Sue didn't want to go. Its not her genre.
So she said go yourself. I did and I loved it too. Its a joyous celebration of the Summer and the Greek isles look terrific too.
The only problem is you can't keep th ABBA out of your head. It is kind of like what I used to do to torture Linzi when she was little. I would sing song sung blue by Niel Diamond and it would stay in her head all day. the same could be true for Dancing Queen.
The choreography was wonderful. I really like the choreography of the guys with the flippers on the dock. The spirit of the show was upheld in the dance moves of the actors and actresses.
The dialog was more than a little soft. Piece Bronson tried to do a credible acting job but his lines were mushy. That was why it didn't win a Tony despite five nominations in 2001. It is still packing them in on Broadway's Winter Garden. Here is the article:
"Mamma Mia!" premiered at the Winter Garden Theatre in October 2001 and has remained open since then, often playing to SRO. At the 2002 Tony Awards it reaped five nominations: best musical, lead actress (Louise Pitre), featured actress (Judy Kaye), orchestrations and book of a musical.
It never had a prayer to win best musical. On one hand it wasn't considered seriously as art, since it was flimsily constructed using pre-existing ABBA songs. Secondly, it wasn't nominated for best director, which is usually a requirement of a best-musical winner even if its helmer loses.
"Mamma Mia's" nominations were clearly just Tonys' acknowledgment of a huge Broadway hit that was destined to become a successful touring show too. Thus "Mamma Mia" lost all five of its bids to a show that was considered to have more substance, although, frankly, not that much more. Pitre bowed to Sutton Foster and Kaye to Harriet Harris, both stars of "Thoroughly Modern Millie," which claimed the prize for best musical.
But, alas, even if Tony didn't adore "Mamma Mia!" average Joes and Janes still do. After nearly 2,800 performances, it's still running all these years later, unlike any of its three rivals for best musical: "Sweet Smell of Success," "Urinetown" and, of course, "Millie." Even with a half dozen Tonys, "Millie" managed to run only two years and spawned only one national tour while the stage version of "Mamma Mia!" has played the world, grossing over $2 billion to date.
As I was leaving the movie someone said that the movie was better than the stage show because it could use the actual Greek Isles.
Have a great day.. If you are even mildly interested in musicals.. Momma Mia could be your Summer Tonic.
: ) Pat
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1 comment:
The boys on the dock were hilarious! ...as were the girls trying to cheer their friend up!! Acting between the songs... ok...you're right, a little sparse, but I think that's a fault of musicals in general (except,perhaps, West Side Story, which is the perfect blend of acting, dance and song).
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