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MammaDoin'Fine

Phantom of London
Broadway Legend
joined:3/26/08
MammasDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/23/12 at 09:28pm
Mamma Mia the West End, Broadway, US Tour and the rest of the world, box office smash, which I saw tonight at 8:30 for £20 sitting on the side of the Prince Of Wales, which gave outstanding views.

This show didn't win one Tony and only managed to win one Olivier Award for Jenny Galloway for best supporting actress, but then went on to conquer the world, then was made in a box office smash in the cinema and DVD and even my mum at the age of 70 went to the cinema to see it with friends, my mum doesn't do cinemas and she would normally refer to something like 'Abba' as 'jumping up and down music' and wouldn't be her bag, she normally listens to classical FM, but mum loved it.

I am not a fan of jukebox musical and certainly not a fan of 'Abba', I like there music but not enough to listen to their music and I acknowledge that this is a brilliant tourist show. So why am I writing this thread? Because I think the show is fantastic, the book is excellent and funny the songs 'voulez-vous' and 'The Winner Takes It All' are splendid pieces of theatrical art! But I imagine I am the only one who loves the show on here?

BTW: I wasn't following theatre when Mamma Mia opened at the Prince Edward Theatre, which opened on the 06th April 1999 nearly 13 years ago and opened at the Winter Garden theatre just over 2 years later (18/10/2001), via Toronto, San Francisco and Chicago, I wonder what the reviews were like over here and in the US? I bet the reviewers wiped the floor with this and dismissed it?

2013 Shows: (New York: Glengarry Glen Ross*** Picnic**** The Lion King**** Mamma Mia**** Who's Afraid of Virginia Woofe**** The Other Place*** Nice Work, If You Can Get It** Annie**** The Phantom of the Opera**** Cat On A Hot Tin Roof*** Cinderella**** Evita**** (Final Performance) The Mystery of Edwin Drood*** Mary Poppins*****) London: Salad Days** Great Expectations*** This House** Chess**** A Chorus Line**** Quartermine's Terms**** Old Times*** The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time***** Dear World*** People**** Viva Forever** Peter and Alice** The Wimslow Boy***** Proof**** Our Country's Good* The Tailor Made Man**** Darling of the Day*** Top Hat*** A Judas Kiss*** Spamalot*** Once**** Wicked** A Chorus Line**** Book of Mormon***** Hairspray**** (Tour: Southampton) Sleeping Arrangements***** The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes*** The Pajama Game***(Chichester)The Thrill of Love*** Hymn**/Cocktail Sticks**** Merrily We Roll Along***** The Weir**** The Hot House**** The Rise and the Fall of the Little Voice***** (Churchill, Bromley) Ghost*** (Wimbledon)
Updated On: 3/23/12 at 09:28 PM
Jonwo
Broadway Legend
joined:3/16/06
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/23/12 at 09:41pm
Mamma Mia! is one of the better jukebox musicals although I don't rate it as highly as Jersey Boys and Our House, I saw it at the Prince of Wales and it suits the theatre really well so it'll be interested how it fares at the Novello.
ChenoKahn
Broadway Star
joined:6/12/11
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/23/12 at 10:56pm
I think it's fun but I don't think it has a fantastic book but it is entertaining. It still has overstayed it's welcome, in my opinion.
Princeton Returns
Broadway Legend
joined:12/2/10
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 03:33am
I agree I love mamma mia. And at the moment it's in the best theatre for it, not sure if it will have the same feel at the Novello. To me it's the best of the jukebox musicals alongside Our House (didn't like Jersey Boys much). I'd compare Mamma Mia as a modern day Crazy For You, by that I mean both are jukebox shows with simple but effective plots, songs not too shoehorned in, and resulting in an evening of pure fun and uplifting joy
devonian.t
Broadway Legend
joined:7/26/04
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 04:05am
Lowest common denominator theatre.

The original reviews were fine.
Princeton Returns
Broadway Legend
joined:12/2/10
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 05:56am
But that's not a bad thing
Spotlight61
Leading Actor
joined:8/28/06
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 06:36am
This show doesn't pretend to be anyhting other than a crowd pleaser and on that level it ticks every box.

