ABBA’s Mamma Mia! at the Lexington Opera House

Winter Blues?  GREECE is the Word! Mamma Mia! at the Lexington Opera House

by Michael Miller

Hunkered down during the recent snowstorm, I followed the harrowing weather updates online from WKYT. On my iPad, photos of rulers measuring the developing depths of snow were retweeted to the point of delirium. Meteorologist Chris Bailey is suddenly the front-runner for President.

Then came the inevitable postings on Facebook from “friends” who were coincidentally vacationing on various balmy beachfronts. Toes in the sand. Sipping daiquiris from coconuts.

Postcards in the mail?  Quaint.

Instant Messaged photos from the tropics while you are riding out a blizzard?  Rude.

That’s when I decided to send a last minute RSVP to a wedding a friend of a friend is having next month.  On the Greek island of Kalokairi. Surely Sophie and Sky have room for one more at the reception at her mother Donna’s taverna.

It’s hard to imagine better timing than right now for Mamma Mia! to come to town and sweep us all away to the Greek islands, even for only a couple of hours. It’s going to be a heck of a wedding. And we are all invited.

ABBA-esque in every way possible, Mamma Mia! The Musical has been seen by over 60 million people, grossing over $2 billion worldwide since its 1999 debut. Featuring the smash hits of the Swedish mega-group ABBA, the Broadway production ran for an amazing 14 years, having just recently closed last September.

The plot (although Who Cares?) concerns the aforementioned Sophie’s wedding abroad in Greece and a bit of mess over which one of three suitors her mother spent time with is actually her father and should be the rightful one to walk her down the aisle.

Although now closed on Broadway, Mamma Mia! continues in multiple long-term engagements worldwide. The tour coming to Lexington is a new North American one that kicked off just a few weeks ago. It boggles the mind to think that on any given day, there are at least seven performances of Mamma Mia! being performed somewhere around the globe. Every. Single. Day.

So pack your bags, we’re getting out of this winter mess for a little while. And don’t forget your neon orange and lime green bell bottoms!

INSIDER TidBit:  ABBA recently reunited to attend the grand opening of a new restaurant in Stockholm that is entirely focused on their international smash musical. “Niko’s Taverna” opens nightly to host Mamma Mia!: The Party. Insane.  Don’t believe me?  Check it out: www.mammamiatheparty.com

This article also appears on page 17 of the February 2016 printed edition of the Hamburg Journal.