A full-noise, orchestral montage of Abba opens Musical Theatre Gisborne’s production of Mamma Mia! and sets the tone for the show’s non-stop gloriousness.
Even before the song and dance routines began the opening night audience had warmed to the wedding party guests as they wordlessly expressed their characters in a short scene. The lights bloom up seconds later on the Greek island hotel and it is here the musical’s romantic comedy, pathos and irrepressible joy for the next couple of hours takes place.
Tirzah Rolfe brings suitably bright chaos to her young character Sophie Sheridan but is all heart as she opens the jukebox show with its sweetly sung first number, I Have a Dream.
About to marry Sky (Michael Seymour), Sophie has read her mother’s diary and finds her father might be any one of three men — so she invites them to the island for her wedding. The trouble is, she hasn’t told her solo mum and hotel owner (Heidi Rice) about her plan to find which of them is her biological father so he can walk her down the aisle on her big day. Sophie is joined by her close friends and bridesmaids who are more excited than shocked at Sophie’s contrivance, excited enough in fact to break out into the song Honey, Honey. The young trio is matched by the trio from an earlier, disco generation of Donna and friends Tanya (Suzan Anderson) and Rosie (Rachel Crawford), formerly girl-group Donna and the Dynamos. Donna laments how much work it is to run the taverna with heavy debts. Cue matching song, Money, Money.
This is a big show with many moving parts (in all senses). Solos, duos and trios in the production are filled out with big choruses and thrilling harmonies. A good part of the magic in this production is generated by strong characterisation in the lead actors, background figures and incidental details. Wherever the audience looks something is going on. In one early scene, a trio of boys fish from the jetty, a couple of tourists take espresso at a table and two sunbathers help fill the stage with action while adding to the backing vocals.