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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, June 22, 2008

ABBA MUSICAL
Get your groove on, 'cause 'Mamma Mia!' is on its way

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

"Mamma Mia!" stars Susie McMonagle as Donna Sheridan, a taverna owner whose daughter is about to get married.

Joan Marcus

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'MAMMA MIA!' | MAY 12 - 24

7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays

Blaisdell Concert Hall

$75, $65, and $40 for weekdays and Sunday evenings, $85, $75 and $50 for Friday and Saturday shows and Sunday matinees

Group sales (15 or more) start tomorrow; call Hawaii Opera Theatre box office, 593-2468

Individual sales begin Friday; at Blaisdell box office, Ticketmaster locations (including Times), 877-750-4400, www.ticketmaster.com

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Susie McMonagle, center, and the rest of the "Mamma Mia!" cast will perform in Hawai'i in May 2009.

Joan Marcus

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Get out your disco moves and get ready for "Dancing Queen."

That ABBA musical, "Mamma Mia!," will make its Hawai'i debut next May at Blaisdell Concert Hall. "Dancing Queen," "Chiquita," "Money, Money, Money" and all those ABBA smashes will take center stage.

The musical, by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, has become an international hit since its 2001 debut on Broadway. With more than 2,750 performances, it is now the fifth longest-running musical currently on The Great White Way. The original West End production has logged more than 3,500 performances.

The show, seen by more than 30 million worldwide in tours of 30 foreign cities, has also emerged as a hit in Las Vegas and is now on tour nationally. In addition, a new feature film version, starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Julie Waters and Christine Baranski, is due July 18.

"Mamma Mia!" is a story based on relationships between Donna Sheridan, a single mom who operates a taverna on an idyllic Greek island, and her soon-to-wed daughter, Sophie, who yearns to have her father walk her down the aisle. But because she doesn't precisely know who her real dad is — there are three possibilities: Sam Carmichael, Harry Bright and Bill Austin — she secretly invites all three gents from her mom's past to the wedding.

Mom invites two pals from her Donna and the Dynamos band — Tanya, the rich divorcee, and Rosie, the no-nonsense chum — to add to the mayhem.

There are some plot complications, but the whole is-he or isn't-he issues — plus mom's reignited feelings for Sam — are secondary to the catchy ABBA songs of the 1970s and '80s that fill both acts. The score is a tunefest including chartbusters such as "Honey, Honey," "Money, Money, Money," "Mamma Mia," "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!," "S.O.S.," "Knowing Me, Knowing You," "Take a Chance on Me," and "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do."

The sing-along, dance-along tunes ultimately suit the celebratory spirit of family, mothers and daughters, as well as old and new family bonds.

As part of the ABBA allure, the principals also appear in neon costumes, with billowy sleeves in sherbet colors — capturing the spirit of the Swedish originals — and give a mini-performance, triggering audience members to dance, sing and clap along with glee.

The touring company will feature Susie McMonagle as Donna, Rose Sezniak as Sophie, John Hempill as Sam Carmichael, Michael Aaron Lindner as Harry Bright and Martin Kildare as Bill Austin.

There will be eight performances a week: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays.

Tickets are $75, $65 and $40 for weekdays and Sunday evenings, and $85, $75 and $50 for Friday and Saturday shows and the Sunday matinees.

Group sales, with discounts available for parties of 15 or more, will begin tomorrow through the Hawaii Opera Theatre box office, at 593-2468.

There are discounts for early- bird groups, students, Scouts and senior groups; discounts do not apply to the Friday or Saturday night performances.

Individual tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. Friday at the Blaisdell Center box office and all Ticketmaster locations, including Times Supermarket, or by phone at 877-750-4400, or online at www.ticketmaster.com. There are applicable service charges and a $1 facility fee for tickets at the Blaisdell box office only.

As a salute to the men and women in uniform, an armed- forces discount of 10 percent will be offered — military ID must be presented — for all shows except Friday and Saturday evenings.

"Mamma Mia!" is being presented in Honolulu by Chicago-based Jam Theatricals Ltd., which recently staged "Cirque Dream Jungle Fantasy" here. Previously, Jam Theatricals brought Michael Flatley's "Lord of the Dance" and "Grease" to Blaisdell, and "Stomp" to the Hawai'i Theatre. On Broadway, Jam Theatricals also is producing the 2008 Tony Award-winning best play, "August: Osage County" and such Tony nominees as "Rock 'N' Roll," "The Seafarer," "The Homecoming" and "Sunday in the Park With George."

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.