Eat Dessert First with Skylight Music Theatre's "Mamma Mia!"

A recent American Theatre magazine article analyzing the plays and musicals onstage across the country this season concluded that audiences are buying tickets for either “candy or protein” – silly, feel-good fluff or deadly serious diatribes commenting on our chaotic present.

If this is true, then Skylight Music Theatre’s season-opening production of Mamma Mia! is an enormous piece of Greek baklava; crispy pastry, gooey, packed with nuts and dripping with honey, slightly exotic, and seasoned with just enough spice. Powerfully sweet and subtle as a shot of ouzo, Mamma Mia! is a sugar high made of glorious, exuberant fun — a modern fairy tale full of nostalgia set to the soundtrack of two dozen frothy singles from the Swedish super-group ABBA. Performed in the Cabot Theatre in the Broadway Theatre Center, it runs through October 16.

Directed and choreographed by Monica Kapoor – who spent seven years in the Broadway cast of this delicious confection – this production exceeds every expectation, with infectious laughter; lush voices; stellar, almost non-stop dancing; glorious, over-the-top costumes by Jason Orlenko; and pop songs from the ’70s that will live in your head for days. Even the scene changes are fluid and infused with humor. (Shout out to the hard working chorus members and rockin’ band led by music director David Bonofiglio. Including four keyboardists, the ensemble makes the audience feel like they’re at a legit pop concert.)

Chances are you’ve seen Mamma Mia! before. After debuting in 1999, the juke-box musical has been touring for decades, and it was made into a passable film in 2008 featuring Meryl Streep. It’s the original plot that separates it from most Broadway shows built around hits from one musical group. Instead of telling a “behind the music” bio story of the band, Mamma Mia! creates all new characters and weaves its slight story together with the help of repurposed ABBA songs. The story is far from Shakespearean, but it does give audiences an amusing set of dilemmas that ABBA’s catalogue can help convey.

The show begins with a winsome Sophie (a lovely Camara Stampley) wishing that her father could walk her down the aisle at her upcoming wedding. Unfortunately, her mother Donna (the brilliant Lisa Estridge) has never revealed the identity of her biological father. After reading mom’s diary, Sophie invites the three most likely former suitors to join them for the nuptials on a sunny Greek Island, where Donna runs a taverna and hotel. In addition to prospective dads one, two and three, Donna’s two best friends from college – and former bandmates – arrive to serve as moral support during wedding preparations. As Sophie tries to figure out which middle-aged stranger is her dad, hilarity and a lot of singing and dancing ensue.

As mother and daughter, Stampley and Estridge create a nice yin and yang with their characters. While the elder is a free spirit, a bit weary and harried from running a business and raising a daughter on her own, the younger still has stars in her eyes, even as she wishes for a more conventional life – including two stable parents, a loving husband, and a big, white wedding. Stampley has the softness and breathy voice of an ingenue while Estridge has an edge, superhero strength, and a mezzo soprano that easily resonates in the upper balcony. (Estridge particularly nails “Slipping Through My Fingers,” and “Winner Takes it All.”) It is immensely satisfying to watch their journeys through the play, as they trade places in their longing for adventure and security.

The trio of would-be dads could be throw-away parts, but here they are filled out with a nice mix of heart and goofiness so each can have a real reckoning with his past. Sam (Victor Wallace) is the good egg architect with nagging questions about what might have been, if he’d stayed with Donna. Bill (Jake Horstmeier) is the Australian adventurer with a vague drawl who has never been tied down. And Harry (Ben George) is the awkward Brit who dreamed of being a headbanging rockstar, but ended up balding, with a career in finance. Wallace is the ringer of the group, having played the part on Broadway. He knocks “Knowing Me, Knowing You,” out of the park, along with his duet with Estridge on “S.O.S.” but they all shine in awkward interactions with their old flame and possible new offspring. As Sophie declares near the show’s end, it feels good to have all of these men in her life now.

The real scene-stealers of the production are Donna’s best gal pals – the exuberant tag-along Rosie (Amanda Satchell) and the chic and cynical Tanya (Kelly Britt). Both women play comedy with ease, while filling out their sparkling jumpsuits with verve as superb back-up singers. Britt brings plenty of heat to the sexy tease, “Does Your Mother Know?” while Satchell brings down the house with “Take a Chance on Me.”

As expected, Kapoor’s energetic choreography is executed crisply across the cast bringing a sassy snap to each number. And don’t you dare grab your keys and head to the parking lot as the show wraps up – there are even more musical numbers in store after the first curtain call – complete with sparkly costume changes and sing along choruses to “Dancing Queen.”

If post-COVID audiences have been hesitant coming back to the theater, this is what they’ve been waiting for – an all out festival of feel-good music, dazzling dance, quirky comedy, lovable characters, and a scrumptious happy ending that must be experienced live.

Post Script

Eat Dessert First with Skylight Music Theatre's "Mamma Mia!"