It may not work as a piece of 'high art' but its remit was never to be that. However, its longevity is based solely upon giving the audience what they want, a wonderful escapist night out.

Too much snobbery is attached to theatre, at the end of the day it is a business and the drivers of any business is to make money. All any producer wants is to stage a successful show that makes a profit.

I know a number of producers, some who have a wonderful integrity and struggle to put food on the table. Others go the way of the crowd pleasing experiences and live a comfortable life.

That is why so much of the 'high art' productions are staged in small venues on a company profit share basis, where the risks are hopefully minimised to a manageable level.

Theatre is big enough to accommodate a wide and diverse range of offerings and long may it continue to do so.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see these 'fringe' shows develop an audience and achieve a successful and profitable run in a main house theatre but, in truth, theatre is primarily about giving the paying audience what they want...what they really really want, and that's a nod to the next big crowd pleaser from the Judy Craymer school of successful theatre production!!
Princeton Returns
Broadway Legend
joined:12/2/10
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 07:44am
^^ Brilliantly put Spotlight, agree with every word
Phantom of London
Broadway Legend
joined:3/26/08
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 09:11am
Yes, also agreed and so concur on your point that you have high theatre, such as: Sondheim, Claude-Michel Schonberg & Alain Boublil, Ibsen, Chaucer and Shakespeare etc and low theatre such as Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Henry Miller etc, we have enough theatres in London to accommodate all types of theatre.
2013 Shows: (New York: Glengarry Glen Ross*** Picnic**** The Lion King**** Mamma Mia**** Who's Afraid of Virginia Woofe**** The Other Place*** Nice Work, If You Can Get It** Annie**** The Phantom of the Opera**** Cat On A Hot Tin Roof*** Cinderella**** Evita**** (Final Performance) The Mystery of Edwin Drood*** Mary Poppins*****) London: Salad Days** Great Expectations*** This House** Chess**** A Chorus Line**** Quartermine's Terms**** Old Times*** The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time***** Dear World*** People**** Viva Forever** Peter and Alice** The Wimslow Boy***** Proof**** Our Country's Good* The Tailor Made Man**** Darling of the Day*** Top Hat*** A Judas Kiss*** Spamalot*** Once**** Wicked** A Chorus Line**** Book of Mormon***** Hairspray**** (Tour: Southampton) Sleeping Arrangements***** The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes*** The Pajama Game***(Chichester)The Thrill of Love*** Hymn**/Cocktail Sticks**** Merrily We Roll Along***** The Weir**** The Hot House**** The Rise and the Fall of the Little Voice***** (Churchill, Bromley) Ghost*** (Wimbledon)
devonian.t
Broadway Legend
joined:7/26/04
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 09:32am
Um R&H is NOT low theatre. On many occasions, it's about as skilfull as musical theatre gets.
ChenoKahn
Broadway Star
joined:6/12/11
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 12:33pm
So Claude-Michel Schonberg & Alain Boublil write high theatre? Eek...
Phantom of London
Broadway Legend
joined:3/26/08
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 01:11pm
I would say they do write high theatre, although it is very mainstream, the subjects are quite convoluted, but I wouldn't say the same about Rodgers and Hammerstein.
2013 Shows: (New York: Glengarry Glen Ross*** Picnic**** The Lion King**** Mamma Mia**** Who's Afraid of Virginia Woofe**** The Other Place*** Nice Work, If You Can Get It** Annie**** The Phantom of the Opera**** Cat On A Hot Tin Roof*** Cinderella**** Evita**** (Final Performance) The Mystery of Edwin Drood*** Mary Poppins*****) London: Salad Days** Great Expectations*** This House** Chess**** A Chorus Line**** Quartermine's Terms**** Old Times*** The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time***** Dear World*** People**** Viva Forever** Peter and Alice** The Wimslow Boy***** Proof**** Our Country's Good* The Tailor Made Man**** Darling of the Day*** Top Hat*** A Judas Kiss*** Spamalot*** Once**** Wicked** A Chorus Line**** Book of Mormon***** Hairspray**** (Tour: Southampton) Sleeping Arrangements***** The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes*** The Pajama Game***(Chichester)The Thrill of Love*** Hymn**/Cocktail Sticks**** Merrily We Roll Along***** The Weir**** The Hot House**** The Rise and the Fall of the Little Voice***** (Churchill, Bromley) Ghost*** (Wimbledon)
ChenoKahn
Broadway Star
joined:6/12/11
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 01:24pm
I find everything they have written is fairly mediocre.
devonian.t
Broadway Legend
joined:7/26/04
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 02:11pm
rolling on the floor laughing
abitoftap
Broadway Star
joined:3/16/08
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 02:26pm
ChenoKahn...excuse me?
