Christine Sherrill and Cast Photo by Joan Marcus

Mamma Mia! is a straightforward and simple tale. Twenty-year-old Sophie is set to marry her boyfriend Sky in her Greek island hometown. The bride-to-be has been raised by her mother Donna without knowing who her father is. Donna is an independent spirit who gave up a career as the lead singer in a female pop trio to settle down and run the island hotel. Sophie, after reading entries in her mother's diary, sends wedding invitations to the three men who could possibly be her dad. As the wedding day approaches, the three potential fathers arrive on the island, as well as Donna's ex-bandmates, Tanya and Rosie. While Donna deals with the stress of seeing these men from her past, Sophie attempts to determine which one is her dad, so he can walk her down the aisle.

The book for Mamma Mia! is a sufficient framework to show off the famous ABBA songs. The story by Catherine Johnson succeeds in providing almost non-stop humor via numerous sight gags, high camp, decent one-liners, and comical predicaments. The show never takes itself too seriously, so not a lot is expected and most of the very funny moments land. Dialogue is cleverly mixed into the songs to help clarify and ground many of the lyrics. There are some touching moments between mother and daughter, and between ex-lovers as well. The overall storytelling suffers a bit due to the lack of plot advancement by the songs, especially in the somewhat laborious first half of Act 2.

It would be unfair to judge the songs by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus by musical theatre standards, since they weren't written for this purpose. But the lyrics do make many songs seem pigeonholed into the story and there is a heavy reliance on accompanying dialogue to show the significance of the material within the book. Luckily, the songs by the Andersson and Ulvaeus (with additional songs credited to Stig Anderson) come quickly one after another, and their catchy melodies are a delight to the vast majority of those in attendance. "Dancing Queen," "Our Last Summer," "The Winner Takes It All," "The Name of the Game," and "Take a Chance on Me" are just some of the twenty-two well-known hits from the ABBA catalogue heard in the show.

As Donna, Christine Sherrill skillfully captures the tough-as-nails independence of a stressed-out mother-of-the-bride, and demonstrates impressive vocal power. Alisa Melendez is excellent as Sophie. She's a first-rate singer and gives the bride-to-be an earthy yet frantic quality well-suited to the role. Jalynn Steele (Tonya) and Carly Sakolove (Rosie) are hilarious as Donna's former all-girl band mates, with Steele really kicking up a storm during "Does Your Mother Know." While the male characters are less developed, Grant Reynolds (Sky), Rob Marnell (Harry), Jim Newman (Bill), and Victor Wallace (Sam) make the most out of the material they have, especially in the comedic moments. The remaining members of the ensemble bring dynamic energy to their performances.

Director Phyllida Lloyd deserves credit for keeping an appropriately light tone and quick pace while also emphasizing the music and silliness of the show. The staging of several sections, including the use of the Greek Islanders toward the beginning of the show, and the scenes in which Sophie talks to her potential fathers during her bachelorette party, is highly commendable. The choreography by Anthony Van Laast is well-suited and enjoyable. Matthew Croft leads a six-piece band in pumping out the appropriate and festive orchestrations supplied by Martin Koch.

Mamma Mia! is designed surprisingly simplistically. Mark Thompson provides a small yet serviceable two-piece set and other smaller props and modular pieces which are altered slightly to change the location of the island settings. Thompson also supplies the costumes, which accurately capture the Mediterranean feel of the locale, along with the campy silliness of the disco elements. The lighting by Howard Harrison sometimes evokes the maritime locale and is bold and splashy during the performance numbers.

Mamma Mia! remains a nostalgic romp through the song catalog of ABBA while also presenting a fun, funny, and universal story. The enormously talented cast of the current national tour executes the material in first-rate fashion.

Mamma Mia! runs through September 15, 2024, at the Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., Cincinnati OH. For tickets and information, please call 513-621-2787 or visit cincinnati.broadway.com. For more information on the tour, visit mammamiathetour.com.