The Hits From Coast To Coast (And Sweden And Greece)This isn't a post to tell you about the top 10 searches that bring readers to Steve On Broadway (SOB).
No, this is a post of pure vindication for my 35 years of being an avid
ABBA fan. I'm thrilled that the
movie soundtrack for "
Mamma Mia!" has not only turned platinum, but it's also just climbed two big notches (thank you,
Casey Kasem)
to number one with a bullet on Billboard's 200 Album Chart!
Not a bad week in celebration for a
Super Trouper Pop Grouper that never even made the top ten. According to
Billboard:
ABBA has never had a top 10 album on the Billboard 200; the Swedish pop act's highest charting set is 1978's "The Album," which peaked at No. 14. However, the group is No. 1 on Top Pop Catalog albums with its greatest hits package "Gold," which jumps 37% to 33,000 copies.
As I've noted time and again, the stage musical
Mamma Mia! has been one of my truly guilty theatre pleasures ever since taking in the early days of the
West End mounting back in September 1999. But that unabashed delight came from my years as an
ABBA fan -- even being among the relatively few Americans who caught them during their 1979 “
Voulez-Vous” tour.
With melodies almost as slick as the original tunes, the soundtrack is one sure-fire way to bring me out of a funk.
So,
Benny Andersson and
Björn Ulvaeus, I say thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing. Thanks for all the joy they're bringing. Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty. What would life be? Without a song or a dance what are we? So I say thank you for the music! For giving it to me.
Congratulations on finally reaching number one!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Hay Carumba! Mamma Mia! Is Fun! (July 31, 2008)
This Goes Out To All The Lovers (Of Theatre) (February 14, 2008)
A Matter Of Taste (March 16, 2007)
Thank You For The Music: Happy Anniversary, Mamma Mia! (October 18, 2006)
Labels: ABBA, Broadway, Film, London, Mamma Mia, Musical, Soundtrack
Hay Carumba! Mamma Mia! Is Fun!Never to be confused with great art, the stage musical
Mamma Mia! nevertheless has long been one of my truly guilty pleasures.
There’s a combination of reasons. I was always a closet
ABBA fan, even back in the 1970s when it was largely considered
naff to be so in the States. I even went to an ABBA concert back in 1979 during the Milwaukee swing of their “
Voulez-Vous” tour.
But when I saw the West End mounting of
Mamma Mia! in September 1999, I was struck by the inherent ingenuity of stringing together a story, however silly or superfluous, using the most catchy if not most nonsensical pop tunes of all time. Yes, there were groan-worthy moments as certain tunes were shoehorned into the production. But with one wink and nod after another, it was clear that those moments were exactly as its creators intended from the start, and that’s what made this show such harmless, even joyous fun.
Long before this granddaddy of all jukebox musicals came along, first in London in 1999, and then in rest of the world (including Broadway in 2001), ABBA had already seeped back into our collective consciousness thanks largely to two Australian films from 1994: “
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queeen Of The Desert” and “
Muriel’s Wedding.” So it seemed entirely apropos that the film version of “
Mamma Mia!” would open Down Under one week in advance of its American debut. And so it also seemed appropriate for me to find a cinema while here in Australia to share the silver screen treatment with the world’s most indisputably biggest ABBA fans.
Sure the storyline is as schlocky as ever. Of course it’s mindless and at times downright mind-numbing. It’s also true that not every cast member has the same vocal talent. And yes, this will never find itself listed as a truly great film.
But thanks to a highly spirited, ultra-game cast, it’s also tremendous fun, particularly watching the likes of
Meryl Streep,
Christine Baranski and
Julie Waters sing their hearts out through such tunes as the title song, “Does Your Mother Know” and “Take A Chance On Me,” respectively.
But it’s the full-on, well-choreographed renditions of “Dancing Queen” and “Lay All Your Love On Me” that really make this film version shine.
Maybe the future holds no Academy Awards for “Mamma Mia!” But if you sit back, relax and don’t expect too much, you just might find yourself enjoying it for what it is and thanking ABBA for the music that keeps on giving.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: ABBA, Christine Baranski, Film, Julie Waters, Mamma Mia, Meryl Streep, Musical
Thank You For The Music: Happy Anniversary, Mamma Mia!I've got a confession. I like ABBA. I mean, I
really like ABBA. Now that I have that piece of business out of the way, it probably comes as no surprise that my biggest, most delicious guilty pleasure in theatre is unequivocally what is often referred to as "The
ABBA musical":
Mamma Mia! I honestly don't know when I've ever had more fun seeing a show.
Sure the tuner is silly, and the way that many of the songs are shoe-horned into this mother-of-all jukebox musicals produces audible groans from the audience, but it's simply impossible not to have a good time.
Now, incredibly enough,
Mamma Mia! is already celebrating its fifth anniversary on Broadway at the
Cadillac Winter Garden Theatre, where it will enjoy its 2080th performance today. While it never won a Tony, it was nominated for five awards including Best Musical.
Mamma Mia! came to the Great White Way just at the right time -- previews began less than one month after New York City suffered the worst terrorist attacks the world had ever seen. It helped serve as a sweet salve for the wounded soul of an aching city.
My first opportunity to see
Mamma Mia! came on September 1, 1999 at London's Prince Edward Theatre (current home to
Mary Poppins), not long after it opened on the West End. I recall being downright delirious thanks to the energy of the original cast and particularly
Jenny Galloway, who walked away with a much-deserved Olivier Award (she'll be making her
Broadway debut in the revival of
Les Misérables, which begins previews next week). She's the one who got to sing "Take A Chance On Me."
But of course, at the heart of
Mamma Mia! is the surprisingly enduring affinity for the music of
Anni-Frid Lyngstad,
Benny Andersson,
Björn Ulvaeus and
Agnetha Fältskog, who together comprised one of the world's best-selling recording groups of all time. Twenty years before I first saw
Mamma Mia! I actually went to an ABBA concert during their 1979 "
Voulez-Vous" tour of the United States (some have told me that was their only American tour) -- I can still remember it, oh so vividly, as Agnetha waved to my friends and me. Of course, it wasn't cool to love ABBA back then, but I'm thrilled to this day that I have bragging rights to being among the relatively small minority of Americans who can say they've seen them perform live in person.
As for
Mamma Mia! -- which is still going strong on Broadway (last week it was filled to 99% of capacity) -- it has joined ABBA as a worldwide phenomenon with sitdown productions around the globe, as well as an American tour (currently in
Schenectady). Since ABBA has made it quite clear that they will never reunite,
Mamma Mia! has become the next best thing to seeing them in person.
Tonight's 7 pm anniversary performance will serve as a benefit for the
Actors' Fund of America's Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative with tickets starting at $62.50 (show only) to $250 (including the post-show party). Tickets are available by calling 212.221.7300 (extension 133). or by clicking
here.
Happy anniversary,
Mamma Mia!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Labels: ABBA, Broadway, London, Mamma Mia, Musical
