By James V. Ruocco
This "Mamma Mia" is unlike any other "Mamma Mia!" you've seen in the last five years.
You know the punchlines.
You know the music.
You know the characters.
You know the play text and the scene-by-scene evolution.
You know the outcome.
Therefore, watching "Mamma Mia!" for the third, fifth or eighth time on stage (the FCS outing marks my 15th viewing of the musical since its premiere in London and on Broadway, both of which I enjoyed immensely along with subsequent National Tours, Regional Theatre incarnations and local productions) is like coming home to a big family celebration of sorts where the champagne flows, the music sparkles, the food is delicious and the dancing keeps you entertained for hours. Toss in a wedding ceremony, a tasty vanilla cake with butter cream frosting and you 'll have the time of your life.
At Fairfield Center Stage - the place to be at the moment - there are rewards aplenty.
This "Mamma Mia!" is fizzy and clever.
It is terrific fun.
It is full of life.
It is sweet and syrupy.
It is energetic and full-out.
It abounds with endless finesse and enthusiasm.
It appeals to all ages and lifestyles.
It is captivating and enchanting.
It is sweet and bubbly.
It is fast and fluid.
It is a welcome diversion in these very troubled and uncertain times.
It is also must for ABBA fans.
As musical theatre, it happily serves up the Scandinavian-based band's vintage but timely classics - each and every one a hit.
In Fairfield, it displays invites of hugs, kisses, singalongs, swaying arms, clapping hands and remembrance.
It asks you to get up off your lawn chair or LL Bean blanket and start dancing.
It invites you to hum along to the songs when and if the mood strikes you.
It asks you to ooh and aah at the characters and their choices.
It asks you to shout out familiar one-liners much to the delight of everyone around you.
And even though you've seen the show before (at FCS this was the case with pretty much everyone in the audience), this "Mamma Mia" wants you to forget everything and act like your seeing the two-act musical for the very first time.
Written by Catherine Johnson, the story of "Mamma Mia!," set on the Greek island of Kalokari, takes place right before the wedding of Sophie Sheridan, the 21-year-old daughter of Donna Sheridan, who, after finding and reading her mother's diary, learns that three men from her mother's past - Sam, Harry and Bill- might very well be her biological father. How all of this happens and plays out over the musical's 120-minute evolution (not including intermission) gives "Mamma Mia!" enough fuel, fire and adrenaline to keep things things merrily in focus until the play's big finish at the end of Act II.
The success of this "Mamma Mia!," first and foremost, rests largely in the hands of director Christy McIntosh-Newsom whose directorial credits include "The Music Man," "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," "Barnum," "Matilda," "A Christmas Carol Experience," "The Secret Garden" and most recently, "The Sound of Music." A visionary who dances to her own theatrical beat and mindset, she isn't interested in staging just another musical or following the paint-by-numbers blueprint of musical theatre productions. Instead, she opts for something fresh and original that bends the rules, portrays things in a completely different light or is so full of surprises, you never once saw any of them coming.
Staging "Mamma Mia!" for Fairfield Center Stage, McIntosh-Newsom brings appropriate charm, voice and color to the production, matched by cleverly orchestrated patches of whimsy, boldness, pulse and originality that swirls and twirls the familiar story into orbit and keeps it happily spinning with a savvy wit and pizzazz that overrides the musical's otherwise bubble-gum goo and corny ornamentation. She also makes great use of her vast outdoor arena by having various cast members arrive on the scene by weaving their way through a very excited audience or making other entrances and exits from the sidelines in full view of various theatergoers. It's all seamlessly connected without any form of hesitation or overkill.
Here, this matter-of-fact readiness and viable staging process allows the material to breathe and resonate without any calculation or hiccups. Nothing is taken for granted. Nothing is over-the-top or corny. Nothing upstages the story, the music, the dancing, the story board, the dialogue or the characters. It's all very well-plotted, rehearsed and staged. And nothing is thrown in for the sake of additional laughter or dramatic effect.
What sets this "Mamma Mia!" apart from other productions of "Mamma Mia!" is that McIntosh-Newsom takes chances and she runs with them. She's an individual and not a copycat. She finds new, creative ways to tell a story. She adds nuance and shading wherever she sees fit. She also doesn't always play by the rules either. The idea to turn "Does Your Mother Know?" into a LGBTQ celebration of sorts where all sexes and lifestyles blend into one, replete with rainbow colors, rainbow flags, rainbow banners and rainbow blankets, is a stroke of genius, brought vividly to life by most of the cast who move about with playful, frenetic abandon under her tutelage and that of Kelsey Kaminski, the show's very talented choreographer.
