Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Mamma Mia!

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Mamma Mia! - review

"Mamma Mia!" is Mandalay Bay's new permanent show. For those not familiar, it is a musical featuring most/all of the most popular music from the 70's group, ABBA. To the best of my knowledge, it premiered first in London, next on Broadway, and is still running in both of those locations. It might help to know that with one exception (Phantom of the Opera), I am not a fan of musicals. (Les Miserable practically put me to sleep.) The show was fantastic! I am not a particular fan of ABBA, but the music is as familiar to me as it is to the rest of the world. In my case, this helps because it was nice to be familiar with the music ahead of time. The story centers around a young girl who lives on a Greek island and is getting married. The girl does not know who her father is, but reads her mother's old diary, notes three possibilities, and invites all three of the men to come to the wedding. They all show up, and the songs of ABBA are intertwined into the story, as the girl's mother is shocked to find herself faced with the presence of these three men she has not seen since the 70's. The production is first class. The music is all performed live by a full orchestra, which has become a rarity in Las Vegas. The singing was all top-notch. The show is a full-fledged version of the original versions, running a full 2 1/2 hours, including a 15 minute intermission. I overheard some folks behind me saying that they had seen this show both in London and in Los Angeles, and thought this version was equal to the London version, and better than the Los Angeles production. By the end of the show the entire audience is on its feet dancing. Everyone left the theater feeling energized and everyone was buzzing about how good the show was. I hope this is the first step for Las Vegas, with other top-notch permanent productions to come. Perhaps we can become the new "Broadway" of the west, where people come just to see the great theater. As with all shows in Vegas, the popular ones go up in price very quickly. (I remember when Blue Man Group was $40.) If you have the chance, see this show. You won't be dissapointed. Sorry if this posting is too long-winded.

Accidentally posted this message in the general forum. Have reposted in the Nevada forum. Sorry about that.

As a theatre nut, I'm thrilled with this idea. National tours of big musicals are getting trickier and trickier to mount and ship these days for lots of reasons -- mainly money. This is the same idea -- mount a really good production, but let the people come to it, instead of taking the production to the people. I can see the possibility of holding a show there for a year or more and doing very well, thanks to the varied traffic of tourists going to Las Vegas.

vagaslocal, There is no "Nevada" forum. The only thing about "Nevada" is that it helps if doing a search. This is a very common error and one that could be easily corrected by Fodors with a change in their layout for posting. ALL THREADS GO TO THE US BOARD, PERIOD! There is no New York City board, no Hawaii board, no Nevada board, etc. That is why it is so important to put the name of the city/state in the header. Curious

Enjoyed "Mamma Mia" in New York a couple of years ago and I look forward to seeing it in Las Vegas. A production of "Starlight Express" was based at The Las Vegas Hilton a number of years ago and it enjoyed a long run. I think it is a great idea to take some of the broadway productions to Vegas.

What I liked (loved!) about Mamma Mia is that it's a musical the whole family can enjoy. We saw it in Denver and the audience was dancing in the aisles by the end of the show. Our kids loved it--we bought the soundtrack and they have it memorized. Bringing musicals to Vegas sounds like a great trend to me--after all, entertaining as they are, you can only go to the Caesar's Bachannal or Siegfried and Roy so many times (like once).

vegaslocal: Thanks for the review. My wife and I have tickets to see Mamma Mia at the Prince Edward Theatre in London in May. Looking forward to it now even more. John

We will briefly be in Las Vegas (1 night) before family trip to Grand Canyon, etc. and was looking for something to do for that evening. My concern is that I generally do not enjoy shows where "the entire audience is on its feet dancing" nor does our teenage son. We are more observers than entertainment participants. Should we find something else to do? My husband and daughter, on the other hand, would be among the first dancing.

Don't worry about it gail, you will not be involved in the show. What people are talking about is that after the show, there is a sort of mini-concert singing curtain call. This is when people stand and join in the singing and some will actually dance in the aisles -- watching this is no different than watching the show. You will certainly want to stand too, but don't feel out of place by not dancing. This whole bit is probably 10 minutes long at most.

We saw "Momma Mia" in Melbourne, Australia. We were walking back to our hotel from the subway and saw the theater marquee. We were able to get tickets for that evening (someone had turned them in) and we watched a truly memorable, happy show. It was so much a part the 70's and it is funny, very , very humorous. When the show was ending people were dancing in the aisles as they were truly taken with the show and the music. Afterward they would not let the cast leave the stage with the ovations!! I couldn't wait to buy the cd and now, when traffic gets tied up as it does so often on the Washington beltway, I turn on my "Momma Mia" CD and reduce the stress!!

We've seen Mamma Mia 3 times in London and are seeing it again in April. It's a real "feel good" show, I cannot imagine anyone not having a good time. To Gail - you do not have to participate in anything, people just get caught up in the show at the end and it is like a concert where people stand, dance, etc. IF they want to. You will probably need to stand up tho, you won't see anything by that time if everyone is standing! We've had 3rd row seats everytime to this show and it's been just a fun evening. We see a lot of shows that this ranks up there as one of the best. If any of you are into comedies see The Producers if you can - you will roll on the floor with laughter.

I like the idea of a permanent venue for shows like Mamma Mia. This the same option taken by Cirque de Soleil which has been very successful.

Hi, Can someone tell me about the theatre seating for Mamma Mia. There are $93 tix and $71 tix. What's the real difference in seating for these prices? Thanks, Tom

What theater in what city are you talking about?

I'm assuming that TFrazer is referring to Mama Mia at Mandalay Bay in Vegas, which is where this thread started. Those certainly aren't the New York prices anyway. I've never been to that production in Vegas, but the logical answer is that the more expensive seats are closer and more center than the cheaper seats. At least that's the standard in every theatre I've ever been to. If the exact row letters are important, I think you'll need to call the theatre to see what letter and seat numbers are the cheaper, but I can guarantee you that the view will not be as good as from the more expensive ones.

Mamma Mia! Papa Pia! We thought the baby went - - rhea! I find it hilarious how the spelling of this show varies. Mamma Mia! Mamma! Mia! Mama Mia Moma Mia Good lord. -darvy