“Donna and the Dynamos” re-group, complete with spandex, in the ABBA-inspired Mamma Mia!
By Neena Strichart
Publisher
The ’70s was a strange decade for music fans. The Beatles had gone psychedelic, Elvis still had a few hits under his ever-growing belt, and disco was all the rage. The Bee Gees and Donna Summer were cranking out hits when along came ABBA, a group from Sweden who took their moniker from an acronym of their first names: Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid. The years passed and they continued belting out hit after hit, including “Waterloo,” “Dancing Queen” and “Take a Chance on Me.”
Fast-forward 30 years. Baby Boomers have a bit of disposable income and love to be reminded of our younger days. What could be better than a musical theatre production featuring ABBA tunes woven together to tell a story? Nothing!
Getting our hands on opening-night tickets for Mamma Mia! seemed like a dream come true, especially when the venue was the Pantages. The opulence of the theatre is breathtaking enough, and worth seeing even if you have to sit through a mediocre play. Combine Mamma Mia! with the Pantages, and you have pure bliss.
Not having seen the movie, I could only compare last week’s performance of Mamma Mia! to the one Mom and I had enjoyed years earlier at the same theatre. Having my husband Steve, a tough audience, with me this time, I so hoped he would enjoy himself. If not, it would be a long time before I’d ever get him to sit still for another play. The curtain rose and just minutes into the production I glanced over at my date and saw him smiling, oh, then a laugh— that’s a good sign. From then on he was on his own. I immersed myself into the experience.
As the Mamma Mia! story goes! girl living in Greece with her single mother gets engaged, finds Mom’s diary, discovers any one of three men could be her father. Girl invites all three men to the wedding, Mom invites her two female former singing partners to said wedding. Emotion and hilarity ensue. Although the story is a good one, the raw entertainment wins out as the nicely done yet sparse stage provides a backdrop for neatly choreographed and over-the-top individual and group performances. Nearly two dozen musical numbers including “Chiquitita,” “Dancing Queen,” “S.O.S.,” “The Name of the Game,” and of course the play’s namesake “Mamma Mia,” are performed with perfection.
Michelle Dawson as “Mom” Donna Sheridan stole the show with her powerful voice, electric eyes and bold stage presence. Her girlfriends Rosie and Tanya, the two who rounded out Donna’s former spandex-wearing singing group “Donna and the Dynamos,” played by Kittra Wynn Coomer and Rachel Tyler, were great as comic relief for this sometimes emotional tale. Also a standout was Adam Michael Kaokept as “Pepper,” one of the groom’s buddies. His attraction to the much older Tanya set the audience into laughing fits as he pursued his “cougar” with gyrations, acrobatics and pure silliness.
This show is a must-see, and although it only has two more days in its short run at the Pantages (last show is Sunday, April 19), 6233 Hollywood Boulevard at the corner of Vine Street, it is worth trying to get last-minute tickets for either the evening or matinee performances. Tickets are available at www.BroadwayLA.org or by calling (213) 365-3500. Tickets may also be at the Pantages box office and at Ticketmaster outlets.
