Mamma Mia at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver (musical theatre review)
I probably wasn’t prepared to love Mamma Mia (the Broadway Across Canada musical, on their North American tour) as much as I did. I also wasn’t prepared to see a crowd that would not sing along (or at least, not loudly enough) or dance along. The ladies behind me did not even stand up to dance, even with the wonderful encore of 5 (yes, you heard, 5) ABBA songs that made just about everyone else in the theatre stand up, clap and vociferously sing along loudly (yeah, the crowd ended up electrified and singing along, but for most of the show, they were just simply enjoying the musical in their seats).
I’m not used to this. When I see a musical of the caliber of Broadway Across Canada’s Mamma Mia, I am used to seeing crowds yell, cheer, loudly clap and sing along. Vancouver crowds must be tough or ice-coated, frankly. For me (and for JT, who came with me as my Plus One), the opening night of Mamma Mia was an absolute delight. Not to say that there weren’t ‘opening night technical issues’ as most shows I’ve seen have.
The premise is, for the most part, known to just about anybody, but for those of you who haven’t seen the movie or known about ABBA’s fantastic songs (where have you lived, by the way, under a rock?). A free-spirited mother raises a young daughter in Greece without any mention, for the most part, of her father. She grows up to 20 years old and is about to get married, but she wants to be given away at the altar by her father who may be one of three men. So she invites them to her wedding. Hilarity (and lots of wonderful musical numbers) ensues.
I expected Chloe Tucker (Sophie) to carry more of the show, despite the fact that the actual centre piece of the musical is her Mom, free-spirited, somewhat whimsical Donna (aptly played by Kaye Tuckerman). But what I did NOT expect is to see Alison Ewing blow away everyone else with her vocal prowess and ability to channel cougar-like Tanya (one of Donna’s “kind-of-sisters” and part of the Donna and the Dynamos trio). I also did not expect her to be such a great supporting cast member to Tuckerman. Despite the marked difference in voice power, Ewing remained the supportive sister, rather than outshine Donna. On this note, I must add that at the beginning of the show, it looked as though Tuckerman’s microphone was not loud enough, because during several of her songs in the first act (including, sadly, Mamma Mia) her voice was overpowered by the background music. Not the case with Ewing, who just simply blew me away.
I think the technical team must have conducted a quick technical check on Tuckerman’s sound system as she came back in the second act with a vengeance. Tuckerman (as Donna) carried herself beautifully as she sees her daughter grow up into a rebellious and independent young woman who finally comes to understand that she doesn’t need her father to be there, just her mother and her strength. I couldn’t help but shed some tears when I witnessed their interaction, as I happen to be extremely close to my own mother (but, of course, I’m a male so there’s a substantial difference). And you could see the transformation of Tuckerman herself as her voice powered through the rest of the songs. I cried with “The Winner Takes It All”.
Fast-paced, witty and loud (and at the beginning of the second act, EXTREMELY loud I might add), this cast gives us a Mamma Mia that made most of us reminiscent of the wonderful songs of ABBA. I sang along and danced in my seat (sorry to whoever was sitting behind me) and couldn’t help but yell a loud BRAVO! when the cast began their encore songs set.
Happy Mahaney (Sky, Sophie’s fiancee) was a delightful surprise to me too. I didn’t expect to like him as much as I did and I think it was helped by his honest-to-a-fault depiction of Sky. It also helped that he dances, sings and courts Sophie throughout the show. And spends a substantial amount of the show semi-shirtless đŸ˜‰
Honestly, I’m sad that the Mamma Mia engagement at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre only runs until Sunday August 21st, because I wish there were more people who would be able to see this wonderful show. The winner takes it all, and last night, clearly the winner was the Mamma Mia cast that gave it their all to satisfy a rather demanding Vancouver public, which in return gave this cast a standing ovation. Much deserved. You can still get tickets to Mamma Mia at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre by clicking through this hyperlink.
You MUST check it out. Bring your ABBA lyrics with you.
Video of The Winner Takes It All with Meryl Streep is here for your listening pleasure.
Disclosure: I attended opening night of Mamma Mia thanks to media tickets. I am neither paid for, nor expected to write a review. As always, I retain full editorial control of anything published on my site, and can be contacted via my Contact Form if you have any questions or comments.
I agree with some of your comments on vocal strengths and talent. But sound check issues, static performances and Karaoke like singing by the men, in the second half left me with the impression that this was a high school production – albeit a good high school production. Dancing was less than spectacular by all as well. Thank heavens people know the music and story – it saves this production.