"Mamma Mia!" brings the joy to Boston for its 25th anniversary
BOSTON - "Mamma Mia!" is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and the national tour is now in Boston.
While the title song of the hit Broadway musical is nearly 50 years old, the show still has audience members dancing in the aisles.
Cast members attribute the show's longevity to joy.
"For as old as the show is, the lifespan that it's had," said actor Christine Sherill, "it just seems to keep getting younger."
While the music of Abba sets the stage, the story has nothing to do with the Swedish band.
"I think people can discount jukebox musicals and attribute their greatness or their longevity to the soundtrack. And this is a story that's about determination and survival sort of identity," Sherrill said.
Sherill plays Donna, the owner of a taverna in Greece, who is preparing for her daughter's wedding with the help of old friends.
Sophie, the bride, secretly invites three men from her mother's past in the hope of meeting her real father.
Actor Jalynn Steele plays one of Donna's friends. "It's just such a fun story about nostalgia, friendship, identity - just discovering those things," Steele said. "The songs are catchy. They get into your head, and you just - you can't stop singing. And they're full of joy. They're full of love."
Mamma Mia! plays at the Citizen's Bank Opera House in Boston through October 6.