Mamma Mia!—there are now two touring Mamma Mia!s in the U.S.! A second national tour opens Feb. 28 at Providence, Rhode Island's Performing Arts Center where it will play through March 10.
Leading the new company is Monique Lund (Louise Pitre's Broadway understudy) Donna Sheridan with Kristie Marsden as her daughter, Sophie. Also in the cast are another Broadway transfer Robin Baxter (Rosie), Ellen Harvey (Tanya), James Kall (Harry), Pearce Bunting (Bill), Don Noble (Sam), Chris Bolan (Sky) and J.P. Potter (Pepper, Sky Understudy).
Mamma Mia! collects a couple dozen hit songs by the Swedish supergroup ABBA and shapes them around the story of a single mother and her young daughter's marriage on a Greek isle. While the daughter plans her future with the love of her life, she and her mother are haunted by three different men who may or may not be her daughter's father.
Among the songs used in Mamma Mia! are such 70s staples as "Dancing Queen," "Knowing Me, Knowing You," "S.O.S.," "Take a Chance on Me" and "The Winner Takes It All."
Andersson and Ulvaeus, the songwriting half of ABBA, previously wrote the musical Chess, which enjoyed an extended run at the Prince Edward in the 1980s in a production directed by Trevor Nunn, currently artistic director of the National Theatre. Mamma Mia! is directed by Phyllida Lloyd and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast. It is designed by Mark Thompson, with lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Andrew Bruce and musical supervision by Martin Koch.
For tickets in Providence, call (401) 421-ARTS. A futher tour itinerary follows:
March 13-24: Nashville, TN, Tennessee Performing Arts Center
March 26-April 4: Miami, FL, Jackie Gleason Theatre
April 9-28: Fort Lauderdale, FL, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
April 30-May 12: Tampa, FL, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center
May 14-June 2: Cincinnati, OH, Aranoff Center
June 4-16: Louisville, KY, Kentucky Center for the Arts
June 18-30: Columbus, OH, Ohio Theatre
July 2-12: Milwaukee, WI, Marcus Center
The first national tour of Mamma Mia!, starring Dee Hoty as Donna, is currently at home in Philadelphia. It plays the Forrest Theatre through March 23 before traveling on to Washington, DC, where Mamma Mia! opens at the National Theatre March 28. For tickets in Philadelphia, call (800) 472-2272. For tickets in Washington, DC, call (800) 447-7400.
