Review: MAMMA MIA! Wins Me Over at Last — Dr. Phillips Center
Entrancing choreography, endless ear worms, and an outstanding Equity cast make this two-week tour stop one to see.
“I don’t really like Mamma Mia!” I must have said it a hundred times before, always muttered hesitantly to someone who does, reluctant to yuck their yum.
Granted, I only knew the all-ABBA jukebox musical from the 2008 movie version, which I first saw as the lone 20-something in an all-grandmas matinee, singular in my inability to sing along to every word.
“Maybe I’d like it better if I saw it on stage,” I’d always offer in conciliation, doubting it to be true.
But now I have, and I did. Mamma Mia! just kicked off its two-week tour stop at Orlando’s Dr. Phillips Center, and though I may have gone in with something of an “SOS,” I walked out a tune-humming ABBAite, grateful to have finally found my way into the club.
Silly stories like this work better on stage, where the particulars of the real world aren’t around to underscore implausibility. It’s quite a setup: 20-year-old bride-to-be Sophie has never known a father, but by the time the prologue is over, she has already swiped her mom’s diary, identified three old flames as the could-be dad, invited each of them to a remote Greek island for her upcoming wedding, and concocted an elaborate rouse to keep all of this from her betrothed, her mother, the men, and her mom’s two best friends. The objective: lay eyes on each potential pop for a “vibes check” in hopes of finally IDing her dad.
The show’s structure includes a pairing of trios — Donna and her besties, a hilariously triangulated take on the Hecate Sisters trope, and the less compelling triad of dads. Much of the comic intrigue stems from how they inevitably align, which I’m pleased to report isn’t quite what we suspect.
Some of the movie’s missteps are here, to be sure. While many of the hit ABBA songs fit the shoehorn narrative surprisingly well — aided in part by liberal lyrical changes — some don’t, and it stings. (In the aforementioned “SOS,” for instance, one character sings to another, “When you’re gone, how can I even try to go on?” in spite of not having seen or spoken to her in twenty years.)
And the ending makes that terrible mistake common among so many musical comedies: betraying the stakes established over the last two hours with a shrugged-off “who cares!?”
But it’s easy to forgive Mamma Mia’s mea culpas, particularly in the hands of an Equity touring cast who quickly render Pierce Brosnan’s singing voice a distant memory.
Christine Sherrill and Amy Weaver have credible chemistry as momma Donna and daughter Sophie, not only in terms of their complementary powerhouse vocals but also their characters’ well-calibrated bohemianism. Mighty-voiced too are Carly Sakolove and Jalynn Steele as Donna’s best friends Rosie and Tanya, whose comic relief is less a lampoon here than in the film and more believable too, even if silly.
Victor Wallace’s turn as Donna’s suitor Sam is sufficiently grounded to keep Jim Newman’s goofy Bill Austin from feeling too over-the top. On opening night, Tony Clements stood in for the third father character, fitting in flawlessly but coming up ever so short vocally in the midst of a stacked cast of singers. Another understudy, Collin J. Bradley, fit the role of Sophie’s betrothed, Sky, like a sized-right wedding band.
The tour’s costumes span an impressive array of outfit changes, which naturally include more than a few sequined bell bottoms. Sadly, those only serve to underscore the uninspired set design — a basic Greek taverna set in front of a barely-used projection screen. Fortunately, there’s a different feast for the eyes in the form of choreography, offering endlessly entrancing dance moves worthy of a cast that twice sing “Dancing Queen.” Sound design, meanwhile, is difficult to assess: the show sounded great (the rare Dr. Phillips show to sidestep hiccups on opening night) but was at times almost painfully loud, the Act II opener causing hundreds to jump from their seats, myself included.
ABBA are responsible for dozens of the most delicious disco bops to top the charts this side of Sweden, so it goes without saying that Mamma Mia! rocks a killer song list, and the touring cast effectivley translate them to showtune style. The producers have offered audiences a very easy way to enjoy themselves for three hours, so get tickets while you can — word's out, and they're going fast.
Photo Credit: (L to R) Lena Owens (Lisa), Amy Weaver (Sophie Sheridan), and Haley Wright (Ali). Photo by Joan Marcus.
