By Ayelet Chovev, Christina Christodoulou, and Justin Davis [Oral: A– Written: B+ (footnotes, pls.) –JMS]
Synopsis
We saw the movie, Mamma Mia!, a musical that is based on the songs of ABBA. Its plot is identical to the stage production, as we discovered after comparing both scripts. We will be basing our observations and analysis on the movie, although they can be applied to the stage version as well.
The story takes place on the Greek island of Kalokairi. Sophie (Picture 1), a 20-year old girl, is preparing to marry her fiancé, Skye. She wants her father to walk her down the aisle, but does not know who he is. Sophie discovers the old diary of her mother, Donna (Picture 2), and finds several entries that describe intimate dates with three men: Sam Carmichael, Bill Anderson, and Harry Bright (Pictures 2a,2b,2c). Sophie believes that one of these men is her father and sends each of them an invitation to her wedding, writing as Donna without letting her mother know.
The day before the wedding, Donna begins receiving guests at the hotel she owns on the island. The first to arrive are her best friends, Tanya, a rich woman who has been married and divorced three times, and Rosie, an unmarried writer. When they were younger during the 1970s, the three of them used to be a singing group called “Donna and the Dynamos”. Later that day, Sophie’s three possible fathers arrive. Sophie greets them and reveals that she had invited them to the wedding, and not Donna as they had thought. Sophie convinces them not to tell this to Donna (Picture 3). Donna walks into the hotel just as Sophie walks out, and is shocked to see all three of her ex-lovers.
At Sophie’s bachelorette party that night, “Donna and the Dynamos” (Picture 4) put on their old costumes and perform. Sam, Bill, and Harry accidentally walk in on the party, but the guests persuade them to stay. Sophie ends up talking to each of them alone. By the end of the evening, each man comes to the conclusion that he is Sophie’s father and they all promise to walk her down the aisle the next day. Hopelessly confused, Sophie does not want to turn any of them down. (At this point, neither Sophie nor Donna knows who the father is, because Donna slept with the three men in such near succession.)
The next day as the wedding begins, Sophie asks Donna to walk her down the aisle. Before the priest has a chance to begin the ceremonies, Donna acknowledges to everyone that Sophie’s father is present. Sophie tells her mother that she knows about her father. Donna realizes that Sophie invited Sam, Bill, and Harry to the wedding. The issue of Sophie’s parentage is left unsettled because of Donna’s successive romantic trysts. Everyone involved agrees that it does not matter which one of them her biological father is, as Sophie loves all three men and they are all happy to be “one-third of a father” and a part of her life at last. Finally, Harry is revealed to be in a committed homosexual relationship with a man named Lawrence. Bill professes his love to Rosie, Donna’s friend, who he got to know over the past few days. Suddenly, Sophie calls a halt to the proceedings. She is not ready to get married because she wants to see the world before settling down and making any long-term commitments. Skye, her fiancé, agrees. Sam seizes this moment and proposes to Donna in order to prevent the wedding preparations from going to waste. He explains that he loved her, even when he left her twenty years earlier to return to the United States and marry his fiancé. Sam tells her that he called off the wedding with his fiancée and came back to the island, only to be told that Donna was going out with another man (Bill). He went back, married his fiancée and had kids, only to divorce his wife a few years later. Donna accepts his proposal. In the end, Sam and Donna are married, and at the end of the night, Sophie and Skye depart on a tour of the world.
The plot is clearly not so profound and the resolution of the conflict is solved quite easily. The director and producer of this musical were not as concerned with the plot as they were with exposing ABBA’s music to audiences. This idea will be explained further later on in the presentation. We have chosen to read a part of the play that reflects the lightness of the storyline as well as the mission of the show’s producers to limit the amount of drama and gravity in the show’s plot. This scene takes place in a church during Sophie’s wedding. Sophie confesses to Donna that she invited Sam, Bill, and Harry to her wedding. The three men then each claim a third of Sophie.
Minister: Please be seated. Welcome. Welcome to Sophie and Sky and to all your friends who are gathered here on this day. And welcome especially to Donna who represents your family. Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today, in the sight of God…
Donna: (interrupting) Welcome to Sophie’s Dad. I have to tell you. It isn’t fair to keep it from you any longer. He’s here.
Sophie: I know
Donna: What?
Sophie: I invited him!
