Review: Mamma Mia! by touring company
by Brian Paul Scipione

Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus' Mamma Mia! is a jukebox musical based on the songs of ABBA. For those who don’t know ABBA, they're the group responsible for all the bangers played at your cousin’s wedding that  get more bodies on the dance floor than the chicken dance, and they are one of the successful groups in music history. Formed in 1972 by two couples—Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus, and Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad—they have sold over 380 million records despite having gone on only four tours during their 51-year career. Their odd sounding name is actually an anagram of the initials of the members' first names.

 

Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson first began working in the musical theater world in 1983 when they collaborated with lyricist Tim Rice on Chess. Catherine Johnson began writing the book for Mamma Mia in 1997, and the play premiered in London in 1999. It has been suggested that Ulvaeus and Andersson must have been heavily involved in the production because, despite the rampant success of the soundtrack, the musical Chess was widely considered a flop. Mamma Mial certainly didn’t have that problem. Not only did it go on to inspire the 2008 hit movie starring Meryl Streep and Colin Firth; it cemented its legacy by becoming the fifth longest-running show in West End history and the ninth longest-running show in Broadway history. It has been produced in over sixty countries and on six continents. It has been estimated to have been seen by more than 70 million people worldwide.

 

Set on a fictional Greek island, the story centers on Sophie, who wants her father to walk her down the aisle ather upcoming marriage to Sky. The problem? She doesn’t know who her father is. Her mother’s diaries suggest three possibilities, so she invites them all, hoping to discover who her real father is in the course of the 24 hours of the event. That's a fairly serious subject, but the story’s tone is zany and playful, much like a classic Shakespeare comedy in which all problems can be resolved with a few marriages here and there. The interpolations of ABBA songs into the story are mostly seamless, though there are a few in the first act that feel like square pegs in round holes. This won’t be noticed by most audiences, since the disconnect is in the verse lyrics, not the refrains.

 

The musical begins with a rousing althougy canned overture filled with the incredibly catchy melodies that make ABBA so known and beloved. The scenic design was strikingly monochromatic, with the set and costumes done in beige and the background a warm and inviting blue. Combined with the sparse blocky buildings, the set managed to be both austere and homey at the same time. The dialogue is witty and very much PG as the story is quickly unfolded, making ample room for the rush of songs that inundate the piece. But hey, that’s what we were all there for, wasn't it?. This even-handed start takes a sudden turn when the three fathers arrive on the scene, all of whom employ accents so over the top they sound like Seth McFarlaine (of Family Guy fame) has stepped in to do the voiceovers.

 

The show really hits its stride when the appropriately named Donna’s Dynamos takes the stage. Sophie’s mom Donna (Jessica Crouch) laments the arrival of her three ex-lovers to her best friends and former bandmates Rosie (Carly Sakolove) and Tanya (Jalynn Steele). The dialogue is tongue in cheek and belly-laugh-inducing, and the physical comedy is absolutely brilliant. The trio then proceed to smash three of the biggest numbers of the show: "Mamma Mia," "Chiquitita," and "Dancing Queen." Their performances steal the show in every scene they appear in. Then, stretching credibility, during the second act Jalynn Steele manages to steal the show from the show stealers. Her performance is amazingly commanding and refined despite the crude material she gleefully doles out.

 

 

 

The show’s choreography is on point, and the musical performances sail over the high bar set by the globally renowned original songs. The first act ends on a hilarious and vibrant note as we witness the bachelor and bachelorette parties nearly simultaneously.

 

The stakes are rapidly raised in the second act, which takes a much darker, brooding tone. The color palate follows suit, switching from the first act's beige and blue to beige and orange for a psychedelic dream sequence and a flurry of pre-wedding jitters and wild attempts at reconciliation between Donna and the ex-lovers. A happy ending seems impossible, but this wouldn't be the ultimate Rom-Com if it didn't occur. The lighting settles into a more dulcet beige and green for the remainder of the act for the rsolution and a rousing three-song encore that brought the audience to their feet in a toe-tapping singalong extravaganza.

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Mamma Mia!
by Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Anderson, Stig Anderson, Catherine Johnson
touring company

April 14 - 19, 2026

Bass Concert Hall, University of Texas, Austin