A celebration of the songs made famous by ABBA (originally composed by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus with Stig Andersson also credited in the footnotes for certain songs used in the production), "Mamma Mia!" includes 26 familiar, high-octane musical numbers pulled from the pop-tinged ABBA songbook. They are "Prologue/I Have a Dream," "Honey, Honey," "Money, Money, Money," "Thank You For the Music," "Mamma Mia!" "Chiquitita," "Dancing Queen," "Lay All Your Love On Me," "Super Trouper," "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A Man After Midnight)," "Voulez Vous," "Under Attack," "One of Us," "S.O.S.," "Does Your Mother Know?" "Knowing Me, Knowing You," "Our Last Summer," "Slipping Through My Fingers," "The Winner Takes It All," "Take a Chance On Me," "I Do, I Do, I Do," "I Have a Dream," "Mamma Mia! (Encore)," "Dancing Queen (Encore)" and "Waterloo."
The songs - all very hummable and memorable - are neatly incorporated into Catherine Johnson's sugar-coated romantic story, which then and now, transcends time and place in the most agreeable of ways. All of them are serviceable to the plot, its power-pop progression, its scene-by-scene story arc and the various characters and ensemble members who sing them, perform them and bring them to life - day or night. They are ABBA of the highest caliber and every one of them are fun, sweetly nostalgic and completely entertaining.
For this production, Fairfield Center Stage has enlisted the talents of Jackie Martino as musical director. Well versed for this particular sort of musical entertainment, Martino's gift for musicality gives this incarnation plenty of energy, panache, passion and a fastidious sense of line and commitment. In turn, this "Mamma Mia!" snaps, crackles and pops. Its heart is in the right place. It gallops through the gate in rainbow colors of sweetness, sexiness and emotion. It gets the pulses racing. It slaps you in the face and gets you all hot and bothered. It also comes gift wrapped with a glitter ball flair and fantasia that's impossible to resist.
Completely akin to the song style that is ABBA - pop rock, folksy glam, light ballads, gum-drop gooey novelty, bittersweet kitsch, flavorful sweetness - Martino dutifully respects and understands the mindset and spirit that is ABBA, the group's universal, highly commercial bliss, their unstoppable rhythms, beats and expressions, their lathered, lyrical tonality and the surface beauty and intimacy of the songs themselves. Here, she is at the top form with one showstopper after another. The entire cast - leads, supporting players, chorus - are all in fine and full voice with so much energy to boot, if there's a power outage one night or afternoon in Fairfield, Martino and company are to blame. Here, the harmonizing, the solos, the duets and the big production numbers are matched by the right blending of voices and pitch-perfect vocalizations that joyously reflect the intentions of its creators.
Working side-by-side with an exceptional team of musicians (Clay Zambo (keyboard, programming), Michael Mosca (guitar), Charles Casimiro (bass) and Gabe Nappi (drums), Martino (also on keyboard), bring a certain pulse and urgency to the oft-played "Mamma Mia!" score that is played out to perfection with precision, scope and exceptional orchestral pacing and movement. In turn, there are many, many showstoppers - "Mamma Mia!" "Super Trouper," "Dancing Queen," "Voulez Vous," " "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A Man After Midnight), " "Does Your Mother Know?" - all of which marvelously capture the emotional gravity of the music itself, its playful concept, its obvious sparkle and intended dazzle.
Dance, when done right, is also key to the success of the "Mamma Mia!" experience. For this go round, Kelsey Kaminski, a choreographer who is well versed in the mechanics of dance for musical theater, has developed a choreographic blueprint that not only celebrates the music of ABBA, but the good-natured feel, emotion, wryness and intensity of the love story at hand, its progression through dance and how is is shaped to move the action along both effectively and artfully. As "Mamma Mia!" unfolds, she creates a whirlwind of ABBA frenzy that explodes in MGM movie musical fashion deftly reflecting the the celebratory conceit that has made this musical giddyap through the decades since its 1999 London debut with no sign of slowing down 22 years later.
Using the outdoor stage and atmospheric space of the Scandinavian Club (a standing ovation is mandatory for Don Rowe's exceptional lighting palate of rhythmic colors, invention, style and purpose), Kaminski dazzles her audience with wild, ferocious and fun-filled dance maneuvers and rhythmic patterns that not only enhance and drive the musical story forward, but heighten the dramatic and passionate momentum of the piece, its flourish, its commitment and its Greek-island sweetness. This is dance full of brains, craft, propulsion and trademark destiny. It thrusts you into its world and subject matter with increasing power and precision. It has beauty and surprise. It is dynamic and thrilling. It unfolds with zest and rhythmic harmony, propelled by a calibrated energy and wattage of choice moves, gestures, beats and turns, all mixed together in trademark fashion to define the quality, virtuoso and exhilaration that is "Mamma Mia!."
