On a sun-soaked Greek island, Sophie Sheridan is days from her wedding ceremony and secretly invitations three males from her mom’s previous, any one in all whom might be her father. Her mom, Donna, who owns a rundown taverna, is blindsided as previous flames and previous secrets and techniques arrive in time for the social gathering. With music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and a e-book by Catherine Johnson, Mamma Mia! is an ABBA jukebox musical, and this manufacturing is a pleasure.
The pleasure right here is the originality. Beneath the route of Phyllida Lloyd, characters the viewers in all probability is aware of by coronary heart are reimagined with recent selections. Little if nothing feels copied from the film or earlier productions, and everybody appears to have had permission to make the position their very own.
Jessica Crouch anchors the night as Donna with a voice and emotional depth which can be large. She shines in each music, however “The Winner Takes It All” is a showstopper that left the home with chills, and her closing phrase of the quantity drew an audible gasp. Juliette M. Ojeda brings purity and honesty to Sophie, and the mother-daughter connection between the 2 is the manufacturing’s emotional core. “Slipping By My Fingers” carries a lot love between Donna and Sophie that it made me need to hug my very own youngsters.
Jalynn Steele is daring and unbelievable as Tanya, full of recent selections that make a well-recognized diva really feel unpredictable, and he or she does issues in heels that appear unattainable. Kayla Ryan Walsh is a delight as Rosie, with a beautiful singing voice and bodily comedy that tops the charts. Her timing is perfection. Her “Take a Probability on Me” hunt with Leland Burnett’s Invoice is a number of the most enjoyable choreography of the night time.
Among the many males, Victor Wallace (Sam) and Rob Hancock (Harry) are standouts. Wallace is a complete heartbreaker in “S.O.S.” and has the stage presence and voice to match. Hancock offers Harry a completely fleshed, downright charming life, and “Our Final Summer season,” shared with Crouch, is gorgeous and touching, stuffed with tenderness and honesty. Wallace’s “Understanding Me, Understanding You” with Ojeda is one other winner, and Ojeda’s beautiful nonverbal appearing in that quantity says what phrases can’t.
The youthful males get their moments, too. Dominic Younger pulls off at the least 5 consecutive toe touches in “Does Your Mom Know,” and he’s a pleasure to look at. Grant Reynolds’s Sky appears nice in a marriage costume throughout “Beneath Assault,” and he brings youthful sincerity to the position and not using a trace of naivete.
The ensemble is a power. Their stage presence is placing, and the excessive kicks in flippers throughout “Lay All Your Love on Me” are a bodily feat. Anthony Van Final’s choreography is thrilling all through.
The band, led by Andrew David Sotomayor, is on fireplace. They play this difficult rating with absolute precision and a number of spirit, they usually deserve a spherical of applause of their very own.
The design workforce additionally delivers. Nancy Thun and Brian Webb’s set is brilliant and conveyable, Howard Harrison’s lighting washes the stage in delicate colour and temper, Andrew Bruce and Bobby Aitken’s sound is evident and effectively balanced, and Lucy Gaiger’s costumes are enjoyable, flattering, and spot-on for every character.
The present does have a rocky begin. The primary few scenes really feel mechanical and lack connection. The exposition amongst Sophie, Ali (Maddie Garbaty), and Lisa (Lena Owens) round “Honey, Honey” performs like a youngsters’s cartoon explaining its personal plot, and the primary scene for Donna, Tanya, and Rosie has a number of the identical stiffness. These are the one stretches the place the manufacturing feels clumsy or presentational. As soon as the solid settles into its rhythm, which doesn’t take lengthy, it’s unattainable to look away.
What follows is an effervescent, emotional, and fantastic night time out. It felt electrical.
Working Time: Two hours and 35 minutes, together with one 20-minute intermission.
Mamma Mia! performs by way of November 15, 2026, on the Nationwide Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC. Performances are Tuesday–Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. and seven:30 p.m. Tickets ($75–$197) can be found on-line or by calling Broadway at The Nationwide at (202) 628-6161.
Really helpful for ages 6 and up.
Solid and artistic credit for the nationwide tour can be found right here.
