I may be exercising my critic's right to figure out why this was billed as the "Farewell Tour" and not a Broadway tour. Maybe, just maybe, it's really insider theatrical semantics; this "Mamma" company is made up of non-Actors' Equity Association actors, singers, and dancers -- Equity is the performers' union, therefore it's difficult for the producers to call this a Broadway show tour. Actors in a "Broadway" touring show would have to be part of the union.
But producing touring shows isn’t cheap, and non-Equity tours are a good way to entertain and fill seats, especially during the off-season in South Florida when the snowbirds have flown back up North, and getting an audience into a 5,500 seat theater might be tough.
You'll also see that the non-union shows usually play a lot more cities in shorter amounts of time, ergo "Mamma Mia's" three-day stint at BCFPA, which is why you should run, and not walk to see "Mamma Mia!" this weekend.Equity or non-Equity, this is a great production of "Mamma Mia!" with a cast that captures the verve and the spirit so needed in the lightweight comedy that contrasts Sophie, a 20 year old, bride to be, who is getting married at a taverna on a Greek Island. Her mother, Donna, a free spirit from the 1970s and former singer of the girl band Donna and the Dynamos, owns the off-the-mainland hideaway. There's a secret to be unearthed at Sophie's wedding. The girl never knew who her father was and desperately wants Dad to be the one to give her away, but who is he. Could it be Harry? Bill? Or Sam? She invites the three men to the island for the wedding. She's culled their names from snooping in her mother's diary, and her dalliances from 21 years ago on the same Greek island.
The musical soundtrack is from 1970s group ABBA Yes it is the ultimate feel-good show with a greatest hits parade, including “Dancing Queen,” “S.O.S.,” “Super Trouper,” “Take A Chance on Me” and “The Winner Takes It All.”
Here's a show with an Italian title, music by a Swedish group, that takes place on a Greek island. Just goes to prove the creativity that came together for one of the original "jukebox" musicals, and has put it in the record books as the eighth longest running show in Broadway history and one of only five musicals to have run for more than ten years on Broadway. It closed in 2015 after a 14-year-run. London's West End production is now in its eighteenth year.
This production by Work Light has gathered together an energetic cast that keeps the show moving right along.
Betsy Padamosky more than nails the role of Donna as the single mom who is forced to face her own past, yet still believe in her choices of independence. Padamosky had a long career performing with Norwegian Cruise Lines, and has been playing the lead role in "Mamma Mia!" since the tour kicked off in Fall 2016. The tour is scheduled to end in July. As daughter, Sophie, Lizzie Markson is making her national tour debut, and we're sure to see more of her. She plays Sophie with a stronger will than usually is the case, and it adds to the depth of the character. The sure fire hits, can't miss characters, to say the least, are those of Donna's gal pals, Tanya and Rosie, who steal scenes left and right by actresses Cashelle Butler and Sarah Smith, respectively. When they are on stage, it's comic mayhem. The three dads are perfectly cast with Marc Cones as roving writer Bill, vocally top-notch Shai Yammanee as architect Sam, and Andrew Tebo as the John Lithgow-esque Harry.
Just this week, too, it was announced that super troupers Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, and Colin Firth will reprise their roles from the 2008 movie. Abba songs not featured in the original Mamma Mia will provide a new soundtrack. "Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again," which is scheduled for release in July 2018.Performance schedule for "Mamma Mia!"at The Broward Center for the Performing Arts 8 p.m., Friday, May 19 and Saturday, May 20; 2 p.m. Saturday, May 20, and Sunday, May 21, at 1 and 6:30 p.m. Tickets start at $35. Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Avenue, Ft Lauderdale, FL, 33312. For tickets visit www.browardcenter.org; by phone 954.462.0222.
