REVIEW: Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again…

The press kit that comes with Mamma Mia, now in its second visit to the Hippodrome in Baltimore, offers a staggering amount of statistics about the worldwide appeal of the show.With nine permanent productions and two tours on Earth, $8M in ticket sales a week and a global gross hovering around $1.6B, there can be no doubt that Mamma Mia has struck a chord with the people of this planet.But is it great drama?No.Is it entertaining?You will have the time of your life.

Much has been made of this "jukebox musical" and all of the attempts to replicate its success.Why is it so darned popular?Well, the ABBA score has much going for it - ABBA is still the top-selling recording act of all time.The story is light, funny and romantic - a nice rest from the real world of terror plots, kidnappings and famine.It is universal and ageless (the sweetest elderly couple who sat next to me held hands, clapped and actually screamed at the curtain call!)But it also knows just what it is - a fun, entertaining trifle that pokes a little fun at itself - and it never tries to be more.THAT is really why this one works and most of the others don't.Like the ads say: 1 Bride.3 Possible Dads.And a walk down the aisle you'll never forget.It is that simple.

So there is no point weighing in on the plot and Mamma Mia's place in the Broadway Musical canon.This one is critic-proof (and this critic loves it).Now to the more important assessment: how is this touring company?First of all, I'll try to resist the urge to compare it to the previous company that was here.Mostly, lightning has indeed struck twice.

In some ways, the cast that opened last night offers definitive performances.Each one of the three possible dads makes the most of his role.All three are charming, smart and sexy in their own way, making it easy to see why Donna (the bride's mother) could have fallen for each of them.Previous casts that I have seen have left me wondering what she ever saw in at least one of them.Ian Simpson as Harry Bright is charming and quick with the wit the part requires.He also does a fine job with "Our Last Summer", his act two duet with Donna.Milo Shandel, who was with the tour the first time, as Bill Austin, is terrific as the "awesome Aussie" a fun combination of manly-man and befuddled softie.He is quite good in serious moments, like when he is blind-sided with the question of paternity, and he has terror-for-laughs shtick down to a science as he is chased about a chapel by a would-be love.The real find among the fathers, though, is Sean Allan Krill as Sam, the third would-be dad.His performance is amazingly deep - he spins gold out of the cotton candy of the script, giving his character and the whole evening a nice layer of real emotional content.The look on his face when offering advice to the bride to be ("Knowing Me, Knowing You") is achingly real.As I said, a definitive performance.

Laurie Wells, as Donna Sheridan, also does definitive work here.Last time the show was here, she went on a few times as Donna's understudy.Well, she has really made the part her own, and it fits her like a glove.She shows us a woman who is strong, but not without weakness, cocooning herself in her mortgage, fixing up her taverna, and pretty much avoiding her past.As the plot thickens and Donna's cocoon unravels, we see it all, fear, anger, betrayal, and most importantly the beauty and zest for life that made her such a catch as a younger woman.Wells' performance is complex - a study guide for portraying mixed emotions simultaneously - and deeply emotional.The act two sequence that has her character onstage for three song sequences without a break would be daunting for the most experienced diva, and she is more than up to the task.The "real" Donna comes out in the aforementioned "Our Last Summer", the heartache of a mother losing a daughter to marriage is palpable - I'll admit to a lump in my throat - during "Slipping Through My Fingers", and the fierce anger and heartbreak of a lost love comes shining through in her thrilling "The Winner Takes It All."She nailed that song so well Tuesday night, I'm surprised the audience didn't leap to its feet.Laurie Wells' Donna Sheridan is not to be missed.

In the supporting roles of Sophie and Sky, the bride and groom, Carrie Manolakos and Corey Greenan do fine work with what they are given to do.Both are adorably in love throughout, and each brings a wonderful mix of innocence and smoldering sexuality to the proceedings - "Lay All Your Love on Me" is steaming hot.Ms. Manolakos is particularly poignant in "Slipping Through My Fingers" and just overall adds dimension to a relatively simple character.Same for Mr. Greenan, whose Clark Kent/Superman looks and impossibly deep dimples work their magic on Sophie and the audience alike.In the smaller, but important roles of Sophie's friends, Ali and Lisa, Tiffani Barbour and Karla L. Beard are sweet and funny.The youthful ensemble is also quite gifted.Their energetic dancing and powerful backing vocals lift the show to new heights, ("Voulez-Vous" and "Under Attack" are particularly good) and when they get to the now-famous finale, they really unleash what they have and pretty much blow the roof off the Hippodrome.(I should note that only the very stodgiest of critics didn't stand to join in the fun of the finale, to which I say, lighten up!We aren't covering the U.N.!)

Unfortunately, not all is fine in the islands.Sky's two friends, Eddie and Pepper (Chauncey Jenkins and Robert Pendilla), barely register as a presence, and Pendilla is a surprisingly dull, sloppy dancer in his big moment during "Does Your Mother Know?"Of course, he wasn't given all that much to play against, with Lisa Mandel as Tanya giving an off-key, flat rendition of the song.She wasn't even close to the notes.Add to that a lack of comic timing and virtually no chemistry with Donna or her other best friend, Rosie (Laura Ware), and her performance is best described as lacking in every way.Ms. Ware also seemed to be a little off timing wise during her key act one scene, just prior to the show-stopping "Dancing Queen".To be completely fair to both actresses, just when they were starting this fun scene, a cell phone went off no less than three times, ringing at least five times each round!Such a loud disturbance would have made the most focused actor lose his edge.Ms. Ware was much improved, and a delight in act two, particularly during the riotous "Take a Chance on Me."

Still, this Mamma Mia manages to live up to its own hype.Dancing Queens rejoice!You really will have the time of your life!

PHOTOS:  All photos of the Mamma Mia! 2006 National Tour by Joan Marcus.  Main Page Photo: (L) Corey Greenan and Carrie Manolakos.  Article Top Photo (L to R): Milo Shandel, Sean Allan Krill and Iam Simpson.  Article Bottom Photo (Center) Laurie Wells and Company ("Money, Money, Money").

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