Theater review: Mamma Mia!

by Richard Goulde of John Garcia's The Column

What a fun show! Not without its flaws, but screw those: It just feels good!

Mamma Mia! (now playing at the Music Hall at Fair Park) is a musical based on the songs of ABBA, a pop cultural phenomenon in the 1970s that spawned numerous hits and best-selling albums. In fact, their music – bursting with theatrical story-telling – lends itself well to a musical stage production.

The show spins a yarn about a single mother and daughter living on a beautiful Greek island. The daughter is getting married, and she discovers that there are three men who could possibly be her father. Posing as her mom, she invites the three to her wedding in the hopes of identifying her real dad. Musical romantic entanglements ensue.

Music

The story definitely exists to serve the music, not the other way around. Writer Catherine Johnson was instructed to write a romantic comedy that preserved the lyrics of existing ABBA songs. According to producer Judy Craymer, ABBA's work falls into two different generations: youthful, playful music like "Dancing Queen" and more mature, emotive pieces like "The Winner Takes It All." This observation inspired a multi-generational love story.

Some of the songs fit the scenes very well, almost as if the song had been written for the story. But mostly they're shoehorned in with varying degrees of success, ranging from "okay, I see how that song makes sense here" to "okay, random it is."

But the story isn't the point, is it? It's just a pleasant diversion offering plenty of laughs and excuse for the songs. Indeed, Mamma Mia! is all about ABBA's upbeat, catchy music.

Truth be told, though, I think the story is surprisingly clever considering it was crafted around pre-existing music. A handful of unexpected turns at the conclusion help strengthen the pleasing tale.

Unfortunately, I was surprised that the cast didn't boast any particularly strong singers. While I enjoyed all the performances, none stood out. In fact, some of the singing was outright weak. True, the volume of the music did tend to drown them out, but still, I frequently found it difficult even to understand their words.

And several performers, notably Michelle Dawson as mother Donna Sheridan, would belt out a lusty rendition of some song, like "Dancing Queen," only to inexplicably retreat into a much smaller voice for the next piece or the rest of the song. It's one thing to modulate your voice for the theme or emotion of a song; it's another thing entirely to hold your voice back.

Let's say there are three elements to the music in this show: the ability of the singers, the talent of the musicians and the power of the songs themselves. The show gets full marks for the latter two items (although you have to like or at least tolerate ABBA's music to agree on the last point), but it's just passable on the first. The cast seemed like they were enjoying themselves, which always makes a big difference, but it felt like there was some kind of vocal wall they needed to punch through, and none did.

Production

It's a well put-together show, especially considering the space and cast constraints imposed on stage productions.

The set is relatively minimalistic, with just two major set pieces that rotate to create a surprising number of environments, such as hotel bar, two hotel exteriors, a hotel room, and the beach. I was impressed with both the efficient use of the set and the nimble set changes performed by the cast and ensemble.

It's too bad that the stage production can't reveal the gorgeous landscapes of the Greek island paradise, but Production Designer Mark Thompson does a great job in crafting a bright, light, vivid environment. Rippling patterns in the background and light displays also conjure the image of wind and water. The visual environment emphasizes the same energy as the music itself. It's a great example of a gestalt effect in theater, where disparate elements work together to become more than they are apart.

One example in particular: phenomenal use of light and color. Consider one scene from the first act, where Donna unexpectedly encounters her three former beaus in the hotel bar. The lighting shifts from bright blues to a deep red. The three men freeze. Donna launches into the titular song, "Mamma Mia." She dances frantically around the set while the men stand frozen; she handles a portable drill both for comic effect and as part of the choreography to enact her mental state.

As a scene, it does an amazing job of allowing the audience inside Donna's head; we experience her sudden, powerful, conflicting emotions first-hand through this multimodal approach. The singing, dancing, set, and choreography all come together to craft a moving, funny, powerful scene.

So kudos are also due to choreographer Anthony Van Laast. It's not just the pure dance routines that are well-executed ... but on that note, how could I ever complain about a dance scene that involves half a dozen half-naked men, as at the end of the first act, or the otherworldly dream-dance sequence at the beginning of the second act that costumes everyone in glow-in-the-dark swimwear? The latter offered one of the weakest songs in the show, but the staging was visually arresting.

The physical comedy is also well done. Rachel Tyler (Tanya) and Kittra Wynn Coomer (Rosie) deserve special mention for this. The duo execute some of the best comedy in an already light and funny story, and a lot of the humor comes simply from their physical movements. I also admire the production for casting a diverse group with several "real people-sized" bodies.

A feel-good musical

So what does it come down to? When you look at it critically, it's kind of a cheesy story strung together with musical numbers that are sometimes so barely appropriate to the scene they feel random.

But otherwise: it's just fun. This is just one of those shows you go to and have a toe-tapping, head-bobbing, lip-syncing good time. There are surprisingly few of those kinds of musicals.