ChenoKahn
Broadway Star
joined:6/12/11
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 02:29pm
I actually find it funny anyone would write that R&H wrote low theatre.
Phantom of London
Broadway Legend
joined:3/26/08
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 07:01pm
If it is there is no shame in that and doesn't detract from the piece, it is like saying a show is inferior because the show run a very long time off Broadway and never made it to Broadway, where in reality there is no shame in being a long running Broadway show, same as being 'low theatre'.
2013 Shows: (New York: Glengarry Glen Ross*** Picnic**** The Lion King**** Mamma Mia**** Who's Afraid of Virginia Woofe**** The Other Place*** Nice Work, If You Can Get It** Annie**** The Phantom of the Opera**** Cat On A Hot Tin Roof*** Cinderella**** Evita**** (Final Performance) The Mystery of Edwin Drood*** Mary Poppins*****) London: Salad Days** Great Expectations*** This House** Chess**** A Chorus Line**** Quartermine's Terms**** Old Times*** The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time***** Dear World*** People**** Viva Forever** Peter and Alice** The Wimslow Boy***** Proof**** Our Country's Good* The Tailor Made Man**** Darling of the Day*** Top Hat*** A Judas Kiss*** Spamalot*** Once**** Wicked** A Chorus Line**** Book of Mormon***** Hairspray**** (Tour: Southampton) Sleeping Arrangements***** The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes*** The Pajama Game***(Chichester)The Thrill of Love*** Hymn**/Cocktail Sticks**** Merrily We Roll Along***** The Weir**** The Hot House**** The Rise and the Fall of the Little Voice***** (Churchill, Bromley) Ghost*** (Wimbledon)
ClapYo'Hands
Broadway Legend
joined:11/29/09
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 08:33pm
Andrew Lloyd Webber writes "low theatre"?
2013 Theatre: Loserville ***** Merrily We Roll Along ***** La Bohéme (Royal Opera House Live) **** One Man, Two Guvnors (UK Tour) * Oliver! (UK Tour) ***** Lulu (Welsh National Opera) ***** Driving Miss Daisy (UK Tour) [x2] ***** Sexual Perversity in Chicago *** Madame Butterfly (Welsh National Opera) *** High Society (UK Tour) *** Singin' In The Rain ***** The Ladykillers (UK Tour) ***** Peter And Alice ***** A Chorus Line ***** Once *** A Chorus Line ***** GHOST: The Musical (UK Tour) **** The Great Gatsby (Northern Ballet) ***** RENT - 20th Anniversary Concert ** The Woman in Black (UK Tour) ** Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty *****
ChenoKahn
Broadway Star
joined:6/12/11
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 08:44pm
Mostly.
Phantom of London
Broadway Legend
joined:3/26/08
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 08:53pm
Clap: As I said 'low' theatre isn't a derogatory term.
2013 Shows: (New York: Glengarry Glen Ross*** Picnic**** The Lion King**** Mamma Mia**** Who's Afraid of Virginia Woofe**** The Other Place*** Nice Work, If You Can Get It** Annie**** The Phantom of the Opera**** Cat On A Hot Tin Roof*** Cinderella**** Evita**** (Final Performance) The Mystery of Edwin Drood*** Mary Poppins*****) London: Salad Days** Great Expectations*** This House** Chess**** A Chorus Line**** Quartermine's Terms**** Old Times*** The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time***** Dear World*** People**** Viva Forever** Peter and Alice** The Wimslow Boy***** Proof**** Our Country's Good* The Tailor Made Man**** Darling of the Day*** Top Hat*** A Judas Kiss*** Spamalot*** Once**** Wicked** A Chorus Line**** Book of Mormon***** Hairspray**** (Tour: Southampton) Sleeping Arrangements***** The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes*** The Pajama Game***(Chichester)The Thrill of Love*** Hymn**/Cocktail Sticks**** Merrily We Roll Along***** The Weir**** The Hot House**** The Rise and the Fall of the Little Voice***** (Churchill, Bromley) Ghost*** (Wimbledon)
ChenoKahn
Broadway Star
joined:6/12/11
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/24/12 at 09:17pm
I'm having trouble understanding your definition of low and high theatre.
ClapYo'Hands
Broadway Legend
joined:11/29/09
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/25/12 at 05:17am
I don't think it's really anything, is it?
2013 Theatre: Loserville ***** Merrily We Roll Along ***** La Bohéme (Royal Opera House Live) **** One Man, Two Guvnors (UK Tour) * Oliver! (UK Tour) ***** Lulu (Welsh National Opera) ***** Driving Miss Daisy (UK Tour) [x2] ***** Sexual Perversity in Chicago *** Madame Butterfly (Welsh National Opera) *** High Society (UK Tour) *** Singin' In The Rain ***** The Ladykillers (UK Tour) ***** Peter And Alice ***** A Chorus Line ***** Once *** A Chorus Line ***** GHOST: The Musical (UK Tour) **** The Great Gatsby (Northern Ballet) ***** RENT - 20th Anniversary Concert ** The Woman in Black (UK Tour) ** Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty *****
Phantom of London
Broadway Legend
joined:3/26/08
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/25/12 at 12:59pm
You have high and low pieces of art, high being the renascence and baroque etc and low is impressionism or cubism etc.

