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Mamma Mia - May 30, 2018
Archived series ("Inactive feed" status)
When? This feed was archived on August 14, 2021 05:07 (). Last successful fetch was on August 18, 2019 01:14 ()
Why? Inactive feed status. Our servers were unable to retrieve a valid podcast feed for a sustained period.
What now? You might be able to find a more up-to-date version using the search function. This series will no longer be checked for updates. If you believe this to be in error, please check if the publisher's feed link below is valid and contact support to request the feed be restored or if you have any other concerns about this.
Manage episode 207190923 series 1137187
Ah, yes. There is a show. This year’s production is Mamma Mia!, the 1999 jukebox musical that uses the slightest of stories as an excuse to perform the catalogue of pop super group ABBA.
Set at a Greek island taverna run by Donna Sheridan (played by Dyan McBride), the story centers on the circumstances of her daughter’s upcoming wedding. Sophie (a very charming Carrie Brandon) is about to get married to a slab of British beefcake (Jake Gale) and wants to invite her father to her nuptials. The problem is, she doesn’t know who it is!
A quick trip through her mother’s diary leads her to three possibilities – Harry (played by Sean O’Brien) is an uptight British banker, Bill (played by David Schiller) is a travel writer and adventurer, and Sam (played by Tyler McKenna) is an architect and, the other two possibilities notwithstanding, her mother’s one true love. Sophie decides, in proper musical theatre tradition, to invite them all and sort everything out later. Chaos, hilarity, singing, and dancing ensue.
Folks don’t go to shows like Mamma Mia! for their complex storylines or deep psychological subtext, they go for the songs. Put no thought into why the story leads to a particular song being sung, just enjoy the 20 + ABBA tunes including “Chiquitita”, “Dancing Queen”, “S. O. S.” and the title tune.
Director Jay Manley gets generally solid performances from the large cast, but it took a couple of songs for the vocals to really hit their stride culminating in a very powerful delivery of “The Winner Takes It All” by McBride. There’s colorful and clever scenic work by Andrea Bechert, some nice energetic choreography (including a chorus line of swim-finned dancers) by Nicole Helfer and Zoë Swenson-Graham, and the ABBA songbook is well played by Musical Director Jon Gallo and a nine-piece band.
The Mountain Play provides a unique Bay Area theatrical experience. Where else can you catch a pleasant Broadway musical that comes with a pre-show warning about ticks and rattlesnakes?
‘Mamma Mia!’ runs Sundays through June 17 (and there’s one Sing-Along Saturday performance on June 9), at the Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre in Mount Tamalpais State Park. All shows are at 2pm. Be sure and pack the sunscreen.
For more information, go to mountainplay.org
187 episodes
Archived series ("Inactive feed" status)
When? This feed was archived on August 14, 2021 05:07 (). Last successful fetch was on August 18, 2019 01:14 ()
Why? Inactive feed status. Our servers were unable to retrieve a valid podcast feed for a sustained period.
What now? You might be able to find a more up-to-date version using the search function. This series will no longer be checked for updates. If you believe this to be in error, please check if the publisher's feed link below is valid and contact support to request the feed be restored or if you have any other concerns about this.
Manage episode 207190923 series 1137187
Ah, yes. There is a show. This year’s production is Mamma Mia!, the 1999 jukebox musical that uses the slightest of stories as an excuse to perform the catalogue of pop super group ABBA.
Set at a Greek island taverna run by Donna Sheridan (played by Dyan McBride), the story centers on the circumstances of her daughter’s upcoming wedding. Sophie (a very charming Carrie Brandon) is about to get married to a slab of British beefcake (Jake Gale) and wants to invite her father to her nuptials. The problem is, she doesn’t know who it is!
A quick trip through her mother’s diary leads her to three possibilities – Harry (played by Sean O’Brien) is an uptight British banker, Bill (played by David Schiller) is a travel writer and adventurer, and Sam (played by Tyler McKenna) is an architect and, the other two possibilities notwithstanding, her mother’s one true love. Sophie decides, in proper musical theatre tradition, to invite them all and sort everything out later. Chaos, hilarity, singing, and dancing ensue.
Folks don’t go to shows like Mamma Mia! for their complex storylines or deep psychological subtext, they go for the songs. Put no thought into why the story leads to a particular song being sung, just enjoy the 20 + ABBA tunes including “Chiquitita”, “Dancing Queen”, “S. O. S.” and the title tune.
Director Jay Manley gets generally solid performances from the large cast, but it took a couple of songs for the vocals to really hit their stride culminating in a very powerful delivery of “The Winner Takes It All” by McBride. There’s colorful and clever scenic work by Andrea Bechert, some nice energetic choreography (including a chorus line of swim-finned dancers) by Nicole Helfer and Zoë Swenson-Graham, and the ABBA songbook is well played by Musical Director Jon Gallo and a nine-piece band.
The Mountain Play provides a unique Bay Area theatrical experience. Where else can you catch a pleasant Broadway musical that comes with a pre-show warning about ticks and rattlesnakes?
‘Mamma Mia!’ runs Sundays through June 17 (and there’s one Sing-Along Saturday performance on June 9), at the Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre in Mount Tamalpais State Park. All shows are at 2pm. Be sure and pack the sunscreen.
For more information, go to mountainplay.org
187 episodes
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