Lloyd and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast. The production is designed by Mark Thompson, with lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Andrew Bruce & Bobby Aitken, and musical supervision, additional material and arrangements by Martin Koch.

The North American tour is booked by The Booking Group with casting by Tara Rubin Casting.

 

MAMMA MIA! is produced by Judy Craymer, Richard East & Björn Ulvaeus for Littlestar in association with Universal. Amy Jacobs of Bespoke Theatricals is the Executive Producer in association with Work Light Productions.

 

The special edition cast recording of MAMMA MIA! is available on Decca Broadway.

 

For information about MAMMA MIA! visit www.mammamiathetour.com.

 

Follow on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook @MammaMiaTheTour.

 

OVERTURE CENTER FOR THE ARTS in Madison, Wis., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization that features seven state-of-the-art performance spaces and four galleries where national and international touring artists, nine resident companies and hundreds of local artists engage people in nearly 700,000 educational and artistic experiences each year. With the vision to “create extraordinary experiences through the arts,” Overture’s mission is to support and elevate our community’s creative culture, economy and quality of life through the arts. overture.org

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