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Lay all your love on Mamma Mia!

A A A Comments By Jay Webb Thursday, Jun 29 2006

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The idea of an ABBA musical at first sounded like a campy joke, but the Dallas Summer Musicals return engagement of Mamma Mia! is no laughing matter as audiences clamor "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" and shovel out the money, money, money to see it again. The story, about a young bride determined to figure out which of her mother's three suitors is her father, is as fluffy as ABBA's music, which would normally be an insult until realizing the music perfectly complements the plot. The show's spawned a few pop/rock-recycling imitations, including We Will Rock You (Queen) and Movin' Out (Billy Joel), as other baby-boomer acts weigh their options and hope not to end up like last year's ill-fated John Lennon musical. Benny, Björn, Agnetha and Frida aren't touring anytime soon, so Mamma Mia! is the closest you're going to get to a live ABBA experience until somebody offers the persnickety Swedes enough money to get along with each other. Mamma Mia! opens Tuesday and runs through July 16 at the Music Hall at Fair Park, 909 First Ave. Showtime is 8 p.m. with 2 p.m. matinees Saturday, Sunday, July 13, 15 and 16 (no 8 p.m. show July 16). Tickets are $28.50 to $75.50. Call 214-631-ARTS or visit dallassummermusicals.org.
July 4-16