“Mamma Mia!” is making a comeback to Broadway, and fans are more than excited! The show has not been on Broadway since September 12, 2015, but will finally return on August 2, 2025! Opening night is scheduled for Thursday, August 14, 2025, to its original Broadway home, the Winter Garden Theatre.
The plot revolves around a daughter, Sophie, whose main goal on the night before her wedding is to find out who her real father is by inviting three possible candidates from her mother Donna’s past to her wedding. Songs from the Swedish band ABBA are carefully embedded into the show to accurately tell the tale of this mysterious musical.
April 6, 1999… what a night! The show hit the stage for the first time and it was nothing but a success. Critics raved about the musical, even though ABBA songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus were skeptical about the idea before it premiered.
When creative producer Judy Craymer met with Andersson and Ulvaeus, she said that the duo wasn’t 100% percent sure of Craymer’s intentions. As she became more confident with her ideas, Andersson and Ulvaeus were starting to be more open to her project.
“If you can find the right writer and story, well… let’s see what happens,” Ulvaeus told Craymer.
The show has been on multiple tours since then, performing in about 50 countries for over 70 million people. This feel-good musical has been performed in 16 different languages and in 450 major cities, the swiftest a musical has been performed world-wide in history.
In 2008, the musical was adapted into a film starring Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan and other accomplished actors. It made history in the UK and Irish box offices as it became the highest grossing movie of all time.
A prequel was made in 2018, 10 years after the original film, called “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,” following a younger Donna, played by Lily James, as she meets all three of Sophie’s potential fathers. The movie also flashes forward to when Sophie takes over Hotel Bella Donna after Donna passes away and focuses on her struggles keeping it in business.
Junior and “Mamma Mia!” enthusiast Sydney Klick absolutely adores the musical and both movies, but there are some dislikes about the storyline.
“I don’t like that there’s no definite answer about who her dad is, but I love the songs of ABBA and the aesthetics of the movie,” Klick explains.
When the show first came to Broadway, it opened in 2001 and closed in 2015, making it one of the longest-running Broadway musicals in history. Now, with only a six-month stretch, Craymer isn’t so sure if she wants to keep it that way or extend their time at the Winter Garden Theatre.
English teacher Mrs. Macino is a huge fan of musicals and anything involving Broadway. She has seen a local performance of “Mamma Mia!” and other musicals.
“Although the film was very entertaining, the stage performance was just one step ahead. There’s just something about a live performance,” said Macino.
Tickets for the upcoming shows are up for sale. Be sure to buy tickets as soon as possible for the best seats at the best price!