In the role of Donna Sheridan, the mother of Sophie and the former lead singer of the girl group "Donna and the Dynamos," the blue-haired Marilyn Olsen takes hold of this very popular character and spins it into a full-filled, exciting portrait of concern, exasperation, madness and frivolity that keeps her at the very center of the musical's action as scripted by the playwright and the show's musical collaborators. It's a riveting performance, both musically, comically and dramatically that the actress addresses with sure-fire commitment and dedication.
Her Donna is earthy, stubborn, motherly, caring, cautious and misunderstood. It's also a characterization of strongness, determination and optimism which Olsen communicates with vision and insight. Vocally, she is in fine voice delivering powerhouse renditions of the many ABBA songs she is asked to perform including "The Winner Takes It All," "One of Us," "Money, Money Money," "Dancing Queen," "Super Trouper," "S.O.S." and the musical's showstopping title song "Mamma Mia!" which members of the audience happily chimed in loudly and clearly alongside the show's pleasant-sounding men and women of the ensemble.
As Donna's daughter Sophie, Jessica Pescosolido has a powerful voice, presence and spirit that serves the material well. No matter what song she sings - "Slipping Through My Fingers," "I Have a Dream," "The Name of the Game," "Honey, Honey," "Under Attack" - she hits all the right notes with a freshness, vitality, charm and mindset that does justice to the ABBA songbook, the original material and the popular orchestrations. As an actress, her pairing with both Olsen and the always enjoyable Sean Davis who plays her boyfriend Sky, is fraught with a real emotion that is genuine, truthful and passionate.
Carolyn Reeves, as Tanya, delivers a dynamic, sexy, charismatic star turn that prompts immediate attention whenever she's on stage. It's one of the best portrayals of the character itself and one that is as exciting and refreshing as the one originated by Louise Plowright for the 1999 London production and the following year by Karen Mason on Broadway. Her big number - the reworked, playful, rainbow-tinged "Does Your Mother Know?" is a bonafide showstopper and one of the major highlights (there are many) in Act II. Elsewhere, Shannon Grumet brings the right snap, fizz and decidedly comic relish to the part of Rosie, which she infuses with a zany dash and spark that adds additional fuel to her very memorable and unforgettable performance.
There's a raw power and realness to Mark Silence's portrayal of Sam Carmichael which heightens the character's appeal and his interpretation of the part throughout the "Mamma Mia!" telling. As both actor and singer, he is well prepared and ready, most notably in his many scenes with the principal characters and his stirring, emotional delivery of Sam's solo musical number "Knowing Me, Knowing You." As Bill Austin, Jeffrey Fulton brings plenty of personality and humor to his role of a traveling guru as does Bill Wamcke, in the part Harry Bright, a cheeky Englishman whose first and only sexual encounter with a woman was Donna Sheridan.
The perfect song-and-dance musical to kick off the start of the 2021-2022 season at Fairfield Center Stage, "Mamma Mia!" is a pulsating, mainstream musical entertainment of stunning dimension that is fresh, flouncy, power-grabbing and gigawatt fantastic. It breaks out all the ABBA classics with obvious care, affection, sparkle and sugar-coated affection and has great fun doing so. With Christy McIntosh-Newsom as director, this is "Mamma Mia!" like you've never seen it before and that, in a nutshell, is what makes its extra special. It's not only sparkly and flavorful, but it's full of surprises and choice directorial moments guaranteed to make you forget about every other "Mamma Mia!" production you've seen over the last five or six years. It also puts ABBA back on the brain again, but in a very different light.
The cast - each and every one of them - exceptional in their very own right - perform with a thrilling exhilaration that complements the musical's airy, emotional, sugar-coated delirium. And the combined talents of Jackie Martino (musical director), Kelsey Kaminski (choreographer), Don Rowe (lighting designer), Jessica Camarero (costumer designer), Kevin Pelkey (scenic designer) and Chris Gensur (sound designer) give this particular production an identity all its own that makes it stand tall and jump right out at you in a three-dimensional flourish where yin and yang energy go hand and hand to breathe new life into a very, very popular musical where "happily ever after" does exist and really, really matters.
Photos of "Mamma Mia!" courtesy of Kate Eisemann Pictures
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