![\"Mamma](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/MammaMiaWideCompany.jpg\")
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>ABBA\u2019s energetic music is central to the popularity of the show, which takes its name from a track on the group\u2019s eponymous 1976 second album and has 11 of their chart hits among the 22 songs in the production, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band\u2019s No. 1 song, \u201cDancing Queen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMamma Mia!\u201d is regarded as a jukebox musical \u2013 a film or stage show that features the songs of a popular band \u2013 and the show is generally considered to have launched the surge of the genre after its opening on Broadway in 2001. Previously, it had had a successful run in London\u2019s West End, where it was first performed in 1999.<\/p>\n
Two early jukebox stage musicals in the mid-1970s were \u201cThe Night That Made America Famous,\u201d based on the music of storyteller Harry Chapin, and \u201cBeatlemania,\u201d the musical revue of The Beatles. These were followed in 1984 by \u201cLeader of the Pack,\u201d with the music of the 1960s Brill Building pop songwriting team of Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry (\u201cBe My Baby,\u201d \u201cChapel of Love\u201d), and in 1995 by \u201cSmokey Joe\u2019s Caf\u00e9,\u201d the music of 1950s hit makers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (\u201cHound Dog,\u201d \u201cYakety Yak\u201d). In the 21st century, more than 85 jukebox musicals have opened on Broadway, showcasing the music of artists such as Hank Williams, Janis Joplin, The Four Seasons, Bob Dylan, Carole King, David Bowie, and Frank Sinatra. Last year, nine new jukebox musicals opened on Broadway, including \u201cThe Cher Show\u201d and \u201cAin\u2019t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Terrence Mann, the Broadway veteran who is artistic director of the Nutmeg Summer and is directing CRT\u2019s \u201cMamma Mia!\u201d isn’t comfortable with the label: \u201cTo me, when you say a jukebox musical, it\u2019s almost pejorative, like you\u2019re dissing it,\u201d he says. \u201cThe music came out of source material that\u2019s already been written. Then they tried to put a book, a libretto around all these songs and have it make sense. Sometimes it succeeds and sometimes they don\u2019t succeed. I think we have to figure out maybe a different way to describe musicals that have come along and certainly come out of recorded sources music, a la jukebox.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mann notes that after the arrival of broadcast radio in the early 20th century, popular music heard on the airwaves was most often songs that originated from stage and film productions written by Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, or Rogers and Hammerstein, the creators of what became known as the Great American Songbook. In the mid-1950s, the emergence of rock \u2018n\u2019 roll changed the music industry, as it took over as the major genre on the pop music charts. Film soundtracks continue on the hit lists with \u201cThe Sound of Music,\u201d ranked at No. 2 on the Billboard all-time album Top 200 chart, and \u201cFrozen\u201d at No. 17.<\/p>\n
Mann says \u201cMamma Mia!\u201d and its soundtrack continues to resonate with audiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing about \u2018Mamma Mia!\u2019, which I think separates it from all others, is that you know they are winking and nodding at you from the stage when they are going through this book and when they are going to the next song,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s charming and compelling and makes you laugh. And yet it\u2019s still poignant and touching. ABBA won the Eurovision contest in 1974. They wrote great songs that our ears wanted to hear at the time, what we wanted to feel at the time. To be able to be sustained for that long, we just decided they were just that good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica Hendy will star as Donna Sheriden. Hendy has appeared on Broadway as Grizabella in both the original production and the 2016 revival of \u201cCats.\u201d Other Broadway credits include \u201cAida\u201d and \u201cAmour.\u201d She also appeared in the National Tour of \u201cJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.\u201d Hendy will be making her CRT debut.<\/p>\n
Jennifer Cody will star as Rosie. She previously appeared onstage at Connecticut Repertory Theatre as Dotty Otley in \u201cNoises Off.\u201d Cody appeared as Rumpleteazer in the original Broadway production of \u201cCats\u201d and as Cha-Cha Di Gregorio in the revival of \u201cGrease,\u201d and reprised these roles for the National Tours of both shows. Other Broadway credits include \u201cBeauty and the Beast,\u201d \u201cSeussical,\u201d \u201cUrinetown,\u201d \u201cThe Pajama Game,\u201d and \u201cShrek the Musical.\u201d Cody has also appeared on TV in \u201cLaw and Order\u201d and \u201cBlue Bloods,\u201d and has contributed voice work to Disney\u2019s \u201cPrincess and the Frog\u201d and others.<\/p>\n
Lauren Blackman will star as Tanya. Blackman most recently appeared in \u201cMarie, Still Dancing\u201d in Seattle. Her Broadway credits include \u201cAnastasia.\u201d Off-Broadway credits include \u201cPromises, Promises,\u201d and \u201cA Tree Grows in Brooklyn.\u201d Prior CRT roles include the world premiere of \u201cAnastasia\u201d at Hartford Stage. Blackman will be making her CRT debut.<\/p>\n
Bradley Dean will star as Sam Carmichael. Dean most recently appeared in the National Tour of \u201cBat Out of Hell,\u201d and on Broadway as Larry Murphy in \u201cDear Evan Hansen\u201d and \u201cThe Last Ship.\u201d He appeared as Che in the National Tour of \u201cEvita,\u201d and as Sir Dennis Galahad, The Black Knight and Prince Herbert\u2019s Father in both the original Broadway production and the National Tour of \u201cSpamalot.\u201d Other Broadway credits include \u201cCompany,\u201d \u201cA Little Night Music,\u201d and \u201cDoctor Zhivago.\u201d Dean will be making his CRT debut.<\/p>\n
The widespread audience demand for \u201cMamma Mia!\u201d is evident in the number of community and regional productions scheduled this year. In addition to the CRT production, there are 33 community or regional theater performances of \u201cMamma Mia!\u201d set until the end of 2019 in the northeast, from Franklin, New Hampshire, to Hoboken, New Jersey.<\/p>\n
Demand for ABBA also resonates. In early 2018, there were news reports that the group had recorded two new songs titled “I Still Have Faith in You” and “Don\u2019t Shut Me Down.” Last fall, Benny Andersson said in an interview that a hologram tour is being planned for some time in 2019 or 2020. A hologram of ABBA\u2019s four members will perform its hit songs, appearing as they did in the 1970s, with live performers on stage.<\/p>\n
CRT\u2019s Nutmeg Summer Theatre production of \u201cMamma Mia!\u201d will be presented at the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre from June 6 through June 22. A new schedule of starting times is in place this season. Evening performances start at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Matinee performances start at 2 p.m. on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. For more information, go to crt.uconn.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Connecticut Repertory Theatre\u2019s Nutmeg Summer Series will open June 6 with the musical ‘Mamma Mia!’ \u2013 featuring songs by the Swedish pop\/dance group ABBA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":150764,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1711,1914,2198,2225,2234],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1918],"class_list":["post-150549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-sfa","category-tolland-county","category-uconn-storrs","category-university-life"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-03 08:07:05","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150549"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151021,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150549\/revisions\/151021"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/150764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150549"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=150549"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=150549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}