Mamma Mia there I go again!

Yes once again I’ve gone and seen Mamma Mia. I think this makes about number 11. So I guess I’m now officially obsessed with the show.

However in my defence it brings back very fond memories. This was the last thing I did with my parents before my mother died. We all went down to Chicago to see the show and we all really enjoyed it. We also had a very unique distinction in that we were probably the only people in the theater who could say they actually saw Abba live. In 1979, I flew to Chicago from DC and my dad, mom and my two best friends went down to the Auditorium Theater in Chicago and saw Abba live and in person.

This time around I saw it in Baltimore at the Hippodrome theater. Really great theater; really scarey neighborhood. To use a famous quote what a dump. There were some great looking condos across the street from the theater and several other buildings were being renovated but the rest of the area left a great deal to be desired. Several people with shopping carts and, as far as I could tell, not a grocery store insight. Also more than a few people with paper bags enjoying a late morning drink. In time I’m sure the area will be great but it has a ways to go yet.

After having seen Mamma Mia so many times, it is interesting to see the changes that have been made. A couple of the jokes were dropped, a scene or two has been altered slightly. Some of this is based on who’s in the part and how good of a dancer the person is.

A couple of quick examples: At the end of Chiquitita, Tanya and Rosie hand Donna a bottle of Jack Daniels to buck her up. In the first couple of versions Donna sings Try once more etc well she’s barely got out the word try because she’s reacting to her swig of whiskey. That has since been dropped. Also changed is what Tanya and Rosie are doing on stage while singing Dancing Queen. At one point Tanya pretended to play the drums and now Rosie is doing that. What’s interesting about is the same actresses are playing the roles. Another example Does Your Mother Know is a song where how well the actress playing Tanya can dance has a big part in what she does while one stage. The first time around the person playing Tanya could really dance. So her sequence with Pepper was very much a dance off where Pepper would dance and Tanya would then match what he’d done. Another time the woman playing Tanya didn’t dance much at all. The actress in the role now is somewhere between those two extremes.

But the bottom line is this a really fun show to see. And I plan on seeing it again. Maybe in New York next time!