RHODY LIFE

'Mamma Mia!': A spicy good musical at TBTS

Posted 8/25/21

Theatre review by DON FOWLER So you've seen the musical more than once, on the stage and at the movies. You've even seen the movie sequel. And you've heard the Abba album a zillion times. Theatre By The Sea owner/producer Bill Haney is betting on you

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RHODY LIFE

'Mamma Mia!': A spicy good musical at TBTS

Posted

So you’ve seen the musical more than once, on the stage and at the movies. You’ve even seen the movie sequel. And you’ve heard the Abba album a zillion times.

Theatre By The Sea owner/producer Bill Haney is betting on you wanting to see it one more time, so he has brought the hit musical “Mama Mia!” back to the beloved barn theater, giving us the first Broadway production to be presented in Rhode Island after nearly two years.

Will Rhode Islanders show up, even though they have seen the musical and have to wear masks?

Tickets sales say “yes.”

And Friday night’s audience says “double yes.”

OK. So it’s a corny story. So it starts a bit slow as the storyline is set up.

By the time Donna (Lexie Dorsett Sharp) and her two gal pals hit “Dancing Queen,” the musical is on a roll, never slowing down until the ensemble takes their final bows.

Sharp first appears on stage as a stern taskmaster, preparing for her daughter’s wedding on a Greek island, where she runs a hotel. Her hair in a bun, dressed in work clothes, she looks nothing like a dancing queen, but when she lets her hair down, literally and figuratively, she owns the role of Donna.

Sara Bartoszek is wonderful as daughter Sophie, eager to have her father walk her down the aisle – the problem being that she doesn’t know who her father may be.

There are these three guys mentioned in Donna’s diary who are the prime suspects, so she secretly invites them to the wedding.

They all arrive, setting the scene for some silly shenanigans and more importantly, all of those great Abba songs that have been neatly woven into the plot.

Sharp brings the house (excuse me, barn) down with a version of “The Name of the Game” that gave me goosebumps.

The entire cast is great, singing and dancing with all the pumped up energy of actors who have sat idle for too long and are ready to let it all out.

Kyle Dixon has done a good job on the sets, while Dan Pinkston has gone all out with the fabulous costumes, and Kevin Hill handles the first-rate direction and choreography.

To all of those “Beat the Crowd” folks, let me give you a heads up. Stay in your seats, or rather on your feet, for the fabulous finale, which is worth the price of admission.

The first time I saw the musical, I was disappointed that they didn’t weave my favorite Abba song into the show. But have no fear, it is the final number that will send you home with the song ringing in your ears.

“Mama Mia!” is the name of the game at Matunuck through Sept. 5.

Tickets cost $58 to $81. Call 782-8587 or go online at www.theatrebythesea.com for reservations.

Mama Mia, TBTS

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