REVIEW: Gary Young's Australian Interpretation Of MAMMA MIA! Receives A Revival With Fresh New Cast

Saturday 27th May 2023, 7:30pm, Lyric Theatre

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In 2017 Gary Young (Director) delivered a reimagined production of MAMMA MIA!.  In 2023, this production has been revived with a new cast and a more compelling expression of the underlying coming of age love stories to the delight of audiences, many of which are familiar with the franchise that extended from Phylida Lloyd’s original stage production that premiered on the West End in 1999 and transitioned to film in 2008.

For those that are unfamiliar with the work, MAMMA MIA! centers on Donna Sheridan (Elise McCann), a single mother and taverna and guest house owner who has worked to make ae for herself and her daughter 20-year-old Sophie on the Greek island of Kalokairi.  While Donna is frantically trying to prepare for Sophie’s wedding to Sky (Lewis Francis), she is confronted with her past and her realization that she never really got over the ‘one that got away’ 21 years ago.  As expected wedding guests are arriving, including Sophies best friends Lisa (Kadesa Honeyhill) and Ali (Nina Carmen), and Donna’s best friends Tanya (Deone Zanotto) and Rosie (Bianca Bruce), three men from Donna’s past also suspiciously arrive.  While Sophie wants to know her full history, seeking to discover which of the men cited in her mother’s journal may be her father, Donna has been suppressing the memories and telling herself that she doesn’t need a man though her reunions with British banker Harry (Drew Livingston) and Australia travel writer Bill (Tim Wright) are much more welcoming than her reception of Architect Sam (Martin Crewes).  Self-analysis the opportunity to ask long held questions takes place for both mother and daughter, supported by their respective posses, over the 24 hours between everyone landing on the island and the wedding ceremony. 

As with Young’s 2017 creation, this production also shifts Donna’s backstory to being of Australian though Sam’s story has been shifted to being an English Architect with Scottish heritage in comparison to Lloyd’s original being American and the 2018 version having him as Australian.  Oddly this version has Donna’s daughter Sophie (Sarah Krndija) as having an even broader Australian accent than her mother, making the impending bride sound like she’s stepped out of MURIEL’S WEDDING’s Porpoise Spit, making some of the musical numbers slightly jarring as the songs were not written for Australian pronunciations so the flow of the words are altered. 

Revisiting this work, the majority of the creative elements are relatively consistent with Gary Young’s 2017 vision though it feels like there have been minor tweeks to present the work 5 years later.  Suzy Strout’s subtle costuming changes have updated the work to reflect contemporary trends without necessarily shifting the timeline from its 1990’s setting.  Elements like having all but Sophie dancing in sandshoes and sneakers at the hens party reflects the contemporary 20’something’s shift from heels to more comfortable footwear and having the gatecrashing Buck’s party arriving fully clothed feels more aware of the modern shift in not just showing bare flesh for the sake of it without a corresponding purpose for the plot. Drawing on memory of the previous Capitol Theatre season, its unclear whether the feeling that Gavan Swift’s lighting design has changed is due to the different venue capabilities or there have been actual updates.  The wash of red light as Donna pours out her emotions on seeing the men, particularly Sam, feels much more powerful in reinforcing her anger, pain and lust as everything else on-stage freezes.  The sound tech for this production does however need some fine tuning particularly when performers move into the field of another’s body-microphone and the balance of the hidden band and off-stage chorus sometimes masks the onstage performers. 

The most significant change for this production is naturally the casting with a whole new company assembled for the 2023 production.  For this work there have been some casting decision shifts that have in turn shifted the power of the narrative.  Previous works have had Sophie be shorter than than both the possible fathers and Sky while Tanya has been taller than Pepper, the bartender that falls head over heels in love/lust with her.  For this work, Sarah Krndija’s height shifts the balance between Sophie and the men in her life as its further reinforced that she’s not a character that needs protection or care, she just simply wants to have a better understanding of her origins.  While other in other incarnations, the performer’s height is used as part of Tanya’s physical rebuff, Deone Zanotto’s smaller stature actually reinforces how formidable Tanya’s personality is.   

Leading the work as Donna, Elise McCann is perfectly cast.  McCann understands the importance of ensuring that the weight of the words are conveyed in the context of the plot, not just recreating a pop tune.  She has an ability to balance the expression of emotions with an overtness while ensuring that Donna retains a realistic expression, held back from turning into a caricature.  She understands that pain, disappointment and anger can be expressed vocally without resorting to straining or over exaggeration but rather lets the weight of the words land squarely particularly in the emotion loaded One Of Us. 

As the man that broke Donna’s heart, Martin Crewes is everything that Sam should be.  He gives Sam a subtle accent linking him to his origin story of an Architect with Scottish origins while he ensures that Sam is seen as both responsible and successful while having an undertone of passion and hope tinged with the sadness and regret that he’s lived 21 years without the real love of his life.  Crewes has a natural intuitive expression with brilliant subtext conveyed through subtle physical reactions and facial expressions.  Whilst previous performers have presented Sam as somewhat staid and stiff, Crewes understands that Sam desperately wants Donna to understand his side of the story but he also knows they both need to come to terms with the hurt, regret and lost years.  For Knowing Me, Knowing You his ability to connect to the lyrics of a song shines as he ensures the song tells the story and his part in S.O.S. is honest and earnest while having wistful moments in the textured expression of the stoic man that had thought he had done the right thing when he couldn’t find her when he returned 21 years ago.

As Donna’s friends Tanya and Rosie, Deone Zanotto and Bianca Bruce are brilliant comic performers and Zanotto’s firey Does Your Mother Know with Jordan Tomljenovic as Sky’s friend Pepper is worthy of the extended applause.  Bruce’s Rosie is refreshingly down to earth and her interactions with Tim Wright as fellow writer Bill are brilliant in their physical comedy.  Nina Carmen Kadesha Honeyhill are subtle in their expressions of Ali and Lisa while still conveying that they are 20’something excited co-conspirators.  As former ‘rebel’ Harry, Drew Livingston is endearing as the former love that reflects on a life that he’ll never have in a light and wistful “Our Last Summer”. 

This revival of Gary Young’s 2017 production of MAMMA MIA!, with the addition of a few tweeks, remains an easy and light piece of escapist theatre, perfect for anyone that wants a break from the real world for a few hours.  An enjoyable juke-box musical with a light fun storyline that has become somewhat of a classic as the franchise has been expanded beyond the stage to two movies. Even if you saw the 2017 production, see this one and enjoy the wonderful new cast and updated interpretations that have the story land even better than before.

https://mammamiathemusical.com.au/

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