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‘Mamma Mia’ national tour comes to Cincinnati.
“Mamma Mia,” a musical based on the songs of ABBA, 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, July 14-19; Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut, Cincinnati. $27-75. 1-800-982-2787; www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com/Cincinnati
“Mamma Mia!,” the hit musical based on the songs of ABBA, was one of the first “jukebox musicals,” and remains one of the most popular, having been seen by over 40 million people around the world.
“I’ve been a fan for a very long time,” said Liverpool-born Rachel Tyler, who plays Tanya in the current national tour. “I had a lot of friends in the original cast in 1999. I even auditioned for it.”
The original West End production has played more than 4,000 performances, an international tour has played in more than 40 foreign cities. The Broadway version has been playing for seven years. And the blockbuster feature film adaptation, produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman, is the most successful movie musical of all time grossing $600 million worldwide.
An independent, single mother who owns a small hotel on an idyllic Greek island, Donna is about to let go of Sophie, the spirited daughter she’s raised alone. For Sophie’s wedding, Donna has invited her two lifelong best girlfriends — practical and no-nonsense Rosie and wealthy, multi-divorcee Tanya — from her one-time backing band, Donna and the Dynamos. But Sophie has secretly invited three guests of her own.
On a quest to find the identity of her father to walk her down the aisle, she brings back three men from Donna’s past to the Mediterranean paradise they visited 20 years earlier. Over 24 chaotic, magical hours, new love will bloom and old romances will be rekindled on this lush island full of possibilities.
“It’s a very tongue-in-cheek piece that doesn’t take itself too seriously,” Tyler said. “There are a lot of ‘out of left field’ moments, but there are also characters that everyone can relate to across the board.”
But the real reason for the show’s popularity, she said, is the rich harmonies of ABBA’s songs, made even more powerful by a production technique that the audience never sees: There are vocal booths backstage so that everyone in the cast, even when they are off-stage, can contribute as a large choir.
“It’s very intense and very daunting,” Tyler said. “The integrity of the show is very important and there’s no slacking.”
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