Mamma Mia! 'The musical that ends up being a concert'

The world’s most-watched musical, Mamma Mia!, is expected to break more records starting Jan. 24 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), with sentimental and musical Pinoys raring to experience the songs of the ‘70s Swedish pop group, ABBA.

Already, over 50 million people worldwide have seen Mamma Mia!, which boasts of more international productions than any other show in the world. Twenty-two of ABBA’s hits are featured in the musical, igniting its appeal to world-wide audiences. After all, ABBA has sold over 370 million records worldwide. According to online sources, this makes them the fourth best-selling music artists in the history of recorded music, behind only The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.

Real-life couple Sara Poyzer and Richard Standing play Donna and Sam.

Actually, it isn’t just the Filipino audience that is excited to see Mamma Mia! onstage in Manila — the cast is equally thrilled.

Lead male star Richard Standing, who plays Sam Carmichael in the musical (Pierce Brosnan in the movie), reveals that for the cast and crew, the upcoming Manila performance is the “prize” for all their hard work.

In an interview with this writer and Thelma San Juan of the Inquirer at the Renaissance Hotel in Zurich, Switzerland, where Mamma Mia! was wowing audiences in November and December last year, Standing said: “Totally. Honestly. You are the prize.”

Actress Sara Poyzer, who plays Donna Sheridan in Mamma Mia! (Meryl Streep in the movie), and is Standing’s wife in real life, agrees.

“When we started in our job here in Zurich, I know we talked of maybe going somewhere else like the Middle East, the Far East, and then Nick Finlow, the musical director, came in and said, ‘I want to let you know the work is extending for four weeks and we’re going to the Philippines!’ And it was like, ‘Whoa! Yeah’!” (Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez, take note!)

I think the excited cast and crew — all 56 of them — won’t be disappointed. Because Filipinos are a sentimental, nostalgic people and for them, ABBA’s hit songs will be like a refreshing shower of happy memories of the good old days.

A 1977 photo shows members of Swedish pop group Abba: Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Faltskog. AP

Just hum a few lines and play a few notes of Dancing Queen; Honey, Honey; Knowing Me, Knowing You; and The Winner Takes It All and you will have a virtual sing-along amongst Pinoys. Mamma Mia! is tailor-made for us — it is popular but not common, impeccable but not snobbish (even if it will be mounted at the CCP). And most important, it is a musical you can relate with and feel a part of. It looks like you can easily jump on stage and perform with everybody — but since you can’t, you can always take to the aisles. In other words, you can go aisle-hopping with Mamma Mia!, as many audiences around the world already have.

“What’s great about the show is by the end you have a little bit of a concert, we all dress up, we sing the ABBA. And hopefully, everybody gets up to his feet,” exclaims Sara, who will be celebrating her birthday on her first night in Manila. Her friends who have been to the Philippines advise her not to miss this place called “Green-somewhere…” I finish the sentence for her, “Green-hills.”

I asked the couple, who have been married close to 300 times to each other — on and off-stage — how it feels to see your audience breaking into song and dance with you.

“It’s just brilliant!” says Sara (“Brilliant” is a favorite expression of the Brits, I learned during my interviews with the Mamma Mia! cast and crew in Zurich). “The more people joining, the more fun we have. I think it’s one of those shows where we don’t want the audience to just sit back and watch. We want them to be involved.”

Oh, in Manila, I am sure she’s going to get her wish.

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A Mamma Mia! billboard in Zurich.

Mamma Mia! creative producer Judy Craymer first met Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, the songwriting geniuses behind ABBA and was especially inspired by the song, The Winner Takes It All, its lyrics telling a roller-coaster story of love and loss, which becomes the basis for the script of the musical.

Mamma Mia!, for those who haven’t seen it yet, unfolds in a Greek Island paradise. On the eve of Sophie Sheridan’s wedding, she goes on a quest to discover the identity of her father and brings three men from her mother’s past back to the island they last visited 20 years ago. ABBA’s timeless songs propel an enchanting tale of true love, laughter and unconditional friendship.

Mamma Mia! is the first musical where the songs preceded the script.

“It was the first. And there are many more now. We have We Will Rock You, Jersey Boys... I think what happens why it works so well is because the songs are very theatrical. The songs have very strong storylines and not bubblegum pop. Because the group went through very, very difficult personal times and relationships. There were two couples (Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog, and Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad) and both married. So there were two couples in the group, they divorced. And all those issues in their relationships spilled out into the writing of the songs. So the songs are very personal. That’s how Catherine Johnson wrote the book. She was so clever in inserting them into the story of Mamma Mia!,” musical director Nick Finlow says.

When it made its debut in London in 1999, one critic said of the feel-good musical, “Mamma Mia! could put Prozac out of business!”

This writer in Zurich to interview the cast of Mamma Mia!.

“I think the music is the key ingredient, and a great storyline. And those two things make our show brilliant. And fun. I think that’s the other thing — it’s fun, enjoyable. You laugh, you cry,” says Nick.

And dance the night away.

Mamma Mia! will be presented in Manila by Infinity, powered by Smart and Citibank. It will be brought to Manila by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, David Atkins Enterprises, Hi-Definition Radio Inc., and Concertus Inc.

(For inquiries, call 891-9999 and for sponsorships, call Concertus at 403-8678).

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 (You may e-mail me at [email protected].)