Mamma Mia! (subtitle: Here I go again...)

I just can't get enough of Mamma Mia! It's true, I love it. And most people who have met me—even for just a second, can attest to that fact. I've seen this show 15 times now: 14 in English, once in French; 8 times in Toronto, three times on Broadway, once in Buffalo, Baltimore, DC, and finally in Paris. For me, it is the kind of show that never fails to disappoint. It is very self-aware, knows what it wants to accomplish, and does that exactly. It is not brilliant; it is not impressive; the choreography is simplistic; the music isn't exactly Mozart (but who doesn't love a good ABBA song?); as far as I know, there are rarely big name actors; the movie version was embarrassing; the set is minimal; the storyline is absurd and predictable; need I go on? Then why do I see it so often? What keeps bringing me back? And what will bring me back to Berlin later this year when it opens in a German translation in October (though, Eileen is busy that night, she informed me, so I guess I'll be going alone...)?

Ben Brantley, the New York Times musical reviewer, said it best: Mamma Mia is like a Hostess Cup. The Hostess Cup of musicals. It is synthetic, bad for you, but still tastes so good. The simple choreography just makes you want to get up and dance with the actors; the popular music makes you want to sing along. Mamma Mia doesn't need to be brilliant to make you love it. In fact, it is proof that Broadway does not necessarily need to be a multi-million dollar industry to do what it is intended to do: entertain. Two moving walls can be an entire set, and any moderately talented singer can distract you from your normal life for a few hours. On tour or a permanent production, you can enjoy it from any seat in the house without worry of obstructed views or sound impediments (it's quite loud). Overall, it never gets dull...and I should know!

A few months ago, I was lucky enough to see this delightful piece of theater a fifteenth time, courtesy of Alan and Ritchie, my heroes in Broadway-viewing! They put me in touch with their friend Stacia who is an actress in the show, and after the performance (where I was sitting front and center of the balcony, by the way!), I actually went into the stage door rather than waiting outside! Stacia showed me the stage, the wings, where the actors do their quick changes, where they sing the background music (never prerecorded!), etc. We took a selfie on the stage, she got a picture of me posing in front of the set, and we chatted for a bit about other Broadway shows I had seen recently. In all my years seeing Broadway shows, I had never done something like this before, which just goes to show: every performance—even of something as simple as Mamma Mia—is unique.

How the audience looks from the stage. Dead center, Balcony second row—that's where I sat!

Stacia Fernandez and me!

The wings, from the stage

Pretending to be Donna

With the actual Donna!