Mamma Mia the Musical, has premiered in over 300 major cities and seen by over 50 million people since its debut in 1999.

MANILA, Philippines — With songs l ike “Dancing Queen”, “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!”, and “Take A Chance On Me”, it’s no surprise that “Mamma Mia!”, the musical based on the songs of ABBA, has become an international smash hit musical.

Since it opened on London’s West End in 1999, the production has been seen by over 50 million people worldwide and has grossed over US$2 billion at the box office.

Since it’s debut 11 years ago, the musical has premiered in over 300 major cities that include New York, Paris, Tokyo, and Sao Paulo.

Aside from that, the musical has also been adapted into a hit movie musical that starred Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgard. It has gone on to be as successful as its theater predecessor, becoming the highest grossing musical film worldwide.

At the beginning of 2012, Manila will finally get to see what all the hubbub is about as Lunchbox Theatrical Productions brings “Mamma Mia!” to the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). Lunchbox Theatrical Productions had earlier staged “Cats” here in the country, featuring Lea Salonga and “Stomp”.

“It’s become an iconic show now and the music of ABBA is certainly iconic. You certainly remember who you were and who you were with when you first heard an ABBA song,” says James Cundall, the man behind Lunchbox Theatrical Productions.

“It’s now up there with the likes of ‘Phantom of the Opera’, ‘Cats’, and ‘The Lion King’. It’s one of the top products ever created for musical theater, and we’re bringing it to Manila!”

LONG JOURNEY

“Mamma Mia” has certainly had a long journey before it found its way here to Manila.

Back in 1981, “Mamma Mia!” producer Judy Cramer first met ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, and she pitched the idea of building an original musical around the songs that the pair had written. Andersson and Ulvaeus were initially uninterested, and it would take Cramer until the middle of the nineties to finally have the pair agree to the idea.

“She was so tenacious that eventually they said that if she came up with a good story, they’d make it work. But she couldn’t change any of the lyrics of the songs. The songs have to be paramount,” recalls Cundall.

“Catherine Johnson wrote a lovely story about a mother, a daughter, a wedding, and three potential fathers.  The daughter doesn’t know who her father is. It’s set in Greece. They got a good director in Phyllida Lloyd. The team they put together is sublime.”

When the production debuted on London’s West End in 1999, it was an instant success, with Cramer recalling people dancing in the aisles and one British critic saying that “‘Mamma Mia’ could put Prozac out of business!’”.

TONS OF COSTUMES AND SCENERY

Having experienced an equally welcoming response from the Philippine audience with regards to the previous productions they’ve staged here, Cundall says that it was only a matter of time before Lunchbox Theatrical Productions worked towards bringing the international musical hit here.

“The Philippine audience has been so kind to us with ‘Cats’ and ‘The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber’ that it allows us to come to you with the dream we have of bringing the world’s top international entertainment to this fine country and fine city,” he says. “It’s been going on for a number of years in Hong Kong, Singapore, and New Zealand, but it’s never been to Manila. It’s now time to bring it here.”

Cundall really means it when he says he intends to bring the production here. A week before “Mamma Mia!” debuts at the CCP on January 24, 2012, 95 tons of scenery will be leaving Zurich on a 747 jumbo jet for the country.

“We bring in the original production. The lights, the costume, and the production are all of the very highest standard,” Cundall says proudly.

“When you went to ‘Cats’, it was the same here as it was anywhere in the world. What we’re giving you is an international cast and an international standard of lights and costumes. It’s the real McCoy.

“We won’t be changing anything for this particular stop because these things are meant to be the same. If you go to Broadway or London’s West End, the show you see here should be no different,” he continues.

“It should hopefully be better because the cast is fresher because they’ve got a week’s holiday before they get here and they’re excited about coming to Manila for the first time. But in terms of how it’s staged it should be the same.

Despite having already been made into a popular movie, Cundall has no worries about the movie version taking away the Filipino people’s interest from seeing the actual theatre production of “Mamma Mia!”

“The film which went worldwide introduced a lot more people to the musical. We hope that they come to the show as well,” he says. “There is no substitute for live entertainment.

If you’ve seen the movie and you liked it, the live show will be better because something live is done for you specifically.

Anytime you go to the theater, that is an individual night for you.”