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| Alicia Gardiner - Natalie O'Donnell - Jayde Westaby in "MAMMA MIA !" Photo: James D Morgan |
Music and
Lyrics by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus
Book by Catherine Johnson
Directed by Gary Young
Choreographed by Tom Hodgson
Musical Direction by Michael Azzopardi
Capitol Theatre, Sydney until 6th May 2018
Book by Catherine Johnson
Directed by Gary Young
Choreographed by Tom Hodgson
Musical Direction by Michael Azzopardi
Capitol Theatre, Sydney until 6th May 2018
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens
Australia
has a love affair with the music of ABBA. We just can’t get enough of it. The
stage productions of “Muriel’s Wedding”, “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”, and
of course “Mamma Mia!” all feature largely the same songs from these composers.
Audiences, largely motivated by memories of how these songs reflect key moments
in their own lives, flock to hear these songs again and again. However, the magic of “Mamma Mia” is the wit
with which the familiar songs have been interpolated into the sentimental and
curiously contemporary storyline focussing on a young woman’s curiosity about
the father she has never met, which motivates her to invite three possible
candidates to her wedding and has the audience chuckling with delight as they
recognise the cues heralding which song best suits the situation.
Director,
Gary Young is perfectly aware of this, and even though his fresh, new staging
of the show is at its best when the stage is given over to Tom Hodgson’s energetic
choreography, he also keeps the storyline moving along neatly with a series of
well-staged intimate vignettes.
Hodgson’s tightly
drilled choreography provides the energetic young cast with plenty of
opportunity to bust out their best party moves, and it doesn’t really matter
that many of the lyrics are obscured by the clever musical arrangements. Most
of the audience know these lyrics by heart anyway. But having reviewed this
production in the smaller Canberra Theatre, watching it from the dress circle
of the much larger Capitol Theatre, it was noticeable that on opening night much
of the spoken dialogue was difficult to hear because the sound levels dipped
between the songs and dialogue. No such trouble hearing the overture and
entr’acte though. Both were played at ear-splitting level guaranteed to rupture
a few hearing aids.
Although a
little dwarfed in the Capitol Theatre, Linda Bewick’s versatile setting still
looks as pretty as a picture, and Suzy Strout’s colourful costumes are perfect
for a Greek island holiday. Gavan Swift has taken advantage of the bigger
theatre to re-jig his lighting design to now include a spectacular rock-concert-style
light show to begin the second act.
The playing
of the comedy has now broadened with actors “being funny” rather than being
funny as a result of the situations. Moves that previously looked like
responses to the moment now look like direction. However none of this seemed to
worry the Sydney opening night audience who were there for the music.
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| Stephen Mahy (Sky) and Sarah Morrison (Sophie) Photo: Peter Brew Bevan |
The
attractive cast give it their all. Sarah Morrison and Stephen May charm as the young prospective newly-weds,
Sophie and Sky, and Natalie O’Donnell,
who played Sophie in the original Australian production of “Mamma Mia”, is now Sophie’s
stressed-out mother-of-the-bride, Donna, who has her best moment in the
dramatic eleven o’clock number, “The Winner Takes It All”.
Alicia
Gardiner and Jayde Westaby play Donna’s best friends, Rosie and Tanya, with
Westaby practically running away with the show as the glamourous cougar who
takes on the cheeky Pepper (Sam Hooper) in the marvellously staged number,
“Does Your Mother Know”. Ian Stenlake, Phillip Lowe and Josef Ber are a
handsome trio of prospective fathers, each with a fine singing voice, and sufficient
charisma to keep you wondering which really is Sophie’s errant dad.
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| Sam Hooper (Pepper) and Jade Westaby (Tanya) perform "Does Your Mother Know ?" Photo: James D. Morgan |
But in the
end it doesn’t really matter because the show ends with irresistible mega-mix
guaranteed to have you dancing in the aisles and humming ABBA songs for the
next week.
