CMU School of Drama


Thursday, March 21, 2024

The Winner Takes It All: 'Mamma Mia!' at 25 Heads Back to Pittsburgh

onstagepittsburgh.com: Whether you love’em, hate ’em or judge each on its own merit, you can credit Mamma Mia! with paving the way to the jukebox musicals that have followed in the super trouper’s wake.

6 comments:

Abby Brunner said...

I have never seen Mamma Mia the staged version before. I grew up watching the movies and listening to the music of ABBA constantly. I think it’s most interesting that this musical has been in 50 different productions in 16 different languages. I did not know that Mamma Mia was this popular in different countries. I think what’s most striking is that it grossed more than $4 billion at the box office and is now on tour. I can only imagine what it will be like in the Benedum Center, and if I have the ability to I’d like to see it, just to see what the hype for this musical is all about. This article talks about how Mamma Mia has helped shape musicals that we see today like Jagged Little Pill, Heart of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Hell’s Kitchen, and much more. Musicals nowadays are more likely to use the music of certain artists to create a musical, and it wouldn’t have happened if Mamma Mia wasn’t an original hit to begin with.

Jojo G. said...

I love Mamma Mia, it is such a cool show, I’ve always adored Jukebox musicals, I think the ability to make an entire story using just the songs of one artist is extremely impressive to me. Some of my favorite instances are when Mamma Mia did it with Abba, Girl from the North Country did it with Bob Dylan, Head I remember when I was in middle school and I saw my high school’s production of it I was amazed. It was the first show I ever saw my high school put on but it was also one that I would be very interested to see on a more professional scale because while I enjoyed my high school’s rendition, I’m sure it didn’t do it justice. But now since it’s coming to Pittsburgh I can get a chance to see it here with a good cast and a large budget.

Abigail Lytar said...


While Mamma Mia is far from my favorite musical I still enjoy watching mainly because I grew up with it and I enjoy the singing and the dance. Unfortunately I have not been able to see a professional production of it yet but I stage managed it in community theatre during my Senior year of High school. I think the most interesting part of the article for me, is that Mamma Mia has been translated into 16 different languages, I had no idea that it had been translated that many times. To me that is a little mind blowing just because when I think of Mamma Mia I just kind of shrug and go “oh yeah Mamma Mia. I suppose that is because it is such a well known popular show that I do think gets way more attention than it is actually worth, it is a Jukebox musical after all… All of that being said I still would jump at the chance to see it live in a professional setting because I do think like many others that it would be a blast to see live.

Esther said...

Mamma Mia has been my favorite movie ever since my parents sat my sister and I down to watch it when I was around 7 years old. Ever since that day I watched it almost 15 times every summer for 7 years and then I just started listening to the soundtrack. I think Mamma Mia introduced me to ABBA and their amazing music. I have only seen the staged version of Mamma Mia and it was a random highschool during our state competition. This musical is just so well known and the music is such a recognizable tune that everyone falls back into love when Mamma Mia is brought up. I think this musical, being so popular, has an obvious attraction to not only English speakers so when it is known that there have been different productions of Mamma Mia in 15 different languages it is no surprise why so many people know the songs.

John E said...

I love “Mamma Mia” and I love ABBA! I would love to see this production. I have such fond memories of “Mamma Mia” because it was the first show that I ever lighting designed the summer before 9th grade and it was such an incredible experience and acted as my gateway drug into the world of technical theatre and jump started my journey to where I am today, here. I know not everyone had a positive experience with their highschool production of “Mamma Mia” if they did it, but I am fortunate enough to have and I am thankful for that. I am sitting here laughing because last night I went to Greek Sing and one of the groups did Mamma Mia and I was like actually thoroughly surprised and impressed by how well a group of Fraternity boys and Sorority girls did but they were eating that shit up.

Ella McCullough said...

Mamma Mia will always have a special place in my heart. People can argue and argue about things they do not like about it but it is such that it has such a large following and so many people love it. The music fits the show well and the plot makes our hearts warm and fuzzy. I clicked to see ticketing information and almost all of the shows are sold out and the ones with tickets left are very close to being sold out. I thought that was the perfect example of how much people love the show and how successful it is. I will always take the chance to see it and everytime I will leave smiling and filled with joy. I wish that there were more tickets available so that I could go see it but I guess I will just have to watch the movie again instead.