Review: MAMMA MIA! at Folketeatret – The Ultimate Feel-Good Show Still Shines!

MAMMA MIA! is the ultimate feel-good-show! it's best to leave your cynicism at the door, forget your worries for an hour or two, and just have a great time. If you're an ABBA fan, that is. If you are not then there is little I can write to persuade you and it's better to read no further...

Also, if you are looking for a deeper meaning in this material then you're not going to find it. Because it was never indented to be that sort of musical. It is evident that the intent of creators Judy Cramer, Catherine Johnson and Phyllida Lloyd was simply to make a jukebox musical based songs by ABBA, have the songs function in a somewhat dramatic setting without making it into something pretentious. Many people have made that mistake before and since.

While the concept of jukebox musicals is a heavily discussed topic among musical theatre enthusiasts, it is rather pointless to compare it to the more "serious" form of musical theatre, because that is not a fair assessment.

I saw MAMMA MIA! for the first time in the West End in 1999 and have always liked it a lot. Both because I love ABBA's music, but also because I found Johnson's entreating script more clever than what may be evident at first glance. Instead of shoehorning a plot to fit the songs she did it the other way around. She found a common denominator in the songs she eventually picked (mostly involving love and relationships) and understood that the best way to present this material was in the shape of a good old fashioned farce involving a girl named Sophie, getting married and, wanting to find her father, inviting all three men she finds in her mother's diary, unbeknown to Mom. All three show up, as do the two female backup singers who, long ago, performed in Donna's trio. Enough of plot summary, and on to more relevant matters.

The West-End production has run for over twenty years, has changed venues twice, each time scaling down the production to do so. While the production in Oslo is (close to) carbon copy of the original it is actually visually bigger than its current London incarnation. And while some may argue that having the show be totally the same, with little to no room for adjustments, there is a danger of everything ending up seeming stale and forced. However this definitely not the case, and the performers made everything seem fresh and "in the moment" and that is impressive considering how these mega productions are made.

The one that definitively made the biggest impression, and was the glue of the show was. Karoline Krüger as Donna. Not only is she a great singer, but she acts the hell out of the part. Her rendition of "The Winner Takes It All" was mind blowing, and the high belting finale was perfect. She got to show that she has great comedic timing, and it feels like she is having a great time on stage with her castmates. Her daughter Sophie, played be Ulrikke Brandstorp was the typical ingenue and to great effect. Her voice is wonderful, and when it come to the acting she has taken many leaps forward since her debut in "The Sound of Music", and has much more to play with.

The energy between Tanya (Siren Jørgensen), Rosie (Siw Anita Andersen) and Donna was electric. When these ladies came together, they lit up the stage. They portrayed a real sense of life-long friendship which was a pleasure to watch.

Likewise the three potential fathers Sam (Kåre Condradi), Harry (Thomas Numme) and Bill (Ingar Helge Gimle) had great chemistry on stage. As this was Thomas Numme's debut in a musical, I think this was a well suited part for him, and he conveyed "awkward dork" adorably. Ingar Helge Gimle had great comedic timing, while Kåre Conradi had undoubtedly the part with most layers to to it, and therefor made the biggest impression overall.

The super strong ensemble did the most out of Anthony Van Laast's rather safe, but effective choreography. I especially love the quirky dancing shown by the male ensemble in "Lay All Your Love On Me". Great fun! A special mention must go to Martin Lilleberg as Pepper. Those high kicks were amazing!

Ingrid Bjørnov's translations of the songs are amazing. It's a daunting task to translate songs that most audience members know the lyrics to by heart, and make them work so well in Norwegian. The book has a new translation by Atle Halstensen and it also worked like a charm, with many of the puns intact. Thankfully he did not take the same route as the previous translation which tried to "Norwegianize" the text.

Musically, the orchestra has a couple of musicians less than it did when it opened in London way back when. But it's hardly noticeable at all since the music is heavily reliant on Keyboards already. They were super precise thanks to Bendik Eide's direction. Orchestrator Martin Koch has captured the essence of ABBA's music really well (He has actually also orchestrated "Which Witch" in London).

Mark Thompson's set for Mamma Mia is rather simple consisting of two large set pieces that function as most of the musicals locales. The set has just as many doors and openings that a true farce demands. The costumes are really the crown jewel of the production with enough glitter and platform shoes to satisfy any show queen.

After such a long hiatus with next to no performing arts, this was just the right "Welcome back to the theatre" we needed. Mamma Mia defies scrutiny. There is a reason it has run all over the world for more than twenty years. Join the fun!

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