So I suppose a musical about a painting set next to the seine is pretty much high are and a musical about train races on roller-skates is low art, but both being extreme examples.
2013 Shows: (New York: Glengarry Glen Ross*** Picnic**** The Lion King**** Mamma Mia**** Who's Afraid of Virginia Woofe**** The Other Place*** Nice Work, If You Can Get It** Annie**** The Phantom of the Opera**** Cat On A Hot Tin Roof*** Cinderella**** Evita**** (Final Performance) The Mystery of Edwin Drood*** Mary Poppins*****) London: Salad Days** Great Expectations*** This House** Chess**** A Chorus Line**** Quartermine's Terms**** Old Times*** The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time***** Dear World*** People**** Viva Forever** Peter and Alice** The Wimslow Boy***** Proof**** Our Country's Good* The Tailor Made Man**** Darling of the Day*** Top Hat*** A Judas Kiss*** Spamalot*** Once**** Wicked** A Chorus Line**** Book of Mormon***** Hairspray**** (Tour: Southampton) Sleeping Arrangements***** The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes*** The Pajama Game***(Chichester)The Thrill of Love*** Hymn**/Cocktail Sticks**** Merrily We Roll Along***** The Weir**** The Hot House**** The Rise and the Fall of the Little Voice***** (Churchill, Bromley) Ghost*** (Wimbledon)
ClapYo'Hands
Broadway Legend
joined:11/29/09
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/25/12 at 03:02pm
But a musical set in the Paris Opera House?

Immediately a flaw I think!
2013 Theatre: Loserville ***** Merrily We Roll Along ***** La Bohéme (Royal Opera House Live) **** One Man, Two Guvnors (UK Tour) * Oliver! (UK Tour) ***** Lulu (Welsh National Opera) ***** Driving Miss Daisy (UK Tour) [x2] ***** Sexual Perversity in Chicago *** Madame Butterfly (Welsh National Opera) *** High Society (UK Tour) *** Singin' In The Rain ***** The Ladykillers (UK Tour) ***** Peter And Alice ***** A Chorus Line ***** Once *** A Chorus Line ***** GHOST: The Musical (UK Tour) **** The Great Gatsby (Northern Ballet) ***** RENT - 20th Anniversary Concert ** The Woman in Black (UK Tour) ** Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty *****
MamasDoin'Fine
Broadway Legend
joined:9/28/08
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/25/12 at 05:55pm
Aw! ..and there was me thinking you'd dedicated a whole thread to me!
FrontRowDress
Stand-by
joined:3/20/12
MammaDoin'Fine
Posted: 3/25/12 at 06:18pm
This thread has got legs. Loving the definitions of low and high art. Keep it up fellas.

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