Lyric Theatre’s “Mamma Mia!” Delights the Audience at the Civic Center
The cast of “Mamma Mia!” dancing in front of the taverna
In 1976 ABBA, one of the most popular rock groups of all time released “Dancing Queen” and while not everyone was a fan of ABBA, everyone became familiar with that song. Not only is “Dancing Queen” a great song for dancing, it is a great song to hear on the radio on that long drive home. And for that brief moment any woman can become the dancing queen. Even my own mother who would be 100 this year was caught in such a brief moment of fantasy bliss while running errands in
Donna and the Dynamos
Renee Anderson (left) as Rosie. Meredith Inglesby (center) as Donna and Barb Schoenhofer (right)
the car.
ABBA is formed from the first letters of the first names of the four band members from Sweden. They consist of two couples, Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida) and Benny Andersson with Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus. As is often the case, the music lasts longer than the band or the marriages. Nevertheless, Andersson and Ulvaeus continued the ABBA legacy writing the music and lyrics for “Mamma Mia!” premiering in 1999 and becoming more popular every year. The 2008 movie starred Meryl Streep and just recently the prequel/sequel: “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” was released to a very receptive audience.
Before seeing this new movie, fans would be well advised to revisit the original. Not the movie—the musical. The live performance makes the story quite real, and thanks to the Lyric theatre, there is a chance to see “Mamma Mia!” live at the Civic Center Music Hall through July 29, 2018. The story concerns a young Sophie who has been raised on a beautiful Greek island by her single mother. She is preparing for her wedding, and has invited three men to the wedding without her mother’s knowledge. Her mother, Donna, writes of each of these men in her diary that Sophie surreptitiously read, and Sophie does not know whether her father is Sam, Bill or Harry. She plans to find out and have the right dad walk her down the aisle.
The arrival of all three men causes a great deal of disruption for everyone. Sophie’s mother, Donna, is quite unhappy with the circumstances and is very stressed out by the wedding. Clearly one of these men broke her heart, and the other two could not heal it. “Mamma Mia!” is a romantic musical, so ultimately everything will work out, and they should live happily ever after. In the meantime “Mamma Mia!” is the story of a mother and a daughter, their hopes, dreams and most importantly their love. While the story is about their relationship, it is the mother, Donna, with the real tale of disappointment, struggle and heartbreak, all the little tragedies of lost love.
Sophie dances among her friends the night before her wedding
The music and lyrics by the ABBA members Andersson and Ulvaeus along with the book by Catherine Johnson is quite wonderful, because the dominance of the mother rather than the daughter reflects our growing disillusion with the idea that any woman past 25 does not have a worthy story. Donna is interesting, beautiful and just as sexy as ever. Her daughter Sophie is lucky to have that genetic material.
Lyn Cramer directs and choreographs “Mamma Mia!” the last summer show at the Civic Center. As a director, Cramer is a magnificent choreographer. The musical numbers are vibrant and stimulating. The ensemble cast is expertly professional as is usual in Lyric productions. The 19 ensemble members use the stage effectively under Cramer’s thoughtful dance design and nearly steal the show.
All of the eight principle characters deliver concise performances employing the perfect timing that is so critical in a musical production, enabling the comedy as well as the romance to sparkle. However, there is no question that the performance of Meredith Inglesby as Donna, the loving mother, successful entrepreneur and beautiful woman shines brighter among the stars. Inglesby has a distinctive voice and she uses it to her best advantage, she is graceful, and most importantly she is not only an exceptional singer and dancer, she is an accomplished actress. She shines brightly also because she is in a polished setting flanked by her two best friends, Rosie played by Renee Anderson and Tanya played by Barb Schoenhofer. These three are pop diva’s in the most flattering sense as they regroup in their band: Donna and the Dynamo’s to entertain the guests the night before the wedding.
Jessica Martens is Sophie and she delivers a solid performance. Her interesting voice is a nice reflection of Inglesby’s, enhancing the mother daughter relationship. Sophie is anxious to marry Sky a fairly grounded character, in spite of his name. Ian Marcontell is an up and coming balanced performer and he complements Martens beautifully.
The three men who may or may not be Sophie’s father are not Tom Dick and Harry, but they are Sam, Bill and Harry, not so different! They are played by Steve Blanchard as Sam, Tommy Glenn as Bill and Gregory DeCandia as Harry. These three gentlemen have an impressive array of performances under their collective belts and are completely different types. DeCandia is excellent as Harry, but he should have danced with his love, Glenn is unusual, but believable as Bill and he danced with the right girl. Blanchard seemed a little stiff, perhaps a hold-over from 2 decades previously, no purple pill can substitute for genuine love.
Jessica Martens as Sophie with friends the night before the wedding.
Stand out performances within the ensemble cast come from Sean Watkinson as Pepper, Maggie Spicer as Ali and Ashley Arnold as Lisa. Arnold and Spicer are hilarious as Sophie’s friends who come to see her wed and Watkinson is quite the gigolo. The rapport between Watkinson and Schoenhofer is very nice indeed.
The show begins a little slow, ends a little long, but within those brackets “Mamma Mia!” is a wonderful show to see, exciting visually with superb movement and grace. The scenery by Kimberly Powers is lovely and the lighting is exceptionally intricate and evocative due to the talents of Helen Kuukka. Jeffrey Meeks once again comes through with some discreetly sexy costumes. The technical genius Lyric provides for their directors is phenomenal. It is that which allows them the freedom to concentrate on their performers.
The dance numbers in “Mamma Mia!” are superb and Cramer’s genius as a choreographer is revealed in such a way that made each number seem easy and fun—fun for the dancers as well as the audience. Behind each dance and twirl, behind each disco ball whirl is not only great movement, but great music. For fans of ABBA the music is filled with wonder but universally the music’s effect is due to the efforts of fine musical direction from David Andrews Rogers. Rogers conducts a talented orchestra with finesse, fun and a little fantasy.
“Mamma Mia!” and the life story of the beautiful Donna and lovely daughter Sophie is only being shown through Sunday, July 29, 2018. Catch it now or regret it. The Civic Center Music Hall is the place, at 201 N. Walker Avenue. The curtain goes up at 8:00 pm Friday and Saturday nights and ½ hour earlier Tuesday through Thursday. The final performance, Sunday, July 29, is a Matinee at 2:00 pm so even if you think you are booked—you’re not. However, they may be, so be sure and call 405-297-2264 for reservations or visit www.lyrictheatreokc.com for information and tickets online. ABBA lovers, music lovers, and dancing queens must visit this beautiful Greek island.