Often I'm not a fan of newer musicals and find that, much like newer ballets, they're not a patch on the oldies. But, I really like Abba songs and when I discovered the Mamma Mia tour was coming to town, I quickly bought tickets.
There are lots of unusual things about Mamma Mia. One is that ... Read review
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Advantages: Brilliant, hilarious, touching show with great Abba tunes Disadvantages: None
Often I'm not a fan of newer musicals and find that, much like newer ballets, they're not a patch on the oldies. But, I really like Abba songs and when I discovered the Mamma Mia tour was coming to town, I quickly bought tickets.
There are lots of unusual things about Mamma Mia. One is that the music wasn't written for the show, and has existed in its own right for many years. All the Abba classics from Dancing Queen to Super Trouper ... ...In total there are 22 songs, most of which are mainstream Abba (there were only 2 that I was unfamiliar with) and there was only one song I could think of that wasn't featured (Waterloo…would have been hard to work into the story), so you do feel you're getting good Abba value for your money. What I found intriguing was how apparently-unrelated songs meshed so well, and lyrics I thought I'd understood previously now took on a whole new, incredible, ... more
Often I'm not a fan of newer musicals and find that, much like newer ballets, they're not a patch on the oldies. But, I really like Abba songs and when I discovered the Mamma Mia tour was coming to town, I quickly bought tickets.
There are lots of unusual things about Mamma Mia. One is that the music wasn't written for the show, and has existed in its own right for many years. All the Abba classics from Dancing Queen to Super Trouper and of course the title song, Mamma Mia, are featured. In total there are 22 songs, most of which are mainstream Abba (there were only 2 that I was unfamiliar with) and there was only one song I could think of that wasn't featured (Waterloo…would have been hard to work into the story), so you do feel you're getting good Abba value for your money. What I found intriguing was how apparently-unrelated songs meshed so well, and lyrics I thought I'd understood previously now took on a whole new, incredible, hilarious meaning. So often songs in musicals only have a little to say, and that comes in the first few lines (I'm thinking in particular of one I really like, Footloose's 'Let's hear it for the boy) but with the Abba tunes here a part of the story could move on loads in just one number.
Another unusual thing about the show is where it takes place: musicals often have unusual settings, but this did feel especially original. Set on a Greek island, most of the action takes place either inside or just outside a taverna owned by the main characters. It's sweet, simple and basic - a white washed building with some plain furniture - but it does a great job of selling the lifestyle in that part of the world to you, and really made me want to book a flight pronto.
The characters in the story all seem to be genuinely nice people, who also seem real, either through their indiscretions (it's a great moment when Sophie realises her mother bedded 3 men in 3 days some 20 years ago, and that one of them must surely be her father), their flirtations (as Aunt Tanya teases the young waiters the audience chuckles along) or their ogling (there's quite a bit of fantastic gratuitous semi-nudity in the show, almost all male). There is no evil or mean character in the show, and many of the clichés such as a player cheating on their partner and then begging for forgiveness are nowhere to be seen which is refreshing. The story is quite a simple one: having discovered her never-met father can be one of only 3 men, Sophie invites all of them to her wedding in an attempt to establish which one has her as their daughter. Yes, there is some creative license (how would she be able to track down these men, 20 years later in a whole other country? Why would they all drop everything to fly out to Greece to meet a woman they have not heard of for 2 decades?) but it all seems plausible at the time, and it's only later you start to question things.
Laughter is a big part of the show, but the comedic lines in the script are just the half of it - it's the body language and facial expressions that really make the scenes. The touring production has some amazing character actors playing the parts of Donna, Tanya, Rosie and the three 'dads', and it's a nice change to see a mix of body shapes and sizes on stage rather than lots of bony girls and skinny-legged guys. The groom, Sky, is tanned, ribbed and downright hot, and when he lost his clothes at one point the audience went wild.
The experience of watching the show is an interesting one. Normally I'm used to restrained enjoyment: people smiling, watching enthralled, clapping at the end. The exception is things like those sing-a-long shows where the audience dress up, get into it and, well, sing-a-long. This is not a sing-a-long show but the songs are well known, and it's not just one or two of the numbers that the audience know well. As a result the audience, at least when we went, were highly animated. From the very beginning there were whole rows clapping along (it's a take-a-group-with-you kinda show), and for some songs my fellow theatre goers were singing along. By the finale whole hoards of people were standing up, dancing, and I had serious fears about the stability of the upper circle as the floor was literally bouncing. It's not a sit-quietly-and-enjoy sort of show, but it was one that was clearly being enjoyed by everyone there.
I saw Mamma Mia last week and am already considering booking next time it comes to town as it was such a nice, enjoyable, funny show to see, and kept me engaged the whole time. Knowing what happens doesn't even detract from that, and it's just like when you re-read a good book - you want to see if, knowing how it all ends, you can see it coming. It's a show with wide appeal - it's a nice family show (with a few rude references but not more than, say, Shrek), it's full of great Abba tunes, and it's an enjoyable, well-acted musical that regular theatre goers can enjoy too. Definitely recommended.