Donna: But you can’t have done. I don’t know which one of ‘em it is!
Donna: Oh dear!
Sophie: Mum I’m really, really sorry. Will you ever forgive me?
Donna: Oh I don’t know Sophie. Will you ever forgive me?
Sophie: I don’t care if you’ve slept with hundreds of men (Minister and Donna look aghast). You’re my Mum!
Donna: I have NOT slept with hundreds of men.
Sam: Hang on, hang on, hang on…are we saying that I might be Sophie’s Dad, but it might be Bill or it might even be Harry?
Donna: You’ve got it!
Sam: Ooooer
Donna: Well its no use getting self-righteous with me – you’ve only got yourself to blame.
Sam: You what?
Sophie: Yeah. If you hadn’t dumped my Mum and gone off and married someone else…
Sam: No, no, no, no.. it wasn’t like that. I was engaged. I had to go home. I thought it was the right thing to do. (quietly) But I came back.
Donna: (incredulously) What?
Sam: Yeah I told Lorraine I couldn’t marry her and I came straight back.
Donna: Well why didn’t you call me?
Sam: Because I was daft enough to think that you might be sitting in your room pining for me! Only when I got here, they told me that you’d gone off with some other bloke! (All look at Harry) So I went back to Lorraine, who told me what an idiot I was.. and married me to prove it.
Harry: I’m sorry. If …I, I , I might come in for a minute for a moment, there’s something…
Donna: Oh Harry, the cheque… I’m sorry
Harry: Oh no – no sod the cheque – it’s yours. It’s great to have even a third of Sophie. I never thought Id get even that much of a child…
Donna: Oh Harry…
Harry: Donna…You were the first girl I loved. But you were also the last girl. Look. There are all kinds of families aren’t there. Yours is you and Sophie. Mine is me…. (proclaims) and Lawrence!
Sam: Well look he’s right. We can find out if we want to but I agree with Harry. Being a third of your Dad is great by me.
History
In the 1980’s, theater producer, Judy Craymer got the idea for a new show that would use existing ABBA songs with the format of an original musical. ABBA was a Swedish, pop music group, popular in the 1970s and 1980s (Picture 5). Their name stood for the first initial of each of their first names and the two couples in the group were married to each other. If many of you have never heard of them, it is probably because ABBA was significantly more popular in the United Kingdom and Europe than in the United States. They became internationally well known after competing in 1974 Eurovision contest which is similar to American Idol. They performed a song called “Waterloo” which remained number one in the UK for six weeks and even made it to the top ten on the American charts.
At their peak of their popularity in the late 1970s, ABBA released a movie, made dozens of TV and radio appearances, and even had their own TV specials. ABBA marketed everything from posters to pens, perfume even socks. To date they have sold over 350 million records worldwide, making them the best selling band of all time second only to the Beatles. In 1982, the band broke up because both couples within the group divorced, and because there were many death threats against them and kidnapping threats on their children. Despite all of this, their music has remained well known and loved by many.
Like “Donna and the Dynamos” in Mamma Mia!, a group of three dynamic women put together the play. Judy Craymer, who had been the stage manager of the original London production of CATS in 1981, faced a challenge of creating something more than just an “ABBA compilation or tribute show.” Her goal was “personalizing a familiar repertoire of particular ABBA songs in a fresh way that simultaneously retains their pop integrity yet also does something more…advance an appealing story and comment on it.” Catherine Johnson was commissioned to write the story for Mamma Mia!. Johnson pointed out that the great thing about the use of ABBA songs was not only that they were “frequently complete stories within themselves, but also…that many of the early ABBA songs were more innocent, naïve, and teenage-orientated, whereas later on they became more mature and reflective.” Also, because the songs by ABBA were sung by women, this “suggested a story about two generations of women, namely a mother and a daughter.” While there were some conflicts in fitting the songs together with the story line, Johnson “was intent on avoiding the perennial fault of musicals. She has been quoted saying, “we didn’t want to have those awful clunky moments where people burst into song. I am primarily a dramatist. To me, it was very important that I created believable characters and gave them all a true story line and I absolutely worked to get the story and the songs to work together.” Finally, Phyllida Lloyd was hired to direct the play. Although Lloyd had worked on plays and operas in the past, she had never directed a musical. However, “Craymer instinctively felt that she was right for the project,” and it seems that her instincts were correct (Picture 6).
