About the show
I watched Mamma Mia the Musical. It is all based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Anderson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. The musical includes hit songs such as ’Super Trouper’, ’Lay All Your Love On Me’, ’Dancing Queen’, ’Money Money Money’, ’Voulez-Vouz’, ’Mamma Mia’, and more. Currently, in 2020, the show has productions in London’s West End, in which it is the seventh longest-running show in West End history.
The storyline
The musical is set on a Greek Island and it tells the story of Sophie, a bride-to-be. For her wedding, she only wants her unknown father to walk her down the aisle. She boldly invites three of her mother's previous lovers in the hope that she will find out who her father is, has a great wedding and lives happily ever after, but she doesn't realise how that could make or break her special day.
Light
* The lighting is used really effectively to reflect the mood of the scene, for example, in the song ’Thank You For the Music’, a very natural is projected onto the stage. This shows the simplicity of the song.
* Disco lights for songs such as ’Voulez-Vouz’, and ’Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!’, shows the party fun mood in the musical.
Music
* The musical performances we're all entertaining and so fun to watch.
* All the performers had extremely strong and clear voices and the mood was portrayed accurately onstage according to the song.
Dance
* The dances were all very enjoyable to watch.
* It included a small amount of disco dance and jazz.
* Most of the dances reflected excitement and passion from the leaping movements and small stunts, such as somersaults.
The backdrop
* The backdrop is a two-piece stage prop structured as a building which is used as a cafe, bedroom, outside area, post box and more throughout the show.
* Behind the 3D prop was a 2D backdrop which was either painted or printed onto the wall. The scene was a house with white stairs coming down and the sea in the background.
What could be improved?
During the show, there were some incidents in which the performers were slightly organised onstage and their positioning was a bit odd. Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed the performance.
What I enjoyed
What I liked about the show was how each character was portrayed in a very prominent way, regardless of whether the role was major or minor. Each character had an impact on the show and all the acting, dancing and singing together was very powerful and strong.
Why I would recommend the show
I would recommend this musical because of its great interesting storyline and the stunning performance in the Novello Theatre. I would recommend it for 12 years and above since there are a couple of scenes unsuitable for smaller children. Overall Mamma Mia the Musical is a great musical.
Hi Megha. This sounds like a brilliant production! Your review highlights some really interesting features. Could you see or hear the live band that was playing? I wonder if you have seen the film version of this show whether you felt it was similar or better/worse and why?