Mamma Mia! (promoted as Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus' Mamma Mia!) is a jukebox musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson based on songs recorded by Swedish group ABBA and composed by members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. The title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia". Ulvaeus and Andersson were involved in the development of the show from the beginning, while singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad was involved financially in the production and also appeared at many of the premieres around the world.
The musical includes such hits as "Super Trouper", "Lay All Your Love on Me", "Dancing Queen", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", "Take a Chance on Me", "Thank You for the Music", "Money, Money, Money", "The Winner Takes It All", "Voulez-Vous", "SOS" and "Mamma Mia". Over 65 million people have seen the show, which has grossed $4 billion worldwide since its 1999 debut. A film adaptation starring Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski, Stellan Skarsgård and Julie Walters was released in 2008.
As of 2020, the show has productions in London's West End, where it is the sixth longest-running show in West End history, as well as various foreign productions. Its Broadway incarnation closed on 12 September 2015 after running for nearly 14 years, making it the ninth longest-running show in Broadway history.
Background
Mamma Mia! is based on the songs of ABBA, a Swedish pop/dance group active from 1972 to 1982 and one of the most popular international pop groups of all time, repeatedly topping the charts in Europe, North and South America and Australia. Following the premiere of the musical in London in 1999, ABBA Gold topped the charts in the United Kingdom again. Producer Judy Craymer met songwriters Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson in 1983 when they were working with Tim Rice on Chess. It was the song "The Winner Takes It All" that suggested to her the theatrical potential of their pop songs. Though unenthusiastic, the duo were not completely opposed to the idea.
In 1997, Craymer commissioned Catherine Johnson to write the book for the musical. In 1998, Phyllida Lloyd became the director for the show.
Various reviewers have noted a similarity in the plot between Mamma Mia and the 1968 film Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell, previously adapted as the 1979 musical Carmelina, which is also about a woman who does not know which of three men is the father of her daughter, now a young woman. Some have even claimed that Mamma Mia is officially based on the 1968 film. Critic John Simon speculated that Mamma Mia is set in Greece and not Italy (which might have fit in better with the musical's title) to make the connection to the film less obvious. However, Johnson has denied being inspired by Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell.
Productions
Original West End production
The musical opened in the West End at the Prince Edward Theatre on 6 April 1999, and transferred to the Prince of Wales Theatre on 9 June 2004, where it played until September 2012, when it moved to the Novello Theatre. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd with choreography by Anthony Van Laast, the original cast featured Siobhan McCarthy, Lisa Stokke, and Hilton McRae.
The show closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, and reopened at the Novello Theatre on 25 August 2021.
Original Broadway and U.S. productions
Prior to the musical's Broadway engagement, it opened in Toronto at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in May 2000, where it played for five years. Its US debut was in San Francisco, California, at the Orpheum Theatre from 17 November 2000, to 17 February 2001, moving next to Los Angeles, California, at the Shubert Theatre from 26 February to 12 May 2001, and finally to Chicago, Illinois, at the Cadillac Palace Theatre from 13 May to 12 August 2001.
New York City run
The musical opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre on 18 October 2001, after beginning previews on 5 October. The director was Phyllida Lloyd with choreography by Anthony Van Laast. As of October 2017, it was the ninth longest-running Broadway show and the longest-running jukebox musical in Broadway history. On 18 April 2013, it was announced that Mamma Mia! would transfer from its home at the Winter Garden Theatre to the Broadhurst Theatre later that year to make way for the musical adaptation of Rocky. The show played its final performance at the Winter Garden Theatre on 19 October 2013, and began performances at the Broadhurst Theatre on 2 November 2013.