‘Mamma Mia’ cooks up spicy show

Tom Titus

Building a musical comedy around the music of one particular composer

or group isn’t exactly a revolutionary idea. MGM and Gene Kelly

pulled off that trick rather nicely more than a half century ago with

a little Oscar-winning flick called “An American in Paris.”

But even Kelly would be smiling down from the Great Beyond today

if he could see what the Swedish pop music group ABBA has done with

its music to construct a whopping, all-stops-out singing and dancing

extravaganza titled “Mamma Mia,” now invigorating audiences at the

Orange County Performing Arts Center.

They may be Swedes, but the show is all Greek -- set in a cantina

on a Mediterranean island where its proprietor is preparing for her

daughter’s wedding, absent a husband and father to give the bride

away.

The prospective bride takes care of those arrangements herself

when she peeks into her mom’s diary, finds three likely candidates --

and invites them all to the wedding.

All three show up, of course, and it’s anyone’s guess who gets the

tie on Father’s Day. More important is the spirit of the show, into

which islanders and visitors alike fall real quickly -- backed up, of

course, by those catchy ABBA songs from Benny Andersson and Bjorn

Ulvaeus, with an assist by Stig Anderson.

The task of creating a story around the songs is an enormous one,

but Catherine Johnson is well up to it, and audience members will

swear the process was done in the normal fashion. And under Phyllida

Lloyd’s sparkling direction and Anthony Van Laast’s E-ticket

choreography, this show will have you wanting to get up in the aisle

and shake your booty, no matter now ancient that booty might be.

The performances are a collection of Energizer bunnies with a beat

-- each production number surpassing the previous one in sheer pizazz

and choreographic wonderment. The “Dancing Queen” is present, of

course, as are a plethora of other ABBA songs you may or may not be

familiar with. It’s an injection of pure, unbridled musical

athleticism.

Monique Lund excels as Donna, the mother whose mixed feelings

become really stirred up when the three unexpected guests arrive.

Kristie Marsden beautifully enacts her daughter, Sophie, who grew up

fatherless but now has three possibilities to choose from. Marsden is

a splendid package of youthful exuberance enriched with dramatic

gusto.

Lund’s vibrant solo “The Winner Takes It All” is the vocal

highlight of the show, and her “Super Trouper” number with old

buddies Ellen Harvey and Robin Baxter is a sheer delight. Stealing

the spotlight at every turn is Harvey as Tanya, Donna’s old pal from

the disco days, who fends off the overtures of a callow youth (Gerard

Salvador) in one of the evenings’ top numbers. Harvey’s reactions to

Salvador’s athletic advances create a memorable sequence.

Baxter, meanwhile, comically sets her cap for one of the

prospective fathers, Pearce Bunting as Bill, an Aussie who’ll conjure

visions of the Crocodile Hunter. Don Noble is quite strong as the

ex-suitor with an eye toward making things right again, while James

Kall presents an intriguing view from the other side of the tracks.

Sophie’s stalwart fiance is neatly portrayed by Chris Bolan, while

her gal pals receive winning cameos by Bethany Pagliolo and Joelle

Graham.

The ABBA musical score consumes the production, but there’s plenty

of time left over for winning characterizations, with Lund, Marsden

and Harvey setting the tone in that department. The lean, leggy

Harvey is a particular delight, an updated version of “Mame’s” Vera

Charles.

It seems impossible that there could be too much of this good

thing, but Lloyd’s extended curtain call certainly comes close,

milking the audience’s approval for all it’s worth. And Martyn Axe’s

nine-piece orchestra becomes overindulgent at times, drowning out the

singers’ lyrics.

“Mamma Mia” will set your feet fluttering as it continues through

Aug. 10 at the Center. It’s a wonderfully feel-good production

brimming with high-kicking and high-spirited musicality.

* TOM TITUS writes about and reviews local theater for the Daily

Pilot. His stories appear Fridays.