The hit musical Mama Mia! that includes 22 songs from the group Abba will be playing at the North Shore Music Theatre from August 7 through September 2. This will be an original in-the-round production.
“Mamma Mia! is a show that audiences have been requesting for years, and I am excited that we finally have the rights to create our own unique production just for our audiences. Even those fans who have seen Mamma Mia! multiple times before have never seen the show like this,” said Bill Hanney, NSMT owner and producer. “I am also very lucky to be able to cast many of the amazing performers from the recent sold out run we just produced at Theatre By The Sea, my other venue in Rhode Island. North Shore’s production will also be directed and choreographed by our talented Producing Artistic Director, Kevin P. Hill, who has also helmed our hit productions of Mary Poppins, Sister Act, Young Frankenstein, and A Christmas Carol. I know audiences looking to have a good time will not be disappointed.”
NSMT’s production ofMAMMA MIA! will be led by Erica Mansfield (Donna Sheridan), along with Tiffani Barbour (Rosie), and Tari Kelly as (Tanya). Erica Mansfieldhas performed onBroadway in Bandstand, Finding Neverland, Mamma Mia!, On the Town, On the Twentieth Century, Pippin, Evita, and How to Succeed. Tiffani Barbour has appeared on television in “Veep,” “The Leftovers,” and “Law & Order,” and has been seen on stage in New York in Hit the Wall, and Born Blue, and on tour in Mamma Mia! and Fame the Musical. Tari Kelly has appeared on Broadway in Groundhog Day, Something Rotten!, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Boy From Oz and Show Boat.
North Shore Music Theatre is located at 62 Dunham Road, Beverly, MA.
Mamma Mia!
Through July 1st
The Ogunquit Playhouse
Reviewed by Bobby Franklin
Angie Schworer, Jodie Langel, Kate Chapman, and Cast (Photo: Gary Ng)
You know summer will soon be here when the stage at the Ogunquit Playhouse raises its curtain for a new season. And this year for their 85th anniversary they have kicked it off with the very popular jukebox musical Mamma Mia! With an energetic cast led by Jodie Langel as Donna and Patrick Cassidy as Sam it is a fun evening of music and laughs that has the audience on its feet singing and dancing along.
The story about Sophie (Briana Rapa), Donna’s daughter who was born out of wedlock twenty-one years earlier, takes place as she is preparing for her wedding day in Greece where she lives with her mother Donna who runs a local taverna. Sophie desperately wants to find out who her father is and has, by peeking into her mother’s diary, narrowed the possibility down to three men all of whom she invites to the wedding. This leads to some confusion and much laughter as she tries to figure out which of the three is dad.
…an evening filled with laughs, music, and great dancing…
The story is a great vehicle for the music of Abba, and that is what it was written to be. But this is not an Abba tribute show. It is an evening filled with laughs, music, and great dancing, all set on a beautiful stage meant to be the Greek seaside. The story is fun and touching, filled with vivid colors and loaded with energy. Those colors and the changing sets along with beautiful lighting, had me feeling the sea breezes of the Mediterranean. Of course, it helps being within a stone’s throw of Ogunquit Beach.
Oh, did I mention this is fun? The music is fun, the dancing is fun, the story is fun. Seeing dancers performing wearing huge yellow swim fins is, well, fun. There are so many moments like that. The Playhouse has given us all a welcome to summer gift.
Brianna Rapa, Mike Heslin, and Cast (Photo: Gary Ng)
This is not Chekov or O’Neil, and you won’t leave the theater contemplating the mysteries of life. It is simply a nice story that will have you feeling good. You will leave the theater feeling happy, with a lot of music dancing in your ears. After an evening of Mamma Mia! at the Ogunquit Playhouse you will be more than ready for summer. This is a production that calls out “Take A Chance On Me”, and will have you saying,”Thank You For The Music”.
Mamma Mia!
