Stellan Skarsgard, Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan head the cast in an adapatation of the Abba-inspired stageshow MAMMA MIA. Meryl Streep, Jule Walters and Christine Baranski also star in this tale about a girl who attempts to discover the identity of her father; a quest that leads to three men from her mother's past returning to a Greek island they last visited 20 years earlier. The show first opened in London on 23rd March 1999, and is still packing them in at The Prince Of Wales Theatre.
I was lucky enough to catch the show during a visit to London that same year, and had an enjoyable evening. This show has also been a hit on Broadway and in Berlin, which augers well for the feature film. The Swedish quartet deservedly enjoyed monumental success with a string of hit records that, for millions of people, formed part of the soundtrack of their lives. Now, we'll have the chance to see classics such as DANCING QUEEN on the big screen again, just over three decades on from Lasse Hallstrom's ABBA:THE MOVIE. By all accounts, Streep's singing voice is top-notch here, so plenty to look forward to.
MAMMA MIA opens at UK cinemas in July.
I'm a huge Abba fan and the box of their complete works I have is one of my favorites in my collection.
ReplyDeleteIt has been really nice in the past decade to see so much over-due respect being thrown there way finally. Simply brilliant group and some of the best songs ever written.
I haven't seen Mamma-Mia but am looking forward to it. One of the documentaries I have on the band has a great behind the scenes moment on the musical where these professional singers are having trouble mastering DANCING QUEEN as it is such a hard song to sing...which is in itself a wonderful tribute the incredible vocal power of Frida and Agnetha....great stuff.
Fully agree with your comments on Abba. Absolutely wonderful group, with a never-ending catalogue of pure classics.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the show in London, but the cast did seem to struggle with some of the songs. The two tribute bands I caught really did sound exactly like Abba though, to be fair, they had both had years of touring to refine their sound. As you say, great to see them getting such respect. Thanks for your comments.