Friday, May 20, 2011

Mamma Mia at Prince of Wales Theatre London

By Neil Dorking


Mamma Mia was a 1975 hit song from the pop group ABBA. Winners of The Eurovision Song Contest, the group consisted of Benny Andersson, Bjrn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida), Agnetha Fltskog.

Mamma Mia! is a stage musical from the book written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based upon about the tracks of ABBA. Popular songs such as Dancing Queen, I Have a Dream and Take a Chance on Me, are woven into a tale of love, laughter and friendship. On the eve of her wedding, a daughter's objective to uncover the identity of her biological dad brings together three adult men coming from her mother's past years returning to the Greek island paradise they previously frequented twenty years ago.

Mamma Mia, via the story-telling magic of the tunes of ABBA, we meet Donna, a forty-something single mum, who recollects distant memories of care free days and careless nights although her daughter Sophie desires of convention, romance and a big white marriage ceremony.

Mamma Mia transports audiences to a small legendary Greek island as we share a couple of memorable days and nights in the day-to-day lives of our heroines surrounded by clear blue seas and beneath a beating Grecian sun.

The first theatre on this site was The Prince's Theatre, designed by C J Phipps and opening in January 1884. It was later demolished in 1937 to make way for the larger present theatre. On 17th June, 1937 the foundation stone of the current theatre was laid by Gracie Fields, and the theatre, now named The Prince of Wales, was opened on 27th October, 1937.

Alterations were made to the stage area in 1963 and the theatre was reopened on 28th March, 1964. The huge Stalls Bar is located under the stalls seating area and has a dance floor originally designed for tea dances. Productions here have included The World of Susie Wong in 1959, Funny Girl in 1966 with Barbra Streisand, Sweet Charity in 1967 and Guys and Dolls in 1985. In January 1989 the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Aspects of Love opened here and run for 1,325 performances and becoming the Prince of Wales Theatre longest running production. Barry Manilow's musical Copacabana played at The Prince of Wales Theatre for just over a year in 1994.




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