In 1999, the show finally opened at the Prince Edward Theatre in London (Picture 7). It included 22 of ABBA’s greatest hits including “Dancing Queen,” “Knowing Me Knowing You,” “The Winner Takes it All,” “Super Trouper,” and “Voulez-vouz.” In a review following the opening of the show, Darren Dalglish, a British theater critic, writes that “This show is extremely tacky and anyone who completely detests ABBA should stay well away! However, fans of ABBA will be blown away and taken on a nostalgic trip down memory lane with a breathtaking rollercoaster ride of their favorite ABBA songs. This is held together with a sugary story that makes the evening exactly what it is meant to be, a lot of fun, fun, fun! This is not attempting to be a Sondheim musical, or anything of the sort. It is just a vehicle in which to celebrate all those superb ABBA songs and in this the musical works perfectly.” Well, there must have been a lot of ABBA fans that did not think the show was tacky because it was a huge success.
In 2003, after success in London, the show began touring the world with performances in Germany, London, Sydney, Las Vegas, Tokyo, and of course, New York City, where it is currently playing at the Winter Garden Theater. In 2004, after its worldwide success, the production in England was moved to a much larger theater, The Prince of Wales Theatre (Picture 8). In England, this move to a larger theatre is the New York equivalent to moving from Off- Broadway to Broadway.
Finally on July 18, 2008, the movie version of Mamma Mia! was released to audiences worldwide (Picture 9). Phillyda Lloyd, the director of the play, directed of the movie, and it starred some famous actors such as Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Amanda Seyfried. Just like the play, the movie was an immediate blockbuster hit.
One reason the show was so well liked was that “in the ’30s and ’40s, the popular music of the day came from the world of musicals, whether of Broadway or Hollywood, but as pop music gained its own ascendancy in the ’50s and into the ’60s, musical theatre was left behind to go its own, variously sophisticated ways. Mamma Mia! is a musical that re-introduces the familiarity of a pop idiom to the theatre,” in the form of songs from ABBA that people already know and love.
Themes and Messages
While it has already been pointed out that the plot of Mamma Mia! is not very deep, there are lessons that can be learned from the play. The first message that is conveyed through the storyline is that society has continuously redefined family values. If you look back in history 100 or even 50 years ago, it would be perfectly natural for a 20-year-old woman to be getting married. In fact, in some cultures, getting married and having children were the only things expected of women. However, this movie follows the few days leading up to Sophie’s wedding, and the viewer finds out very quickly that Donna is not thrilled that her daughter is settling down at such a young age. In today’s world, it is not unheard of for a man and a woman to go traveling around the world together without first tying the knot. In fact, society deems it permissible for a man and woman to live together and have children together without even considering getting married first. Mamma Mia! successfully addresses this shift in values without weighing down the lighthearted plot that has been so carefully crafted.
Another message that can be extracted from this movie is that true love never dies. Donna was in love with Sam twenty years before the story of Mamma Mia! begins. Once she believed that she would never see him again, Donna tried to convince herself that the feelings she used to have for Sam had died when he left her. However, 20 years later when Sam appears on the island for Sophie’s wedding, Donna begins to feel the symptoms of love: shortness of breath, quickened heartbeat, loss of words. As the comedic drama unfolds, she realizes that although she convinced herself that she no longer loved him, if she is going to be honest with herself, she should admit that her love for Sam has spanned two decades and is still going strong. While skeptics may watch this movie and roll their eyes at the impossibility of an undying love, those of us who are followers of Aphrodite can appreciate Donna’s situation and understand that what she experienced can be felt by anyone who is open to experiencing true, everlasting love.
The final, and very powerful idea that Mamma Mia! addresses is that of female empowerment (Picture 10). Donna found herself in a predicament 20 years ago: she was in Greece, alone, and pregnant. Instead of trying to track down one of her former lovers so that she could have a man to help support her and her baby, Donna decides that she will rise above life’s obstacles and be self-sufficient. Donna opens up a hotel by herself, and cultivates a close relationship with her daughter, Sophie. All of this is accomplished without leaning on a man for support. In fact, from the way she is depicted, Donna does all of this without breaking down. It is a shock to her friends Tanya and Rosie, when they arrive on the island, to find the hotel in a state of disrepair. This shock seems to indicate that Donna has kept all of her business problems to herself. Finally, 20 years of pent up emotion explode when Donna sees Harry, Bill, and Sam on the island. Until that point, Donna has been able to remain strong, if not for her own sake, then for the sake of her daughter. While this certainly is not mentally healthy, it does show the inner strength of women, and their ability to stand on their own two feet without men coming to their aid.
