In all honesty, what would life be—without a song or a dance, what are we? Japan is the first country to see that girl/watch that scene since the coronavirus pandemic, as Mamma Mia! opened at Yokohama’s Kanagawa Arts Center July 14.
The international staging was initially set to launch March 28 before theatres worldwide shutdown in response to the health crisis. Performances will run through August 23 in Yokohama before the production heads to Fukuoka and Kyoto.
Among the myriad safety measures implemented at the venue are temperature checks, socially distanced seating arrangements, required face masks for audiences, and routine testing for the cast and crew.
SEARCHING FOR SOPHIE: Who Is the Girl in the Mamma Mia! Logo?
Japan has been relatively successful in containing the novel coronavirus, in part due to the country’s extensive contact tracing of infected patients, even if actual public testing has been limited.
Meanwhile, the original West End production remains on hiatus at the Novello Theatre. Performances are currently slated to resume September 7, though this date may change with future updates and government recommendations. Broadway shows, however, are to remain dark through at least January 3, 2021.
The London cast has kept busy, however; watch their recent virtual West End LIVE performance below.
