Mamma Mia! at the Granada

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“Mamma mia, here I go again, my, my …” How can you resist? The all-time greatest ABBA tribute is coming to the Granada. The wonderful show about “A mother. A daughter. And three possible dads” will be here from March 31 until April 5, and it will get you up and dancing as if the ’70s were only yesterday. The world’s most popular jukebox musical, Mamma Mia! comes loaded with Greek sunshine, sparkly costumes, ridiculously moody women, and, of course, that sweet “Honey, Honey.”

ABBA was the “it” group of the 1970s. The Swedish pop music group included two iconic couples: Anni-Frid Lyngstad with Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog with Björn Ulvaeus. Then, in 1999, with the backing of West End producer Judy Craymer, British playwright Catherine Johnson used ABBA’s hit songs as the foundation for the Mamma Mia! storybook. For her inspiration, Johnson drew on two different generations of ABBA fans. She noticed that many of the earlier ABBA songs were about teenage attraction, whereas their later tracks mostly reflected a more mature kind of love. As a result, Johnson divided the musical’s story into two generational tales of a mother, a daughter, and the various men in their respective lives.

Donna Sheridan and her daughter Sophie are on a beautiful Greek island. Sophie is 20 years old and ready to marry her beau, Sky. She wants the ideal wedding—with a white dress, colorful bridesmaids, a bouquet to throw, and of course her dad walking her down the isle. But there’s a bit of a problem about that last item, because Sophie doesn’t know who her dad is. In order to realize her dream, she decides to invite three possible prospects—the three men her mother “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!”-ed after midnight 20 years ago. Of course Sophie doesn’t tell her mother about this little scheme, and it really doesn’t help to have the Dynamos (her mother’s two best friends) on her case. It’s a whirlwind of “Chiquititas” and “Voulez-vous” and “I Do-s” all in about two hours. There’s no doubt about it—even if you are a too-cool teenager or too-mature husband, you’ll be belting out the ABBA songs or dancing along with Donna, Sophie, and the Dynamos by the end of this show.

Actress Rachel Tyler, who will be playing one of the Dynamos, told me that “if you liked the movie, you will love the show!” It’s quite inevitable with so much love going on between mother and daughter, daughter and beau, mother and long-lost lover(s), and so on. Really, you’ll have just one look and forget everything …

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Mamma Mia! plays at the Granada Theatre (1214 State St.) from Tuesday, March 31-Sunday, April 5. For tickets and times, visit granadasb.org or call 899-2222.

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