I Have a Dream – Mamma Mia!

I was really excited to see this show, because first of all, I love ABBA, and second, everyone I knew who had seen it said it was just a blast. So I went in expecting a fun bit of fluff and a good time, and that’s just what I got! My roomate at the time came with me, and we had so much fun.

I missed the original North American cast, but the new cast was nothing to complain about. The show has a very quiet opening, which was nice. I’m sure I was in the majority of the audience who had to fight the urge to sing along when every new song began!

The first song that I really enjoyed in the context of the show was “Mamma Mia” – I thought it was really nicely built up to, and Camilla Scott sang it really well. She has a much deeper voice than I was expecting, and it’s nice! The songs by “Donna and the Dynamos” were fun (Tamara Bernier was hilarious!), and “Lay All Your Love On Me” gets my vote for most interesting choreography! 🙂

I was kind of disappointed with the character of Sam, which you can tell you’re supposed to be interested in, but he’s just not that interesting. That wasn’t the fault of David Keeley, who did a fine job, but just the way the role is written, I think. I think my favourite of the three dads was Harry!

“Does Your Mother Know” is my favourite ABBA song, and I thought I had figured out how they were going to use it, but I was totally wrong! 🙂 The second act is a lot quieter than the first, and I really like the poignancy of “Slipping Through My Fingers”. “The Winner Takes It All” was really touching too.

I think my favourite build-up in the show, despite the cheesiness of it, was for “Take a Chance on Me”. I couldn’t help laughing out loud when she started singing it. Overall I was really impressed with the way they worked all the songs into the show – I certainly would have never thought of it!

The ending was a little *too* cheesy, I thought, but the “mega-mix” at the end was great fun! I really enjoyed the show, and was already looking forward to going to see it again!