Critical and Audience Reception
In his review of Mamma Mia!, New York Times theater critic Ben Brantely writes, “If you take apart Mamma Mia! ingredient by ingredient, you can only wince. It has a sitcom script about generations in conflict that might as well be called ‘My Three Dads.’ The matching acting, perky and italicized, often brings to mind the house style of The Brady Bunch.” As noted previously, Mamma Mia! was crafted in a way that placed emphasis on the ABBA’s music instead of the plot. Although we would not characterize the show as an all-out “revue,” or a multi-act performance that combines music, dance, and skits, it can be described as a hybrid-revue. The producers of the show aimed at incorporating ABBA’s hits in a show, and had to do it in a way that would engage audiences. The storyline is used as a way to bridge the songs in a coherent, reasonable way.
Mamma Mia! is a story that contains a certain timelessness which will allow it to entertain generations to come. It includes conflicts and drama such as the bond between a mother and her daughter, an unknown father, and finally, a woman and her past lovers. It therefore successfully appeals to a wide range of audiences. What makes this play so appealing to so such a diverse audience? People can relate to the drama in Mamma Mia! because to this day, people struggle with similar challenges. Although the times have changed, similar types of issues exist today, and the trials people face when confronting them are still present. Therefore, people who have had difficulties with any kind of relationship, or those who are interested in watching the familiar mother-daughter relationship unfold, can easily identify with the characters in the play. As a result, audiences quickly become engaged in this enjoyable musical.
But the most significant aspect of Mamma Mia! and the main reason why the show has captivated audiences around the world of is the music of ABBA. How is it possible for today’s youth to be familiar with music that was popular nearly 40 years ago? Music that had once made the hippies of the ’70s go wild, has been repackaged, and brought back into the limelight. But like most modernizations, the music of ABBA has not returned in the same form that the world had last seen it in. In the early 2000s, a teenage pop group called the A*teens (Picture 11) took the hit ’70s music of ABBA and revamped it in a way that a new, younger generation could appreciate the musical genius of ABBA (Picture 12). Because a whole new generation has been exposed to ABBA, Mamma Mia! has the ability to target both older and younger audiences. It is quite evident that these two distinct demographic groups appreciate the music because at several points throughout the show, the actors ask the audience to dance during particular songs and at every show, the entire audience is on its feet and is singing and dancing to the music. We all predict that Mamma Mia! will be around for a long time as it represents the perfect combination of old meets new. Its messages are relevant and alive, and its music has proven that it will continue to excite audiences.
Works Cited
Andersson, Billy, Ulvaeus Bjorn, and Craymer Judy. Mamma Mia! How Can I Resist You? Pheonix: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2006.
A-Teens- Dancing Queen (Music Mania 2000). (2008, July 22). Retrieved 6 December 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watchv=wuQAvZhr8Zc&feature=related
Brantley, Ben. Mom Had a Trio (And a Band, Too). 19 October 2001. Retrieved 3 December 2009. http://theater.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html_r=2&res=9c0ce2d7153ef93aa25753c1a9679c8b63
Dalglish, Darren. Mamma Mia! 7April 1999. Retrieved 3 December 2009. http://www.londontheatre.co.uk/londontheatre/reviews/mammamia99.htm
Hanser, Anders, and Palm Carl. From ABBA to Mamma Mia! New York: Billboard Books, 2000.
Mamma Mia! Dir. Phyllida Lloyd. Perf. Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried. Playtone, 2008. Film.
Mamma Mia! Music Video. (2008, July 11). Retrieved 3 December 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE1F_O_NOho
Shenton, Mark. Mamma Mia! The World’s No.1 Show. Retrieved 3 December 2009. http://www.mamma-mia.com/showhistory.asp
Picture 1: Sophie
Picture 2: Donna
Picture 2a: Sam
Picture 2b: Bill
Picture 2c: Harry
Picture 3
Picture 4: Donna and the Dynamos
Picture 9: The Movie
Picture 10
Picture 11: The A*teens
