Mamma Mia! - A musical written by screenwriter Catherine Johnson based on songs from the Swedish pop group ABBA. The name of the show comes from one of their 1975 greatest hits. Bjorn Ulveus and Benny Andersson, authors of the original music and former members of this famous quartet, initially participated in the creation of the musical.
Since its debut in 1999, the show has raised $ 2 billion and has been seen by over 60 million viewers. In July 2008, the film Mommy Mia was released with actors Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, Kristin Baransky, Julie Walters and Stellan Skarsgard. The film earned $ 609.8 million with a budget of 52 million.
Musical basis
The peak of glory of the ABBA quartet occurred in 1972-1982. The group was considered the most illustrious international pop artist of all time. She year after year topped the charts in Europe, North and South America, Australia. The 22 most famous songs are included in the musical, among them: Mamma Mia, Super Trouper, Lay All Your Love on Me, Dancing Queen, Knowing Me, Knowing You, Take a Chance on Me, Thank You for the Music, Money, Money, Money , The Winner Takes It All, Voulez-Vous, SOS. After the London premiere of the musical performance in 1999, ABBA's golden selection of hits again topped the list of UK's most popular songs.
History of creation
This music show is the brainchild of producer Judy Kramer. In 1983, she met composers Bjorn Ulveus and Benny Andersson when they worked with poetry writer Tim Rice on "Chess" - a staged song show. Their joint work, The Winner Takes It All, inspired Judy to bring the band's hits to the theater. As she herself said, "their songs are very suitable for the theatrical stage, as if they already make up a finished musical."
Bjorn and Benny did not show much enthusiasm, but were not opposed to the idea of ​​Kramer. In 1997, Judy commissioned Katherine Johnson to write the script for the musical, and in 1998, she invited Phyllida Lloyd to direct the show.
Plot
On one of the many Greek islands, Donna owns a small old tavern with hotel rooms. She is a single mother, and her twenty-year-old daughter Sophie is getting married. The musical begins the day before the wedding. Sophie meets two girlfriends who came to the celebration and tells them her secret plan. She figured out who could possibly be her father. Not so long ago, the girl found a long diary of her mother, where she mentioned three short-term novels that followed one after another, as a result of which Donna became pregnant. Wishing that her father would lead her to the altar, as it should be, but not knowing who he was, Sophie sent out wedding invitations to all three ex-mother's guys. In this case, the girl signed up Donna. The whole plain story revolves around this intrigue.
Donna also meets her best friends: the author of the culinary bestseller and the “lone wolf” Rosie, as well as three times married, but again free millionaire Tanya. The three of them once made up a pop group, and they have something to remember about their stormy youth.
At the same time, Sam Carmichael, Harry Bright, and Bill Anderson, Sophie's three alleged fathers, arrive on the island. They do not realize that it was not Donna who invited them. And she, in turn, is ignorant that they were called by her daughter, who knows the secret of her mother’s long-standing frivolity. Donna is alarmed by the presence of former lovers on the island. After all, as she confesses to her friends, she herself does not know which of them is Sophie's father.
On the last night before the wedding, Skye, Sophie's fiancé, sets off for a bachelor party, and the bride has her own cheerful company of girls gathered in a tavern. At the bachelorette party, Donna, Tanya and Rosie anneal their old repertoire. Gradually, Sam, Harry and Bill, and then the whole brotherhood of Skye's friends, join the female society. The scene of general fun is the most incendiary, energetic and massive episode of the musical, all the actors of Mommy Mia are involved in it. Each of the three men finally realizes what Sophie’s father is, but is unaware of the other two applicants who are ready to accompany the girl to the altar tomorrow.
On the wedding day there are several scenes with clarifications of relationships and reconciliations. And it all ends with a wedding, but not Skye and Sophie (they decided to wait a bit before traveling a bit), but Donna and Sam Carmichael, whose love, as it turned out, has not abated all past years.
London debut
The production premiered on April 6, 1999 at the Prince Edward Theater of London's West End. Then, on June 9, 2004, the play was played at the Prince of Wales Theater, where it ran until September 2012, after which the show was presented at the Novello Theater.
