MAMMA MIA! REVIEW
Mamma Mia! – the West End's feel good success story
The term smash hit doesn't really do justice to the success of Mamma Mia! in the West End.
When Mamma Mia! opened in 1999, nobody could have predicted just how popular the ABBA-themed musical would prove with London theatre audiences. It is still running at the Prince of Wales Theatre, despite more than five million people having seen the production in London alone.
Its popularity has spread from London and more than 40 million people around the world have now seen the musical version of Mamma Mia! It also spawned a movie spin-off, which became one of the biggest box office hits of all time..
So what is it about Mamma Mia! that makes it so popular?
The easy answer is the songs. ABBA made some of the most memorable records of their era, with songs such as Dancing Queen, Waterloo and Knowing Me, Knowing You having a timeless quality that has attracted generations of new fans since the Swedish band split in 1982.
However, to suggest that the success of Mamma Mia! is down to the songs alone would be doing a great disservice to the team behind the musical.
Catherine Johnson has written a wonderful storyline based around the songs, which manages to be both funny and moving. Set on a Greek island, it tells the tale of a young woman, Sophie, trying to find the father she has never met before she gets married.
Mamma Mia! audiences are treated to Sophie's attempts to work out which of her mother's three former lovers could be her father, as well as watching the hen night and experiencing many plot twists along the way. All of the action is, of course, interspersed with songs from ABBA's lengthy catalogue of hits.
The music and the storyline combine to create a genuine feel good musical, which regularly has the audience singing along and dancing in the aisles.
If you want to see if Mamma Mia! is better than the movie and a match for ABBA's albums, why not book some theatre tickets and join in the fun?