Through July 1st
The Ogunquit Playhouse, 207.646.5511
Ogunquit Maine
ogunquitplayhouse.org
The Ogunquit Playhouse kicks off its 85th Anniversary Season with the international smash hit Mamma Mia!, dazzling audiences on stage from May 17 to July 1. Over sixty million people from around the globe have fallen in love with the characters, the enchanting story and ABBA’s timeless music which makes Mamma Mia! the ultimate feel-good show! This sunny, funny, international sensation unfolds on a Greek island paradise when on the eve of her wedding, a young woman’s quest to discover the identity of her father brings three men from her mother’s past back to the island they last visited twenty years ago. Non-stop laughs and explosive dance numbers, along with the magic of ABBA’s hit songs that include “Super Trouper,” “Dancing Queen,” “Knowing Me, Knowing You,” “Take a Chance on Me,” “Thank You for the Music,” “Money, Money, Money,” “The Winner Takes It All,” and “SOS,” combine to make this enchanting show a trip down the aisle you’ll never forget!
A cast of Broadway veterans will headline the show including Kate Chapman, Jodie Langel, Angie Schworer, David Engel, Fred Inkley, and star of stage and screen Patrick Cassidy.
Starring as Donna is Jodie Langel, who is making her Ogunquit Playhouse debut. Langel has performed on Broadway and National Tours as Cosette in Les Miserables, as the youngest ever Grizabella in CATS, and as the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Her many regional theatre credits include Evita as Eva Peron, and Funny Girl as Fanny.
Angie Schworer returns to the Ogunquit Playhouse to star as Tonya. Schworer was last on the Ogunquit stage as Roxie in 2010’s Chicago and as Irene in 2007’s Crazy for You. On Broadway, Schworer has appeared alongside Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane as Ulla in The Producers, and received an Astaire Award nomination for her performance in Catch Me if You Can. She’s been seen on television in “Law and Order,” “CSI,” “As The World Turns,” and “Smash.” She has also appeared in the film version of The Producers.
Starring as Rosie is Kate Chapman, who hails from Broadway to make her Ogunquit Playhouse debut. Most recently, Chapman starred in the cast of Mary Poppins on Broadway, and was a part of the original 2006 revival cast of Les Miserables. Chapman starred as Ms. Claus for five seasons on the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and was a part of the ensemble in the films Chicago and Nine.
Briana Rapa is making her Ogunquit Playhouse debut as Sophie, following her international tour as Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
Patrick Cassidy
Star of stage and screen, Patrick Cassidy makes his Ogunquit Playhouse debut as Sam. A veteran of Broadway, film and television, Cassidy most recently appeared in A Little Night Music at A.C.T. in San Francisco and starred opposite Patti Lupone in Annie Get Your Gun. He also had the honor of recreating the role his father, Jack Cassidy, originated on Broadway in the Dallas Theater Center’s production of It’s a Bird It’s a Plane It’s Superman. Cassidy won the 2002 National Broadway Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in Elton John’s Aida, and was nominated for an Emmy for his performance on the TV Miniseries “Dress Grey.” In addition to his lauded performance as Julian Marsh in 42nd Street, Cassidy originated the role of Balladeer in Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins at Playwright Horizons, and appeared in Lady in the Dark at City Center’s Encores! On television, Cassidy has guest starred on “Law & Order SVU,” “Castle,” “Crossing Jordan,” “Without a Trace,” “According to Jim,” “CSI Miami,” and “ER,” among many others.
Returning to the Ogunquit Playhouse to star as Harry is David Engel, who was last seen at the Playhouse as Gomez in the 2014 hit, The Addams Family. Engel most recently appeared on Broadway in Putting It Together and Seussical, as well as the original production of La Cage aux Folles. Engel created the role of Smudge in the original New York production of Forever Plaid, and again in Plaid Tidings and Forever Plaid: The Movie. In addition to his work on the stage, Engel shared an on-screen romance with RuPaul in the award winning musical short film Zombie Prom.
Fred Inkley stars as Bill in his Ogunquit Playhouse debut after his lauded tenure as Valjean in Broadway’s Les Miserables. Inkley received a Helen Hayes and Jeff Awards nomination for his performance as Beast in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, as well as a Jeff Award nomination for his touring performance as Valjean in Les Miserables. Inkley appeared as a Guest Artist for the Boston Pops in 2013.
