Book by Catherine
Johnson
Originally conceived
by Judy Craymer
Music and lyrics by
Benny Andersson and Bjӧrn Ulvaeus
Directed by Gary
Young
Produced by Michael
Coppel, Louise Withers and Linda Bewick
Canberra Theatre to
17 December
Reviewed by Len Power
30 November 2017
Unless you’ve been living on a distant planet for years, you
would know the phenomenon that is ‘Mamma Mia!’
This jukebox musical was written by British playwright Catherine
Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn
Ulvaeus. It first opened in London in
1999 and is still running there. The
show ran on Broadway for 5,773 performances.
This is the first time Canberra has seen a production of ‘Mamma
Mia!’ and it’s been worth the wait. This
is a stunningly good production. The Canberra
Theatre Centre management is to be congratulated for obtaining the premiere of
this production at the start of its national tour.
Natalie O’Donnell as the mother, Donna Sheridan, gives a
strong characterization and sings the role brilliantly. She stops the show with ‘The Winner Takes It
All’. As her daughter, Sophie Sheridan,
Sarah Morrison is thoroughly believable as the young woman who yearns to find
her father. As the show progresses, she
sings and dances her way into the audience’s hearts. The trio of possible fathers played by Ian
Stenlake, Phillip Lowe and Josef Ber are all excellent comedians with a sure
sense of timing and they sing and dance very well, too. There are delightful characterizations from
the numerous other principal performers who all get their moment to shine.
The singing and dancing ensemble do a great job of appearing
laid back and casual and all display distinctive characters. They make it look easy but they’re probably the
hardest working members of the show.
Their dancing of ‘Voulez-Vous’ at the end of the first act is a genuine
showstopper.
Director, Gary Young, has given us a colourful show that
succeeds on every level. The set design
by Linda Bewick is attractive and practical, nicely evoking a Greek island village
location. Costumes by Suzy Strout are vibrant
and striking and Gavan Swift has produced a knockout lighting design.
The sound design by Michael Walters keeps the
sound levels between musicians and singers just right and musical supervisor, Stephen Amos, achieves that
distinctive and all-important ABBA sound.
The choreographer, Tom Hodgson, gives us breath-taking dances that are
exciting and believable in the show’s context.
The audience were ecstatic by the end of the opening night
of ‘Mamma Mia!’. Don’t miss it!
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7’s ‘On Stage’ program on Mondays from
3.30pm and on ‘Artcetera’ from 9.00am on Saturdays.
