I Have a Dream – Mamma Mia!

It had been a long time since I last saw this show! In the meantime, the show had closed for a few months after the SARS scare, and an almost completely new cast had come in. And Susan had never seen it at all, so I got us tickets for her birthday, and we headed to the Royal Alex to check out the new cast.

Kim Huffman was a good Donna – very like Camilla Scott in places, but with her own personal touches too. Anna Madgett is a decent Sophie as well, though she had a little bit of trouble in “Thank You for the Music” the night we saw her.

Probably my favourite new cast member was Laurie Murdoch as Harry – he made me laugh a number of times, and was a little more warm than some of the other Harrys. I found it strange his line at the wedding was changed from “Laurence” to “Nigel” – anyone know why? I didn’t really care for Kerry Dorey as Sam – his voice just didn’t seem to suit the style of the music, although perhaps I just caught him on a bad night! He did the same slower introduction to “Knowing Me, Knowing You” that David Mucci had, which I don’t like as much as the way David Keeley came at it out of nowhere. 🙂

But the cast member I missed the most was Tamara Bernier as Tanya – I think I’ll always think of her when I think of the role, so while Nicole Robert did a fine job, I was always missing Tamara a little, most especially her fabulous belting in “Does Your Mother Know?”

Sean Ban Beaton was not new, but I found his Eddie particularly enjoyable this time around.

There always seems to be one person in the audience who is having a better time than anyone else … and they always seem to be sitting near me! Why is that? Anyway, at least this time the woman wasn’t too distracting, though she did laugh hysterically (so I could see her shoulders shaking) at the beginning of each song! 🙂

Anyway, overall the cast is very good – I’m glad that Susan got to see the show, and she enjoyed it as well!