Portland Ovations Brings MAMMA MIA! To The Stage 1/12-14

Portland Ovations is set to present Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus' MAMMA MIA!, the smash hit musical based on the songs of ABBA, at Merrill Auditorium. Performances begin on Thursday, January 12th and run through Saturday, January 14th at Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle Street.

Seen by over 50 million people around the world, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus' global smash hit musical MAMMA MIA!, is celebrating over 4,000 performances in its tenth smash hit year at Broadway's Winter Garden Theatre and remains among Broadway's top selling musicals. The current North American Tour has played over 3,700 performances in over 150 cities with 145 repeat visits. The originAl West End production of MAMMA MIA! is now in its thirteenth year and has celebrated over 5,000 performances in London and the international tour has visited more than 50 foreign cities and been seen by 4 million people. The blockbuster feature film adaptation of MAMMA MIA!, produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman, is the most successful movie musical of all time grossing $600 million worldwide.

An independent, single mother who owns a small hotel on an idyllic Greek island, Donna is about to let go of Sophie, the spirited daughter she's raised alone. For Sophie's wedding, Donna has invited her two lifelong best girlfriends-practical and no-nonsense Rosie and wealthy, multi-divorcee Tanya - from her one-time backing band, Donna and the Dynamos. But Sophie has secretly invited three guests of her own.

On a quest to find the identity of her father to walk her down the aisle, she brings back three men from Donna's past to the Mediterranean paradise they visited 20 years earlier. Over 24 chaotic, magical hours, new love will bloom and old romances will be rekindled on this lush island full of possibilities.

Inspired by the storytelling magic of ABBA's songs from Dancing Queen and S.O.S. to Money, Money, Money and Take a Chance on Me, MAMMA MIA! is a celebration of mothers and daughters, old friends and new family found.

The performance schedule for MAMMA MIA! at Merrill Auditorium is Thursday, January 12th at 8pm, Friday, January 13th at 8pm and Saturday, January 14th at 2pm and 8pm.

Tickets for MAMMA MIA! range from $45 to $59 for Portland Ovations Members and $50 to $65 for the general public. To purchase tickets, contact PortTix at 207-842-0800 or visit the box office window at Merrill Auditorium. Tickets are also available online at www.portlandovations.org.

Produced by Judy Craymer, Richard East and Björn Ulvaeus for Littlestar in association with Universal, the creative team responsible for bringing MAMMA MIA! to theatrical life includes some of the most gifted and celebrated talents of musical theatre and opera. With music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, MAMMA MIA! is written by Catherine Johnson and directed by Phyllida Lloyd. MAMMA MIA! has choreography by Anthony Van Laast, production design by Mark Thompson, lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Andrew Bruce and Bobby Aitken, and musical supervision, additional material and arrangements by Martin Koch.

The special edition cast recording of MAMMA MIA! is available on Decca Broadway.
For information about MAMMA MIA! go to www.mammamianorthamerica.com.

About Portland Ovations

Each year since 1931, Portland Ovations brings a dynamic season of exceptional performing artists from around the world to Maine including classical music, jazz, opera, dance, theater, and Broadway national tours. In addition to live performances, Ovations brings the exhilaration of the performing arts out into our community with season-long educational and outreach activities known as Ovations Offstage. A Maine-based non-profit, Portland Ovations contributes to the cultural, social and economic well-being of our community by presenting an array of high quality performing artists from around the world and creating diverse educational experiences that bring the enjoyment, energy and enrichment of the arts to all.