Director Phyllida Lloyd successfully worked with choreographer Anthony Van Laast, stage designer Mark Thompson and the original group of actors in the musical Mommy Mia: Siobana McCarthy, Lisa Stoke and Hilton McRae. The success of the performance was overwhelming.
North America show
The first city to produce the show after London was Toronto in Canada. The musical debuted at the Royal Alexandra Theater in May 2000, where it went on for five years. In the initial composition there was a replacement of the actors, and the roles in "Mama Mia" were now played by: Donna - Louise Pitre, and Sophie - Tina Maddigan. They also played in the first Broadway productions.
Premiere of Mamma Mia! in the USA took place at the Orpheus Theater (San Francisco) on November 17, 2000. Then the performance moved to Los Angeles and Chicago. Finally, on October 18, 2001, the musical opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theater. Two original Broadway productions were created under the constant direction of Phyllida Lloyd and choreography by Anthony Van Laast: a troupe constantly performing in the Winter Garden and touring. A traveling musical with a new cast of Mama Mia appeared in all major cities in the United States, outside the country, on other continents, and even on cruise ships. In June 2005, the tour celebrated its 1000th performance in Las Vegas. The clothes and sets of this performance are now used in Brazil.
The Broadway stationary production team played 5,773 performances until the performance closed. In April 2013, it was announced that Mama Mia's actors would move from their permanent Winter Garden venue to the Broadhurst Theater to make way for Rocky's musical adaptation. From November 2013 to September 12, 2015 The musical was held at the Broadhurst Theater, after which the musical play was closed.
As of October 2017, Mamma Mia! He is in ninth place among the Broadway musicals, long-livers and in the first as a performance that went on longer than others without a break.
World views
The owners of the show put on 11 initial performances, two of which were created for touring companies: international and the United States. Since its premiere in Dublin on September 9, 2004, the international tour has visited more than 74 cities in 35 countries, presenting the performance to more than 5 million viewers. An unforgettable experience was made by the game of the famous actors of the musical “Mama Miya”, and in the role of Donna Helen Hobson especially shone.
The musical is translated into 22 languages, original and independent productions were held in more than 50 countries, 130 largest cities on all six continents. The performances were attended by more than 20 thousand spectators every day, the weekly box office was at least $ 8 million and over eight years exceeded the total amount of 1.6 billion. Over 60 million people saw the show around the world, and it set a record in the history of the theater: for the minimum time for the premiere of Mamma Mia! passed in the maximum number of cities.
The sound recording of the premiere London production received the status of a platinum album in the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Korea. And the status of the golden album is assigned in Switzerland, Germany, New Zealand.
Russian production
In 2006, the show started on October 14 at the Moscow Youth Palace. Success exceeded all expectations. Every day, playing eight plays a week, the stellar cast of the musical “Mama Miya” in Moscow invariably broke the standing ovation. For two theatrical seasons, over 600,000 people admired the play presented by Elena Charkviani, Natalya Koretskaya, Andrey Klyuyev, Andrey Birin, Elvina Mukhutdinova, Vladimir Khalturin, Dmitry Golovin. And Natalia Bystrova was named by Bjorn Ulveus and Benny Andersson the best in the world Sophie.
Mamma Mia! in the Russian history of musical theaters set several records. Over the course of 20 months, nearly 700 screenings of the play took place. Economic success exceeded any box office from previous musical performances. It was the longest show of all the previous ones that came out daily.
After a long break from May 2008 to October 2012, the musical again appeared to the audience on the stage of MDM. This time, the cast of Mama Mia was partially changed, and the technical execution was somewhat simplified.
Movie version
Filming Mamma Mia! started in the summer of 2007. Judith Kramer, producer and creator of the musical performance, said that after the first performances of the show in London and Broadway, many asked if his film version would be shot. To protect the musical, Judith was not going to sell the rights to it to anyone. Around 2005, the creative team of the founders of Mamma Mia! decided it was time to make a film, and launched the preparatory process. It was possible to preserve all the lightness of the incendiary atmosphere, the very essence and spirit of the theatrical musical, which ultimately brought the film a huge success.
