Joan Marcus
When I first reviewed Mamma Mia! in 2017, I thought it would also be the last time I reviewed a national touring production of the hit Broadway musical. It was, after all, promoted as the ‘Farewell Tour’ — it even says so on the magnet I bought. Since that show, which was enjoyable but lacked a bit in the character development and story departments, ended I was able to review the Toby’s Dinner Theatre production which really re-imagined the show and placed the focus on the story, characters and emotion. It was eye-opening to see what Mamma Mia! could be in the right hands. And now here we are again in 2024 and, like Cher, Mamma Mia! is back on the road, this time for the 25th anniversary of its opening in London’s West End (the show first toured the US in 2000 before opening on Broadway in 2001).
So what has a seven year absence done for the show?
You probably know the plot by now either from the show or the movie. 20-year-old Sophie Sheridan (Alisa Melendez) is about to get married to Sky (Grant Reynolds), a young man who really isn’t too keen on the idea because of their ages but he loves Sophie enough to go through with it. Sophie’s mother Donna (Christine Sherrill) is on Sky’s side and doesn’t think Sophie needs to get married … ever. Donna made it as a single mom, raising her daughter and building and operating a taverna in the hills of a Greek island. But Sophie is adamant. The only problem is — she wants her father to walk her down the aisle and she has no idea who her father is. Snooping through her mom’s diary, Sophie learns it could be one of three men her mom had relations with 21 years earlier: Sam Carmichael (Victor Wallace), Bill Austin (Jim Newman) or Harry Bright (Rob Marnell). Sophie secretly invites the three men to the wedding in the hope that her mother will finally tell her who the father is. Of course Donna is freaked out when all three men just happen to show up the day before the wedding, and her friends Rosie (Carly Sakolove) and Tanya (Jalynn Steele) aren’t quite the support system she needs, trying to make Donna face reality. Will Donna give Sophie the answer she wants? Does Sophie really want an answer? Will a wedding even happen? If you don’t know the answers to these questions yet, you’ll just have to catch this production of the show.
As described in the earlier review, the set for Mamma Mia! is fairly simple — two segments of the taverna wall which are rotated and arranged to depict different areas from the patio to Donna’s bedroom. With a few added props and set-pieces the simplicity of everything works well (and it’s certainly an easy set to transport from city to city). One thing that stood out from the ‘Farewell Tour’ was the lighting, sometimes blindingly bright. With this production that issue seems to have been attended to with less constant noonday sun and more subtlety, with more blues mixed it. It was a more visually pleasant experience this time around. The direction by Phyllida Lloyd and choreography by Anthony Van Laast appears unchanged, with the island boys doing their dance in flippers remaining an audience favorite. These are all important aspects to the show, but what really gets you invested in the story and characters is the cast, and without a good cast you’re not going to care about anything but hearing your next favorite ABBA song.
This production of Mamma Mia! doesn’t have a good cast. It has a GREAT cast! Alisa Melendez is wonderful as Sophie. From the moment she opens the show with a bit of ‘I Have a Dream’ (which she reprises in full at the end) we’re on her side, we’re invested in her attempt to find out who her father is. We share in her excitement when she meets the men, and go through all the emotions with her when the entire situation becomes more complicated than she ever imagined. Melendez sings in several ensemble songs, but her voice gets to shine in the duets of ‘The Name of the Game’ with Jim Newman, and ‘Slipping Through My Fingers’ with Christine Sherrill, finally having that full solo at the end of the show. Melendez just makes us root for Sophie from start to finish.
Joan Marcus
As for Donna … I don’t think I have adequate words for how much I loved Christine Sherrill’s performance. From the moment she walks on stage, when she sings the first notes of ‘Money, Money, Money’, she is Donna Sheridan. You believe every word she speaks, every emotion she’s experiencing, her protective ‘tiger mom’ vibe that is completely shattered when the three men arrive. She gives Donna that strength she’s meant to project to everyone as a strong, independent, single mom, but Sherrill also lets us see through the cracks of that veneer, exposing the vulnerability Donna has, showing us that Donna is a real person with real emotions. And Sherrill’s voice is nothing short of magnificent. She gets to sing the bulk of the show’s songs, and she really lights up when she sings with her former girl group pals at Sophie’s wedding shower (‘Super Trouper’) but she tears up ‘The Winner Takes It All’, leaving every bit of emotion on that stage. That’s always been an emotional song about loss, but Sherrill sings the hell out of it and I can’t imagine there’s a dry eye in the house after that performance. Sherrill has embodied the role of Donna through the Las Vegas residency of the show through to this tour so she knows the character inside and out and it shows in her masterful performance.
Carly Sakolove and Jalynn Steele are also terrific as Rosie and Tanya, respectively. Rosie is the more grounded of the two and does more to try to console Donna, and Sakolove also has a great voice and wonderful comedy chops. Steele is a hoot as Tanya, giving us a Telma Hopkins/Roxie Roker/Tichina Arnold vibe, more self-centered than Rosie and comically attempting to avoid the advances of one of Donna’s young employees. She also gets a stand-out moment with the song ‘Does Your Mother Know’ that had the audience roaring. Both women offer great support with their own moments to shine, but never trying to steal the spotlight.
Each of the three men playing the potential fathers have their moments, but the focus of the story seems to fall on Sam, played by Victor Wallace, the one of the three Donna wanted to see the least of. He really commands the stage and gets to show off his powerful voice in Act II in his duet with Sherrill (‘SOS’) and in his solo, ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’. Rob Marnell’s Harry ‘Head Banger’ Bright does not often live up to his name (either of them), taking a bit longer to catch on to the situation than the other two men, but Marnell’s performance is full of subtle comedy, very Hugh Grant-ish, and he gets a nice moment with Sherrill in the Act II number ‘Our Last Summer’. Jim Newman is appropriately over-the-top as the Crocodile Dundee-ish Bill Austin, having that nice moment in Act I with Melendez, and a broadly comic one in Act II with Sakolove (‘Take a Chance on Me’). All three men give terrific performances, but Wallace really steals the show.
Joan Marcus
The ensemble works hard, never missing a step during set changes and taking on the wonderful choreography in the group numbers ‘Lay All Your Love On Me’, ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme’, ‘Voulez-Vous’, ‘Under Attack’, ‘Does Your Mother Know’ and ‘I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do’. And when the show’s story comes to an end, don’t make a mad dash for the exits because the party is just getting started after the cast takes their first set of bows. Get up on your feet and dance and sing along as the company performs ‘Waterloo’, cheer and dance more as Sherrill, Sakolove and Steele don brightly colored ABBA-esque costumes for ‘Dancing Queen’, and dance and cheer and sing-along even more as the company finishes with ‘Mamma Mia’.
If you’re looking for a super-fun night of entertainment at the theatre, you can’t go wrong with this production of Mamma Mia!. It has all the ABBA songs you know and love, it has a simple but effective production design and a dance party at the end, but above all it has a dream of a cast, headed by Christine Sherrill and Alisa Melendez, whose performances are well-worth the price of admission. It’s impossible to exit the theatre without a smile on your face and a song (or three) in your heart, so what more could you ask for?
Mamma Mia! runs about 2 hours 30 minutes with one intermission. Recommended for ages 10 and up.
Mamma Mia! runs through September 1 at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center. Other cities on the tour include Cincinnati, Greensboro, Boston, Providence, Richmond, Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Atlanta, Seattle and more. Visit the official website for more information about the show. Use our Ticketmaster link to purchase tickets.
MAMMA MIA!
The Kennedy Center
Check our Ticketmaster link for ticket availability.
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