Super Trouper Beams are Gonna Blind You!
Written: May 30 '04 (Updated May 31 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Songs, Costumes, Choreography, Comedy, Male eye candy
Cons: Shut up. There are no cons. Why are you always so negative?
The Bottom Line: Mamma Mia! is the best stage musical I have ever seen. I could, in all honesty, see this show every week for the rest of my life.
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| DavidK93's Full Review: Mamma Mia! |
Yesterday, I went to see Mamma Mia! at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center at the Hippodrome Theatre (Wow, that’s a mouthful!) in downtown Baltimore, an easy walk from my apartment in Mount Vernon. I had been wanting to see Mamma Mia! for as long as I’ve been aware of it, what with the music of ABBA and all. Everyone had been telling me it was great, including my Aunt Phyllis, and then when it was coming to Baltimore the TV commercials featuring lots of shirtless men pretty much cemented it.
Mamma Mia! is the story of a young woman, Sophie, who has been raised by her mother, Donna, on a scenic Greek island where Donna owns a taverna. (I’d have said resort, but they go with “taverna” in the show. A lot.) Sophie is getting married to her boyfriend, Sky, and wants her father to walk her down the aisle. The only problem is that Donna has never told Sophie anything about her father. After Sophie finds Donna’s diary from 1979, she discovers that she has three potential fathers, and so she invites them all to her wedding. Donna is surprised to say the least when Harry Bright, Bill Austin, and Sam Carmichael show up on her doorstep, but Sophie is determined to uncover the truth. Meanwhile, Sophie’s two best friends and bridesmaids, Ali and Lisa, arrive on the island, as do Donna’s best friends Tanya and Rosie. Sky also has two best friends, Pepper and Eddie, because now that I think about it every set of characters in this show came in threes.
The characters are interesting enough to hold up the story, without being so complicated as to actually require active thought, which is perfect for a musical. Sophie, at just twenty years old, is right on the cusp where a young girl’s fairytale dreams must give way to an adult outlook. Donna is fiercely independent, and very proud of what she has achieved without a man to help her. Rosie was one of my favorite characters. She’s bold and brassy and very live-out-loud. Tanya is a bit more caustic and cynical. Sky is sweet, and we’re given to understand that he’s intelligent, since Sophie met him while he was setting up Donna’s taverna for internet access, but his character isn’t particularly substantial. Pepper is a spicy little horn dog with a thing for older women, it seems. And Eddie is an amusingly snarky foil for him. Sam has two sons as the product of an unsatisfying marriage, and it becomes apparent that he has thought of Donna often in the twenty years since they parted. Harry has changed a lot since when Donna knew him as “Harry Headbanger.” He works in a bank and has been in many ways grounded by his “other half,” to whom he refers frequently. And Bill has become an adventurous world traveler, but tends to flee in the face of romantic pursuit.
None of the main players really stand out, and it’s really the sum of the whole that makes this show what it is. So, let me dedicate this entire paragraph to Gerard Salvador, the portrayer of Pepper. This ethnic cutie appears to be Pilipino, and it looks like he’s not too much taller than me. He’s a fabulous dancer, with the ability to pull of moves culled from break dancing, salsa, and dirty dancing. He has a very nice physique, which is advantageously displayed on several occasions, much to my delight. Pepper is the sort of guy that you might initially brush off because his come-ons are just a little bit too desperate, too wild. But then you’d totally sleep with him after all, because he won’t have given up, and he’s so irresistibly sexy. He appears to be played by an ethnic performer about half the time. (Yes, I went to the official Mamma Mia! website and checked out the bios for other casts. I have no life.) I think Gerard really threw himself into the role. I know I’d sleep with him. Seriously, Gerard, if you’re reading this, please, call me! Okay, I’ll throw in a footnote about E. Faye Butler, who played the role of Rosie. She, too, really made the role hers. In fact, I was shocked when I discovered that the U. S. tour is the only cast that features a black actress in this part, because I just could never imagine a white girl being this vibrant.
Admittedly, the sets are a bit sparse. There’s basically these two stone buildings that serve as the set for all the scenes, and they just get turned around as needed to present different topography. But it’s quite all right. The rest of the staging is more than enough to make the sets all but inconsequential.
