Mamma Mia! is one of the most popular musicals in theater history. The show is based on the songs of the Swedish quartet ABBA, a successful singing group of the 1970’s. Mamma Mia! opened in London in 1999 and in New York City in 2001. The show became a hit in other North American cities and in Asia and Australia.
Mamma Mia! takes place on a Greek island, where an American named Donna Sheridan runs a small hotel with Sophie, her daughter. Sophie is about to be married, and the story revolves around the young woman’s attempt to identify her real father. From reading her mother’s diary, Sophie learns that her father could be one of three men who had relationships with Donna nine months before Sophie’s birth. Sophie invites the men to the wedding, hoping to discover which one is her true father.
The show’s songs were all composed by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA. The British playwright Catherine Johnson wrote the musical’s story. Although the songs were written separately, Johnson made them fit naturally into her story. The songs include such ABBA hits as “Mamma Mia,” “Dancing Queen,” “Super Trouper,” “Knowing Me, Knowing You,” “Winner Takes It All, “ and “S.O.S.” The English director Phyllida Lloyd directed the show.
A motion-picture adaptation in 2008 starred the American actress Meryl Streep as Donna Sheridan. Lloyd also directed the film.
See also ABBA.
