Mama Mia! – A fun, albeit uneven production

Mama Mia!, the well-loved jukebox musical featuring ABBA’s greatest hits leads the audience on a romp through a sun-drenched Greek island and fills them with a heady combination of romantic, carefree, and nostalgic sentiment. In order for this to really work, a production needs to match the light and energetic pace. Suzart’s well-directed production of the musical has potential, but ends up feeling sluggish and uneven. There are many moments, particularly when the ensemble is involved, that sparkle with energy and fun, but most of the solo acts could have benefitted from an injection of energy befitting the heart of the story to boost the production up to its potential.

Mama Mia! doesn’t need much of an introduction, so I’ll be brief – Sophie (Josée Sovinsky), who grew up helping her fiercely independent mother Donna (Laura Jane Nikolakakos) run a taverna on a Greek island, is getting married. She has invited three of her mother’s ex-lovers after finding Donna’s old diary in an attempt to locate her real father and find out who she really is. To Sophie’s delight and Donna’s horror, all three of them show up – Sam (Scott Shepherd), Harry (Michael Malek), and Bill (Marc Lessard). Rounding out the group are Donna’s ex-bandmates, Rosie (Holly Villeneuve) and Tanya (Erica Hills), as well as Sophie’s two best friends, Ali (Sara Smits) and Lisa (Lena Kirkham). Hilarity and hijinks ensue – Sophie discovers who she is (and realizes she doesn’t need a man to do it), Donna rediscovers herself and love, and everyone generally ends up having a great time.

Co-directors and set designers Rachel Rumstein and Kristopher Tharris do a great job of bringing the story to life. It’s clear that they understand and appreciate the material for what it is, evident in the absence of superfluous additions. Instead, they work hard on allowing the emotions of the story to carry the production. The simple and versatile set evokes the dreamy optimism and lazy haze of a summer day and Rumstein and Tharris keep the action moving and use the breadth, width, and height of the space to present the story. Their abilities especially shine in the emotional scene where Donna helps Sophie get ready for the wedding – the additional touch of portraying Donna and Sophie’s shared memories by two separate actors to the side of the stage perfectly complements the already bittersweet, beautiful feeling of the song.

The ensemble were the obvious highlight of Suzart’s production. They sound great, dance pretty well, and bring much needed energy. Their performance was so infectious that it brought the audience to their feet for a singing, dancing standing ovation at the end! The main actors, on the other hand, were adequate in their roles. Sovinsky’s voice as Sophie is arguably the best of the lot and she grapples with the songs very well. Nikolakakos also has a good voice, though she starts off quiet and didn’t really find her full stride until the second act, particularly in her moving rendition of “The Winner Takes It All.” Overall, however, the singing from the rest of the cast was patchy at times and the performances lacked the liveliness which is so fundamental to the characters. There were also quite a few times where it was hard to hear the singing, even with microphones. These frequent dips in energy meant that some parts of the production dragged and the audience was taken out of the moment as they had to focus on hearing what was being sung.

Kathryn McLaren’s choreography was quite lively and she kept the large cast in almost constant movement without any issues, a feat considering the stage wasn’t large. The choreography was well planned and was cognizant of various skill levels while still coming off as natural.

Suzart’s Mama Mia! is a decent production with some good moments. The audience seemed to enjoy themselves and even sung along at parts, Rumstein and Tharris’ direction is a welcome summer breeze at the start of Ottawa’s seemingly never-ending winter. Unfortunately, the lack of energy from some of the cast dragged down some parts, but overall, this is a fun show for the family and Holiday season!