Of course, the real centerpiece of the film are the songs of ABBA, written by band members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. The name “ABBA” came from the first initials of all four band members, that being Benny, Björn, and their respective wives, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog. The amazing thing to me, and this was first said by Aunt Phyllis, but I really have to agree with her here, is that you’d never imagine that the songs weren’t written specifically for this show. I’ve definitely seen other plots that were designed around songs (Leader of the Pack, anyone?), but I’ve never seen one anywhere near this good before. Some of the songs take on interesting alternative (and no less valid) meanings. For example, “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” becomes about paternity. And with lyrics like, “Is there a man out there? / Someone to hear my prayer,” it totally makes sense. A lot of other songs are successfully inserted as performance pieces. And when Donna sings “Mamma Mia!” I swear half the audience sang along with the chorus. And, apparently, it’s one of those songs where people just plain don’t know the verses, because you could barely make out a limited amount of humming along to the tune during them. Entertainingly, Donna enters one scene while singing “Fernando” to herself. “Fernando” is the biggest ABBA hit not on the soundtrack of Mamma Mia!
You know, I always thought the line was, “You can dance / You can die / Having the time of you life.” But it’s really, “You can dance / You can jive / Having the time of your life.” Who knew? Okay, probably everyone but me.
The costumes and choreography were excellent, and quite amusing. I was laughing hysterically, along with most of the audience, due in large part to the physical nature of the comedy. In particular, “Honey, Honey,” and “Dancing Queen” were great from a comedic standpoint. Sometimes, the choreography reflects a tongue-in-cheek awareness of the fact that it’s a musical and that the singing is just a little bit unusual. And there’s a dream ballet! With fluorescent scuba diving outfits! How can you go wrong with that? Dream ballets are the stuff of Broadway magic! The dancing is also great in Tanya and Pepper’s “Does Your Mother Know” number. And then there’s this awesome scene where an entire troupe of men in wetsuits throw Sky down and strip him to his briefs. Seriously, it’s awesome! Also, Donna, Tanya, and Rosie sing “Super Trouper” while wearing these very sleek white and silver 㣪s-style disco outfits. Then, after the curtain calls, they come out again in fabulous color versions of those costumes and lead encores of “Mamma Mia,” “Dancing Queen,” and “Waterloo,” another major ABBA hit not appearing in the musical proper. The ushers actually run down the aisles, arms flailing in “dance,” I think to indicate to the audience that it’s okay to get up and dance. Or possibly because they are spazzes. Maybe both. Afterwards, the two old ladies sitting behind me said that I danced quite well. I’ve always known that if this whole engineering thing doesn’t work out, I could totally fall back on being a gigolo.
Oh, gosh, the old ladies! You know, I really thought that considering what show this was and all, that I might reasonably expect to see a fair number of gay men, aged 25 to 40. But, no. The audience was massively composed of the elderly. The very elderly. Although, I have to admit, the three ladies who were in front of me before the doors opened where quite feisty, and one of them had her husband there and they were teasing him about being a skirt-chaser like they were all twenty-somethings. I could deal with being like that if I make it to seventy-five.
By the way, a word of advice. Don’t buy the soundtrack at the theatre. Not because it’s not a great soundtrack, because it totally is! I bought it at the Hippodrome, and I’ve been listening to it all day. Every time “Mamma Mia” comes on, I stop what I’m doing and dance around my apartment. I’m not wearing anything, by the way, and I incorporate the chair into the dance. Aaaaanyway, the thing is, I paid $20 for it, and it only costs $13.49 on Amazon.com. So buy it online or at a CD store, not at the theatre. When I went to buy the CD at intermission, there was also a rather rotund woman at the merchandise kiosk. I would have to say that the way she was dressed, she actually looked pretty nice. But the item she was interested was a form fitting black top. The very gay salesman said as tactfully as he could, “It’s form-fitting.” Then he held up the second to largest, and then the largest size available. God bless that woman for laughing out loud at the absurdity of the idea of her wearing such a shirt, and not going through with the purchase!
So, in conclusion, Mamma Mia! is the best stage musical I have ever seen. I could, in all honesty, see this show every week for the rest of my life. You should definitely see it, if you like musicals at all. There’s a national touring company (That’s what I saw.), a Broadway show, a Las Vegas show, and a Toronto show. I’m going to Las Vegas next winter, and I’m seriously considering going to see it there. Plus twice every time it comes through Baltimore for the rest of eternity.
And, hey, I just published two reviews in one day, after two months without posting anything. And I wrote this whole thing today. Um, okay, why are you still reading this? Go order your tickets to Mamma Mia!, now!
QF2 (See explanation of QF on my profile page.)
I mean, there's nothing especially gay about the plot. Well, there's the one thing, but you'll just have to see the show, won't you? But for whatever reason, the gay community does love musicals. And it does love ABBA. So I'd say that's enough to give this one a little bump.
Recommended:
Yes
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DavidK93
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Member: David Kaplan
Location: Baltimore, MD
Reviews written: 119
Trusted by: 180 members
About Me:
Passions has been canceled, again. But I think I'll get over it; I've gained perspective.
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