The musical idea designer Judith Kramer, director Phyllida Lloyd and screenwriter Catherine Johnson are the main creators and driving force behind this project. They created a story about elderly women who are given a second chance to love, have fun, just be happy. Therefore, the actors on the role of the film “Mama Mia” were selected in accordance with the idea of ​​a warm, laid-back, somewhat anarchic atmosphere in which frivolous fun and humor reigned.
Top performers
Meryl Streep led the cast, playing the role of Donna Sheridan, and Pierce Brosnan joined her company as Sam Carmichael. Colin Firth (Harry Bright) and Stellan Skarsgård (Bill Anderson) play two other possible fathers to Sophie, whose role was brilliantly played by Amanda Seyfried. Two characteristic images of Donna's girlfriends irresistibly conveyed: Tanya - Kristin Baransky, and Rosie - Julie Walters. These actors of the film “Mama Miya” and the corps de ballet starring in it in the Swedish production of the musical constitute the main core, soul and mood of the film.
The musical of non-singing actors
Despite the fact that many professional singers, including participants in theatrical productions of Mamma Mia !, have been tried out among the applicants for the role, almost the entire selection of the main characters consists of actors, singing and non-dancing. This plunged the reviewers into some confusion. Therefore, probably, the BBC film director Mark Kermod in an interview on Radio 5 Live, although he admitted that he enjoyed watching the film, called the vocal performance of the actors “drunk karaoke”. But the creators of the film sought an unprofessional performance of musical numbers from the main actors of the movie "Mama Mia." Their goal was the apparent spontaneity, immediacy, with which adults, like children in a summer camp, have fun. Perhaps, thanks to just such a selection of performers, the film turned out to be so moving, lively and perky.
Donna performer Meryl Streep took opera vocal lessons as a child, and during her diverse acting career she had to sing in several films. Amanda Seyfried has a pleasant, natural voice that matches Sophie's image so well. These two actresses critics recognized as quite suitable for participation in a musical film. Most kicks went to Pierce Brosnan. Former James Bond singing called The Philadelphia Inquirer donkey delirium, and The Miami Herald compared it with a wounded raccoon.
And yet, vocal episodes are performed exclusively by film artists themselves. In addition, many songs begin with an option recorded directly on the set, and only after the first lines is a studio recording superimposed. This technique gave the songs a genuine sincerity and the impression of a dialogue with words coming from heart to heart.
World recognition
The success of the film version did not yield to its theatrical prototype. Mamma Mia !, raising a total of $ 609.8 million, was the fifth most profitable film in 2008. He also reached ninth place as the highest grossing film of all time at the British box office. When it was released on July 3 in Greece, the film raised $ 1.6 million over the weekend, taking first place at the Greek box office. $ 9.6 million was the box office of the premiere day in the United States and Canada.
In 2008, the disc of the film “Mama Mia” with photos of actors on a bright cover became the best-selling DVD in the UK, where 1,669,084 copies were sold on the first day of release. In the United States, DVD sales exceeded $ 30 million on its first day. By December 31, 2008, Mamma Mia! became the most requested DVD in Sweden, reaching 545,000 copies sold.
Unlike the theater musical, the film received several prestigious awards: Golden Globe in the nominations for the best musical film and for the best performance of a female role (Meryl Streep). And Judy Kramer became the BAFTA Award nominee for Best British Producer Debut.
The show goes on
On May 19, 2017, the filming of the sequel to Mamma Mia was announced! with the planned release date of the film on July 20, 2018. Amanda Seyfried will play Sophie again. Meryl Streep, Brosnan, Firth, SkarsgĂĄrd, Julie Walters and Kristin Baransky also return to their roles. Lily James was approved to portray the young Donna, and Jeremy Irwin and Alexa Davis will play young Sam and Rosie.
The ABBA group still has a rich repertoire. Which of their songs will be used in the film and will the sequel be as entertaining as the story of a decade ago? It remains only to look forward to the return of Mamma Mia! and hope that the filmmakers won't let you down.