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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

arts iu auditorium

‘Mamma Mia!’ comes to IU Auditorium tonight

CAROUSELentMammaMia

The long-running musical “Mamma Mia!” will begin a two-night run at 8 p.m. today at the IU Auditorium.

The show, based on the music of Swedish pop band ABBA, tells the story of a wedding about to take place on a small Greek island.

Bride-to-be Sophie is determined to have her father walk her down the aisle. Unsure of her father’s identity, Sophie secretly invites three men from her mother’s past to the wedding.

The music includes hit songs such as “Dancing Queen,” “Super Trouper,” “The Winner Takes It All” and “Take a Chance on Me.”

“Mamma Mia!” premiered in London in 1999.

The Broadway version debuted in 2001 and has performed more than 5,000 shows since, making it the 10th longest-running show in Broadway history.

In 2008, the musical was adapted into a film starring Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth. The movie received a Golden Globe nomination in 2009 for Best Motion Picture: Comedy or Musical.

Bloomington is part of the show’s 2013-14 North American tour, which runs until June.

Maria Talbert, associate director of the IU Auditorium, said this is the show’s third appearance at the auditorium. The other two runs occurred in 2006 and 2009.

She said people love the show because it is fun and heart-warming.

“Everything about it is amazing,” Talbert said. “People come and see it over and over again.”

Talbert said even though the show is not sold out, tickets are selling quickly.

Tickets begin at $20 for students and $38 for the general public and can be purchased at iuauditorium.com or at the box office.

She said the show’s resonating story appeals to all generations, and music is what makes “Mamma Mia!” so special and popular.

“Even if you didn’t grow up listening to ABBA, those tunes are threaded through our culture today,” she said. “It’s almost like ABBA wrote the music for this musical. It just works so well for this show.”

Talbert said the show has a concert-like vibe, particularly at the end. She said people who have not previously seen the show will be amazed at how many people in the audience came to see it again.

“It’s just one of those nights that you can’t soon forget and you want to relive,” she said. “Those that come will really have one of the best nights of their lives.”

Follow reporter Alyssa Schor on Twitter @SchorAlyssa.

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