Sunday, March 1, 2009

Mamma Mia

A few months ago, I got an email from my friend Karen, with whom I used to teach. She was ordering tickets to see the musical Mamma Mia, and she wanted to know if I would like to join her and some other gals for a ladies' day out. Theater tickets do not normally fit into our feed-seven-people-on-one-small-income budget, but my husband said, "I want you to go. You deserve it."

It makes picking up his socks and underwear so much easier when he says things like that. And when he brings me flowers, which he does regularly. And when he does all the other sweet things he does for me.

Yesterday was the big day. I cannot tell you how much I was looking forward to this outing. We had lunch at a nice restaurant, then walked across the street to the Lexington Opera House, which is very fancy-schmancy, especially in the eyes of this small-town girl. It's simply lovely, and this was only my second visit. The first time, I took the kids to a children's production.

Despite the fact that we ordered tickets months ago, our seats were on the back row, which is WAY up high. The view was still spectacular, though. It was so nice.

I knew Mamma Mia was a big Broadway hit and that there was a movie, but I was not familiar with the plot line. I knew it used songs from ABBA, but had no idea how they fit into the show. I was not prepared to have so much fun!

The plot centers around a young girl about to marry who wants her dad to walk her down the aisle. The problem is that she doesn't know who he is. She finds a diary, finds the three gentlemen who could be the one, and invites them all to the wedding. Thus the fun begins.

The music was fabulous. I am not necessarily an ABBA fan, but it was hard not to enjoy these songs. The costumes. Oh my goodness, they were incredible. Lots of flash, lots of color, lots of 1970s. There was humor, too, and some PG scenes. I wouldn't take my children to the show, but it was good fun nevertheless. There were lots of scenes with young guys sans their shirts, and not a lot of skin from the ladies (short skirts and tank tops, but nothing sleezy), which struck me as odd. (Not that I think there should be scantily clad women running around on stage. It just seemed a bit out of place to see the fellas coming in half naked.) Then it occurred to me that the audience would be filled with mostly women. That was eye candy, or what Mark calls beefcake! Funny. I'm so slow to catch on. It didn't make my toes tingle, but I'm an odd ball.

The best part of the show actually came after the actors took their bows at the end. Before the applause was over, they went back into a long medley of songs from the performance. It was so fun and energetic. I think everyone left the theater humming their favorite tune and dancing a bit. We definitely got our money's worth. If you get the chance, go see the show. I think I'll look for the movie now. I hear Meryl Streep gives a wonderful performace.



(DISCLAIMER: I found this video on youtube. I did not take video of the performance I saw. I listened and obeyed when the director said no recording devices were permitted. The set on this video is what the set looked like yesterday, but the costumes I saw were a bit flashier.)

Blessings (and songs...),
Bev

4 comments:

Mary said...

I love the movie! My toddler loves it too, I'm sure that on our next trip to the beach Gracie will be looking for Mama Mia. The play is coming here soon, I hope I get a chance to go!

Tiffany said...

That sounds like lots of fun! Beefcake ;-) That's funny. I'll have to keep that movie in mind to see.

Anonymous said...

We are so glad to hear you enjoyed Mamma Mia! at the Lexington Opera House.  While our theatre was restored to it original 1886 Victorian grandeur - we strive to make everyone feel comfortable while attending a show.  And like your husband - we want you and all of our patrons to feel like they are special.  Thank you for attending - we hope you'll come back to another performance soon!

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Have a blessed day!

Faith