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Emma Clifford as Tanya, Sara Poyzer as Donna and Jacqueline Braun as fun-loving Rosie. Pictures: Brinkhoff/Mögenburg Mamma Mia!
Birmingham Hippodrome
***** WHAT can you say! This is a musical that
takes the feel-good factor to new heights. It’s bright, lively, fast
paced, funny, cheeky, a little naughty – but nice - and, by the way, did
I mention the music. Anyone who left without an Abba song dancing
around in their head needs to have their pulse checked. They were one of
the most successful groups of all time, conquering the world; their
music is infectious and Mamma Mia! provides not only a solid musical
but, for most, an industrial strength nostalgia fix, all rolled into
one. The book by Catherine Johnson, is a class apart
from your average jukebox musical with the songs cleverly worked into
the script, so much so you could believe they were actually written for
the show. The story is simple. Sophie, played with bags of
innocent charm by Lucy May Barker, is about to be married and wants her
dad at the wedding. Nothing unusual there except mum Donna, a delightful
performance by Sara Poyzer, who runs a taverna on a remote Greek island,
was, how should we say . . . test driving men, three to be precise, all
in a couple of weeks 21 years ago. Sophie is 20 . . . so you hardly need
to be Einstein to work out the implications. So Sophie, unbeknown to mum, invites all three to
her wedding. Cue romantic chaos. We have candidate number one, Richard Standing’s
solid, dependable Sam,
Then we have Christopher Hollis’s back packing
Aussie writer and adventurer, who eschews marriage, children,
relationships and indeed anything that won’t fit in a rucksack. His life
is about to change forever. Christopher Hollis as Bill, Richard Standing as Sam and Tim Walton as Harry, three dads together. Finally, dad applicant number three is banker
Harry, played with an air of repressed rebellion by Tim Walton who has a
past and then some. As if that wasn’t enough Donna was once the lead
singer in Donna and the Dynamos, and backing group the Dynamos arrive in
the shape of best friends Tanya and Rosie. Tanya is a rich woman, with three ex-husbands
behind her, two facts which are not unrelated and Emma Clifford does a
fine job of bringing her to sparkling, elegant life. As for Rosie . . .
Dutch star Jacqueline Braun is a larger than life, explosion of fun. And you can’t have a wedding without a groom, in
this case Sky, played by Phillip Ryan, and bridesmaids, played by lively
pair Micha Richardson as Ali and Blaise Colangelo as Lisa. There is good support too from the tavern staff
Sam Robinson as Eddie and Luis Stockil as Pepper and a fine ensemble
marshalled by some excellent chorography from Anthony Van Laast –
including a boy’s dance in snorkels and flippers. But let’s be honest,
this is a show that is all about the music and incidentally reminds you
of just what good songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus are,
everything from pop and disco to more serious ballads, with
The Winner Takes it All
voted not only their best song but best break up song of all time. And
after a stunning version by Donna it was easy to see why. A real show
stopper. Mind you it was two
hours and twenty minutes into the music, well into the second act, that
a switch was flicked in the audience, the switch being
Take a chance on Me
Once started there was
no stopping them though and considering any DJ worth his salt knows you
could even get people on their feet to Abba tracks in a mortuary; the
finale was a gimme, Donna and the Dynamos, and the three dads in Abba
inspired costumes led it with a medley ending with
Dancing Queen
and, the song that started it all, Eurovision winner,
Waterloo.
Everyone on their feet, smiles, cheers all round and happily singing
along.
To its eternal credit
Mamma Mia! shuns the Jukebox Musical format of shoehorning in as many
songs, often only snatches, as possible, going instead for a sort of
greatest hits line up with each song given full reign, with the likes of
Super Trouper, Dancing Queen, Knowing
Me, Knowing You, Thank You for the Music, Money, Money, Money,
Voulez-Vous, SOS and, of course, the
title track. And all that was to the music of an impressive
seven-piece band under musical director Richard Weeden. If there was a fault it was that the sound
balance between band and singers, Donna in the lower registers for
example, was a bit of a battle at times, and the vocal sliders could
have been pushed up a notch. The set, designed by Mark Thompson, was minimal,
not unusual for a touring production, effective and functional, two
white walls with blue doors, Santorini style, which could be spun,
reversed and angles changed to create a village square, tavern,
bedrooms, harbour, or whatever was needed. It meant there was no pause between scenes which
meant a cracking pace for the entire show – the 100th on tour
incidentally. The evening just flew by. Great singing, a great cast
brimming with infectious enthusiasm, great songs and a great show -
funny, feel-good and gold standard magical entertainment. The hottest
show in town with guaranteed sunshine all summer. To 03-09-16 Roger Clarke 29-06-16
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an
architect who left Donna to return home to get married - but there is
more to that sorry story than that as we are to discover.
from
the glorious fun machine that was Jacqueline’s Rosie. Suddenly the
audience were clapping, swaying and joining in. Strange. There had been
individuals singing along here and there but the audience seemed more
enthralled and appreciative than involved up to that point.