Judy Craymer on the Music, Memories, and Future of MAMMA MIA!

Judy Craymer had a dream... and she made it a reality. After ABBA broke up in 1982, when she was a production assistant for Tim Rice, Craymer pitched her big idea for a musical based on the beloved band's music. In the decades following, she turned that idea into an empire. 

"I just believed in it! I mean, I don't know how I did, but I really did. I could take the risk. I talked about it endlessly to friends and to people who advised me, and they said, 'Well, if you really believe in it, give up the day job,'" she explained to BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge. "I was producing in film and TV development [at the time]. So I sold my apartment...  and financed myself to move the project forward."

A decade after it took its final Broadway bow, Mamma Mia! is back on Broadway this season, delighting audiences of all generations.

"What I'm fascinated with is seeing the preview audiences, it's the new generation that's coming, as well as the people that want to see it again, that saw it on Broadway or saw it somewhere on the tour or in London. But seeing 16-year-olds and 25-year-olds is incredible. They've seen the movie or they maybe saw it on Broadway when they were like 10 or 12, and they really, really want to be back. The way they listen to every word is incredible."

Will we ever see a Mamma Mia! 3? 

"Well, it's in the works! It's definitely in my mind, in my thought process, and a lot of positivity to make another, not just from the kind of people that love Mamma Mia!, but the studio," she added. "It's a trilogy. People want to know what happens to those characters. So I hope [it will happen]!"

Mamma Mia! is running at the Winter Garden Theatre through February 1, 2026.

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