THEATRE REVIEW: MAMMA MIA!
30 Apr'10

'Mamma Mia!' lacks lustre

JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
Rating: 3 out of 5

TORONTO – Chances are, there aren’t going to be many people exiting the Princess of Wales Theatre, where a touring production of MAMMA MIA! took up an extended run Wednesday, asking, “Was that real or was it Memorex?”

This is, after all, Toronto — the city where, almost exactly a decade ago, the ABBA-inspired musical began its North American adventure. And anyone who remembers it from its storied run just down King Street at the Royal Alex is going to know mere minutes into this version that this is little more than a carbon copy — and not a terribly good one at that.

In fairness, there are certain changes one should expect, particularly when one compares a road show to a resident production. But, frankly, this show’s problems run deeper than enforced simplifications in the staging and other attendant compromises that come with taking a show on the road. As a result, even in a city where MAMMA MIA! had never played, one suspects the casting problems in this show would be obvious, signaling a casting pool so very close to being tapped out that producers are settling for performers who can merely fly when the show’s formidable reputation was built largely on the backs of performers who could soar.

All of which means that, while it would be unfair to expect a junior version of Louise Pitre to take to the stage in the role of single mother/entrepreneur Donna Sheridan, we should expect something a little more, well, dynamic than the utterly adequate performance turned in by Michelle Dawson. This is, after all, a role on which not only the entire story pivots, but the entire soundtrack as well — for unless Donna can take the dross of ABBA’s playlist and magically spin it into emotional gold, the whole story just goes flat.

And while Dawson is certainly no Pitre, she also gets precious little help from her supporting cast or from those charged with maintaining director Phyllida Lloyd’s vision of Catherine Johnson’s simple, silly tale of loves lost and found on a magical Greek island. In a production in which every single laugh line is delivered with all the subtlety of a howitzer, the charm that made this such a winning piece of theatre appears to be the first victim. From the casting of Kittra Wynn Coomer and Rachel Tyler as Donna’s childhood friends, to the casting of Vincent Corazza, Matthew Ashford and John Sanders as Donna’s one-time suitors, it’s as though everyone has been so busy mugging for laughs that no one has bothered to explore even the limited humanity of this piece.

And when seasoned performers are content painting in such broad comedic strokes, it is no surprise that Liana Hunt and David Raimo — cast as the young couple whose nuptials have occasioned the whole reunion — don’t fare much better. While Hunt — as Donna’s daughter Sophie — is otherwise up to her task, she doesn’t have the vocal chops for the role, while, as Sky, Raimo leaves one with the distinct impression that every pose, every attitude has been perfected in his bathroom mirror.

Which leaves us with the music — an entire hit list from ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus that represents the soundtrack of their lives to a large swath of the theatre-going public. And happily, the power of over-proof nostalgia remains largely undiminished.

So while it appears that, with this production, they have lobotomized MAMMA MIA! (which admittedly does not represent major surgery), they haven’t completely stilled its heart. MAMMA MIA! was never great theatre, but it used to be a lot more fun.