Why is Broadway Palms’ show, Mamma Mia! worth seeing? Let’s start with the Abba classics “Dancing Queen,” “Take a Chance on Me,” “SOS” and the title song—1975 chart-topper, “Mamma Mia!”—all woven into this tale of love, laughter, family and friendship. 

The Swedish pop group Abba, who made these songs famous, brings back all the good memories of the 1970s, from tight-fitting pants to platform shoes to polyester to music made for dancing.

“We’re so excited to be able to bring back Broadway Palm’s number one show of all time, Mamma Mia!,” says Melissa Vogt, director of sales and marketing.

Mamma Mia! is a comical story about a bride-to-be, Sophie, who is searching to find her birth father. The setting is on a beautiful Greek Island. Sophie has a shortlist of three men who could fit the bill, and so she invites all to her wedding without telling her mother. The story’s love and laughter largely unfolds during the wedding. Mamma Mia! was a Broadway hit from 2001 to 2017, making it the ninth longest-running Broadway show, and  the longest-running jukebox musical in Broadway history. By the same name, the tale was also a hit movie in 2008, starring Amanda Seyfried as Sophie and Meryl Streep as her mother. It was followed up in 2018 with a second film, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

Broadway Palm, now in its 28th season, is planning eight main stage productions, including Mamma Mia!, along with five productions in the Off Broadway Palm, four Children’s Theatre productions and five concerts. Mamma Mia! runs from October 1-November 14, 2020. The other main-stage shows are the Dean Martin Variety Hour (which ends September 26), Holiday Inn, Happy Days, On Your Feet, A Bronx Tale, Beehive and Grease.

Show prices range from $48 to $73. Group and children’s rates are available. Performances are Tuesday through Sunday evenings with selected matinees (no Tuesday evening performances, May through October).  

Ann Marie O’Phelan is a Southwest Florida resident and a regular contributor to TOTI Media.