Advantages: too many to mention Disadvantages: expensive tickets
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS AT THE PRINCE OF WALES THEATRE AND NOT PRINCE EDWARD THEATRE AS STATED BY CIAO
Last night, I was treated to a lovely evening by my mamma and her partner. I work in Blackfriars, so after work, I took the tube to Embankment and walked to Covent Garden (5 min walk), met up with everyone at about 5:30 and had a lovely meal at Fire & Stone (turning into my all time favourite Pizza place in London). After a glorious gorging session ... ...full and very satisfied, where my Mamma had booked tickets to see Mamma Mia!
~The Theatre~
Mamma Mia is being shown at the Prince of Wales Theatre on Coventry Street, Leicester Square, just off Shaftsbury Avenue. You can get to Leicester Square really easily by either walking from Charing Cross (or Embankment), Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden or Tottenham Court Road.
The first theatre that was opened on this site was in January ...
tazzywazzy 07.06.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Mama Mia / Prince Edward Theatre (London)
Advantages: Abbacadabra Disadvantages: those blasted railings and no Frida
Went to London the other Friday night with a friend with the aim of having a nice meal and going to see a show. We spent a fair while going around all of the half price (or so called) ticket shops trying to see if we could get cheap tickets for 1) Mamma Mia
2) The Lion King
3) My Fair Lady or
4) Anything else thats been shown to death.
Could we get anywhere ? Big fat No. As most of you probably know if you've tried the same futile exercise on ... ...sneaky idea, lets go the theatre itself and see if we can get some late cancellations. We turned up, but no, no cancellations yet But...'there's these two limited viewing seats right at the back for £7.50 each'. 'What' we spluttered '£7.50'. The seats were right at the back, only two of them and a third of the stage was obscured by railings, but we grabbed the bargain after a conference. (If you have the same trouble getting discount tickets always ...
treeman 24.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Mama Mia / Prince Edward Theatre (London)
Advantages: Abba Songs, dancing, entertainmet value Disadvantages: some tickets are expensive if you cannot get discounted ones
I recently went to London and had decided to go and see a show but wasn’t sure what to see I was hoping that we may be able to get tickets for The Lion King as a friend had been to see it and loved it but I wasn’t particularly bothered.
Before I went I was fortunate to stumble upon a review on Ciao by Critchyboy about the TKTS ticket booth in Leicester Square. Normally I just go straight to the theatre and buy full price tickets, but after reading ... ...there was a chance that we could get some decent tickets discounted.
When we got to the TKTS booth in Leicester Square there was no queue which was nice so we went straight up the counter and asked what tickets were available for the Lion King. Unfortunately they only had full price tickets left which cost about £45. Being on a budget I decided to see what cheap tickets were available. I couldn’t believe my luck when the chap told us there were ...
coolcam7 25.10.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Mama Mia / Prince Edward Theatre (London)
Advantages: Fab and fun! Disadvantages: Not good if you don't like ABBA!
Mamma Mia is a hit musical created using song from the hit group ABBA! History:
ABBA started in 1974 when they where entered for the Eurovision Song Contest with ‘Waterloo’ and then went on to have countless hits and have become a world renown group. Mamma Mia opened in 1999 and has been just as popular. The Story: The story is about a girl called Sophie who is to be married to her young love Sky, she lives on a Greek island with her mother Donna. ... ...desperate bid to find out she reads her mothers diary. From this she discovers there are 3 possible candidates. On the lead up to the wedding Sophie invites all three of them to her wedding in the hope she will find her father and he will be able to give her away. The three men arrive unaware why they have been invited, Harry "Head Banger" Bright, the name is deceitful as he is actually a bit of a geek with glasses, Bill Austin, a traveller who has ...
LIZKEMPO 11.06.2007 (10.06.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Mama Mia / Prince Edward Theatre (London)
Advantages: Great music, attractive theatre Disadvantages: Weak story
If you love Abba, you will adore the West End musical Mamma Mia! Staged at the Prince Edward Theatre in the heart of Soho, it is crammed full of the Swedish supergroup's greatest hits. And with huge nostalgia for the 70s, it's no wonder the show has been such a hit. This is not a night out for people who relish a great story with their shows. It's all pretty basic stuff - a young woman finds herself on a Greek island where her mum owns a small hotel. ... ...three men, all of whom could be her long-lost father. That offers plenty of opportunity for farce and confrontation. It's the girl's mother, however, who takes centre stage with the best-drawn character of the night. Not that that really matters because most of the audience is there for the music. And it is present in abundance - from the title track to classics like Dancing Queen. It's all light-hearted, funny stuff and many of the giggles come ...
sfinchuk 27.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Mama Mia / Prince Edward Theatre (London)
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