Sydney MAMMA MIA! The Musical
Sydney Lyric Theatre, Sydney.
27 Could 2023.
MAMMA MIA! The Musical – what a present! The Sydney premiere on Saturday, 27 Could at Sydney Lyric Theatre was a gap night time to recollect.
The night commenced with a buzzing purple carpet, with the Who’s Who of Sydney together with stars corresponding to Rebecca Gibney from Packed to The Rafters, Rogue Merchants singer Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Former Speaker of the Australian Home of Representatives Bronwyn Bishop, and plenty of extra – all who loved a playful media wall with flying confetti and vibrant microphone props to embrace the theme of the present.
Introduced by Michael Coppel, Louise Withers and Linda Bewick with music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, guide by Catherine Johnson, MAMMA MIA! was initially conceived and produced in London’s West Finish in 1999, by Judy Craymer together with Richard East and Björn Ulvaeus and contains extra preparations by Martin Koch. In any case these years, the manufacturing continues to be completely dynamic and has develop into the sixth longest operating present in West Finish historical past. Since first sharing its electrical vitality with audiences and critics, MAMMA MIA! The Musical has toured in over 50 nations, in over 440 main cities, to over 65 million individuals. In 2017, an all Australian inventive workforce re-staged the manufacturing to current a novel Australian model.
Set within the fictional Greek Island referred to as Kalokairi, the story is a light-hearted and vibrant story of Sophie Sheridan (performed by Sarah Krndija), a younger bride-to-be who, on the eve of her marriage ceremony, goes on a quest to find the id of her father. Bypassing her fiancé Sky’s (Lewis Francis) consciousness, she sends out her marriage ceremony invites – additionally with out her mom Donna Sheridan’s data (Elise McCann). Her quest brings three males — Sam Carmichael (Martin Crewes), Harry Shiny (Drew Livingston) and Invoice Austin (Tim Wright) — from her mom’s previous again to the island from 20 years in the past. Shifting by means of a number of scenes and transferring units designed by Linda Bewick, what occurs subsequent is an eclectic, magical story of affection, stuffed with laughter, music, shut friendship and pure leisure.
Sneakily prying by means of her mom’s journal from 1979, Sophie and her pals Ali (Nina Carmen) and Lisa (Kadesa Honeyhill) learn moments from her non-public amorous affairs in an effort to resolve the thriller and determine her father. The primary discovery: “July 17th, what an evening, after the present, Sam rode me over to the little island and we danced on the seashore, kissed on the seashore and…” The primary humorous musical quantity, “Honey, Honey,” opens the present, and…the plot of the amorous affairs with Sam, Harry and Invoice unfolds.
Krndija, who skilled on the Victorian Faculty of the Arts in 2018, and is know for her work on each stage as Margaret in 9 to five (Crossroads Dwell), Cecile in Merciless Intentions (David Venn Enterprises), and on display screen as Sandy Cooper-Reid within the critically acclaimed comedy sequence Class Of ’07. Different display screen credit embrace Elvis (Warner Bros, dir. Baz Luhrmann) and Olivia (lead) in Sean Bell’s The Junket (Autumn Photos), to call a number of. Krndija was completely chosen for the position of Sophie Sheridan. Her voice was commanding, her look paying homage to the movie, and her stage presence was balanced with an easygoing vitality that was fun-loving and spirited.
Donna Sheridan, performed by Elise McCann, was sensible. McCann embodied the position effortlessly and stole the present in “Cash, Cash, Cash,” “Tremendous Trouper” and “Considered one of Us.” Her ebullience in every dance quantity and deeply felt emotion in each tune she carried out was a ravishing distinction; her efficiency was second to none. The viewers went wild for each quantity, and the vitality was electrical, and rightfully so. McCann is understood for her position of Miss Honey within the Australian manufacturing of Matilda the Musical for which she received the 2016 Helpmann Award, the 2015 Sydney Theatre Award and was nominated for the 2016 Inexperienced Room Award. She additionally performed Lucille Ball in All people Loves Lucy (2015 Sydney Theatre Award nomination), Mary in Merrily We Roll Alongside (2021 Sydney Theatre Award nomination) and Lynne Woolnough within the Australian tv mini-series Peter Allen: Not the Boy Subsequent Door for Channel Seven.
Sam Carmichael (Martin Crewes), Harry Shiny (Drew Livingston) and Invoice Austin (Tim Wright), Donna’s previous love pursuits, had been merely entertaining and very comical. While their musical numbers and motion on stage at instances appeared to drop in vitality – compared to the remainder of the present – their vocals had been exceptionally melodious and becoming for his or her scenes. Nevertheless, “Take a Likelihood on Me” with Invoice and Rosie (performed by Bianca Bruce) and “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do,” with Sam (Crewes) and Donna (McCann) and the ensemble was cheerfully amusing.
The 2 stand-out numbers of the night that had the viewers in uncontainable laughter throughout the theatre was “Lay All Your Love On Me” carried out by Sophie (Krndija) and Sky (Francis) and backed up by pals Pepper (Jordan Tomljenovic) and Eddie (Etuate Lutui) and the ensemble, who burst onto the stage wearing tropical swimwear – shorts and skirts, flippers, goggles, and executed to most hilarious and ridiculous balletic seal and mermaid strikes which included a fast change right into a shell bikini. It was merely smashing! The subsequent was “Does Your Mom Know,” carried out by world-class performer Deone Zanotto, who stars as Tanya and exemplified distinctive theatrical allure in each dance and vocals, together with rising expertise Tomljenovic who performs Pepper. His vitality was zestful, and nuances in his mastered actions stole the highlight all through the present.
That includes 22 of ABBA’s biggest hits together with “Gimme Gimme Gimme,” “Voulez Vous,” “Dancing Queen” and “S.O.S.,” the manufacturing directed by Gary Younger (OAM), with choreography by Tom Hodgson, iconic costumes designed by Suzy Strout, music supervision from Stephen (AMOS) and lighting by Gavin Swift all mixed, acquired a roaring standing ovation with an explosion of confetti to have fun a particularly profitable opening night time.
Assured to ship an evening of pure leisure and laughter, MAMMA MIA! shouldn’t be missed!
Catch the present at Sydney Lyric till July 30, Brisbane QPAC Lyric Theatre from August 6, and Melbourne Princess Theatre from October 4. Tickets and knowledge can be found at www.mammamiathemusical.com.au.
By Renata Ogayar of Dance Informa.
