Girls Night Out To Mamma Mia

“Mamma Mia” is one of those Broadway shows that have been around for decades and every time you meet a woman who hasn’t seen it, you’re a little surprised. But they’re out there, so I’m guessing when the Broadway touring production stops in Omaha April 24-26, there will be pockets of newbies having a ball watching it for the first time.

“Mamma Mia” runs April 24-26 at Omaha’s Orpheum Theater.

I’ll be there on opening night. Omaha Performing Arts, who is my employer and the presenter of this show along with Broadway Across America, asked me and a few bloggers to write about the show before it comes to Omaha. I’ve seen it once already and I have a few opinions on it, so I agreed to it.

What you need to know about “Mamma Mia”

“Mamma Mia” is about friendship and the bonds between mothers and daughters.

It really is a great girls night out show. This is one you’ll want to see with friends, your sister, your mom…anyone but your husband. I took Mr. Wonderful to see this bright, cheerful musical when I was a young newspaper reviewer who always wanted her beau to accompany her to shows no matter what. He kinda dampened my fun (not once would he join in with me in singing “Dancing Queen”). He’s not the target audience; it just wasn’t what he’d call a good time. While he rolled his eyes, all around me groups of women were laughing, dancing, having a ball. Lesson learned.
It’s all ABBA music. You probably already know this. The creators faithfully kept the ABBA songs whole and managed to write a musical around them. It’s not a jukebox musical, but a traditional musical whose story is moved forward each time someone sings a song. It’s a fun time if you enjoy an ABBA song or two (or the whole catalog); it’s a drag if you don’t. Haters gonna hate.
There is a plot to the musical. It’s not complex, and its meaning will seem more profound if you have had a drink before the show, but there’s still a nice storyline to it. It’s about mother-daughter bonds, the bonds between friends, and getting older (but not getting old).

Which circles me back to why this is a great girls night out show: No guy can relate to the difficult but profoundly meaningful relationship that is the mother-daughter relationship.