BroadwayWorld Exclusive: Mamma Mia! Celebrates Rocktober!

In October, Mamma Mia!, the international hit musical set to the songs of ABBA, will celebrate its 5th anniversary on Broadway with a number of events--including an Actors' Fund benefit performance, the release of a special edition CD/DVD, and a new book that tells Mamma Mia!'s story and history.

Fans of the vibrant show may also browse the Rocktober calendar, which features a month's worth of Mamma Mia! and ABBA-releated information and news.

Click on image for full calendar

Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus' Mamma Mia! will celebrate five years on Broadway on Wednesday, October 18th, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. at the Cadillac Winter Garden Theatre with all proceeds to benefit the Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative of The Actors' Fund of America, a nationwide human services organization that helps all professionals – both performers and those behind the scenes – in performing arts and entertainment.  

The 5th Anniversary Special Edition CD with bonus DVD recording will be released by Decca Broadway on Tuesday, October 17th.  It will include music from the best-selling original cast album as well as three finale bonus audio tracks which are released in the U.S. for the first time including "Mamma Mia", "Dancing Queen" and "Waterloo" as well as a deluxe booklet featuring cast photos and a gallery of "Donna Sheridans" from around the world. The bonus special edition DVD will feature a behind the scenes documentary telling the story of Mamma Mia! so far, hosted by original Broadway cast members Joe Machota and Tina Maddigan, who return to the Cadillac Winter Garden Theatre to  reminisce about originating the roles of Sky and Sophie.  The bonus feature also includes Broadway and West End opening night footage, interviews with  producer Judy Craymer, director  Phyllida Lloyd, librettist Catherine Johnson and original ABBA band members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.

In addition to ABBA concert clips and performance footage of different productions of Mamma Mia! from around the world (in English, German, Dutch, Korean, Spanish and Flemish),  two separate bonus features on the DVD include video clips of the West End cast performing "Money, Money, Money" and "Dancing Queen."

The book Mamma Mia! How Can I Resist You? will be published by Sterling Publishing Co. on October 17th. "Through first person recollections, Mamma Mia!, How Can I Resist You? is the first book to explore officially the smash musical phenomenon beginning with the legendary ABBA songs that inspired the international success of Mamma Mia! and following the extraordinary story of how the show became the world's number one musical," according to press notes.

"The officially sanctioned book, Mamma Mia!, How Can I Resist You?, tells the double story behind both the super group's music and the musical by those who know it best: Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, known as the heart of ABBA, and Mamma Mia! global producer and creator Judy Craymer with additional contributions from all of the key creative team behind Mamma Mia! as well as several of the original performers.  The book is literally and figuratively colorful and jam-packed with illustrations from the group's and the show's private archives."

There are currently 10 productions of Mamma Mia! running around the world (8 resident productions and 2 tours). With three productions playing in North America alone, the musical has more productions playing around the world than any other current Broadway musical and can be experienced in six different languages globally (English, Swedish, Spanish,  German, Japanese and Korean). It has earned a worldwide gross of over $1.6 billion and been seen by audiences of over 27 million people worldwide.

The show is produced by Craymer, Richard East and Ulvaeus for Littlestar in association with Universal.  With music and lyrics by Andersson and Ulvaeus, Mamma Mia! is written by Catherine Johnson and directed by Phyllida Lloyd.  The show 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.

Premium tickets for Mamma Mia!'s 5th Anniversary benefit performance including VIP seating and admission to the post performance celebration are $250. and available by calling The Actors' Fund at 212-221-7300 ext. 133 or via email at tickets@actorsfund.org. Tickets to the performance only range from $62.50 -$111.25. and are available through Telecharge at 212-239-6200, telecharge.com or in person at the box office (1634 Broadway at 50th Street). Visit www.actorsfund.org for more on the Actors' Fund.

For more information about Mamma Mia! around the world, visit www.mamma-mia.com.