Mamma Mia! The Musical: A Wonderful Experience

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I never thought I'd get to watch Mamma Mia! on stage.  I first heard of this musical from my best friend Ruel, who has seen it in Las Vegas in 2003.  While he loves the music of ABBA, I am into stage plays and musicals.  So he lent me his souvenir program.  I was curious about how the ABBA songs fitted so I got myself an original cast recording of the show.  And I was totally surprised that the songs seamlessly fit in with the story.  Now I see the characters in my mind every time I play the cast recording.  

Flash forward to 2008.  I was excited to watch the movie version of the musical.  Aside from having Meryl Streep (one of my fave actresses), it had a stellar cast which included Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Christine Baranski and Julie Walters.   I was so blown away by the movie version that I watched it four times and told my father and my uncle to see it (they did and they liked it too).  I even bought the special edition movie soundtrack!  And the 2-disc dvd of the movie!  (I was now slowly becoming a fan of the musical hahahahahaha!) 

When I heard the news that Mamma Mia! The Musical will be coming to Manila first quarter of 2012, I told Ruel that we should watch it.  And he readily agreed saying that it would be nice to see the show again.  As for me, I was excited because now I will be able to see the original material where the movie was derived from. 

Flash forward to January 2012.  I found myself in the CCP grounds around 4pm.  I went under time from work because I know how terrible traffic will be.  So I killed time in KFC and waited for Ruel to arrive.  I was excited.  Finally!  I will be able to watch this musical which my best friend raved about.  Around 6pm, some of the cast went to KFC to grab a bite.  Around 6:30pm, Ruel and I went to the lobby of CCP and waited till it's showtime.  We bought a souvenir program and checked out the other memorabilia that were on sale.  Then at around 10 minutes to showtime, we all lined up to enter CCP main theater.

The set had a revolving stage that conveniently transforms the scene into a patio or Donna's room, or Sophie's room, etc. The lighting was great--it sets the mood and tone for every scene!  Be it Sophie's nightmare, or the stag and hen party... the technical aspect of the whole show was very good. But since we were watching the first night, technical glitches are bound to happen... the mic of Sophie when she confronted Donna about who her father was went pfffft for awhile. But that was it. The orchestrations of the music were truly refreshing! Choreography was very good!  I missed it in the movie version, especially during Voulez-vouz. But here, it was a scene to behold.

But then, the movie was more ABBA in a sense that the composers really wanted the original arrangement of the songs be used in the film. 

Acting-wise, Sara Poyzer as Donna Sheridan was great.  The role was truly taxing but she was able to pull it through, especially when she sang The Winner Takes It All  (I really thought that fatigue and jet lag will get her as some notes were precariously teetering on the half notes, but she was really a trooper!).  You can really feel her as a performer! Jennie Dale as Rosie almost totally stole the show!  Kate Graham (Tanya) and of course, Charlotte Wakefield (Sophie, Donna's daughter) were fun to watch, too.  I can say that the women carried the show and I must agree with one reviewer that the male counterparts weren't as lively as the women.   

But who cares?? The whole musical was fun!  I found myself singing along with the cast in some songs!  And when the cast took their bows, I even yelled, "more!"  Come the encore numbers, we were all at our feet, singing and clapping and grooving to the music!  

The Mamma Mia! experience was something to remember, indeed!  I just wish that these musicals will not be that expensive so that more people can watch. Oh and yes, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera will be staged this August.  So that's another show to watch from the same production who brought Mamma Mia! to Manila.  Can't wait to see that, too!

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