I grew up listening to Abba. I remember going on road trips with my family and Abba was a staple, as was the BeeGees, Simon and Garfunkle, John Denver, Niel Diamond, Men at Work and, surprisingly, Eddy Grant (of Electric Avenue fame).
I think I roller skated faster when Abba songs came on.
Later, in college, I met a girl (who later became my wife) who liked Abba. I like to imagine her in roller skates with disco lights, boogying around a skating rink.
So, I’m sure you have heard of the Broadway play that was made using Abba songs, right? If you haven’t, well…there was a Broadway musical made using Abba songs. Then later a movie. The movie was pretty huge and the musical was a massive hit. In fact, it’s in it’s twelfth year. That’s a long time. In fact, it’s currently number 11 on the Wiki list of longest running plays. Before you hit that link, can you guess which one is number one? (I guessed Cats, but I was wrong).
Well, MSC OPAS is bringing Mamma Mia! to College Station on February 22-24. Cool. I am taking my wife. We are excited! We haven’t seen the movie so it will be new to us.
Truth is, we have never been to Rudder Theater to see any plays, so this is exciting.
I was told that they will be unveiling the events for the coming 39th season on Thursday, April 28th at 6:30pm via a 30-minute TV program on KBTX. Cool.
MSC OPAS stands for Memorial Student Center Opera and Performing Arts Society – OPAS is a committee within TAMU’s Memorial Student Center. It is unique because the board of directors in comprised of community leaders and TAMU students.
When OPAS was founded, there was an opera every season. As the years passed, opera companies stopped touring as much and became extremely expensive when they did tour. The organization’s name was shortened to just MSC OPAS about ten years ago when it became apparent that including an opera every season was not possible.
I asked them what the biggest show they ever did was. They said it was when they presented the world premiere of the Bolshoi Grigorovich Ballet Company performing The Nutcracker, Nov 23-Dec 1, 1990. 21,000+ tickets were sold. This was a huge international story that resulted in OPAS being mentioned in The New York Times’ Arts Section. OPAS has also had sold out performances featuring Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Emmanuel Ax, RENT, RIVERDANCE and a week of LES MISERABLES.
Their first show was classical guitarist Christopher Parkening on November 3, 1973.
I was told that parking is convenient and FREE (nice) and right across the street. Awesome.
So, the Mamma Mia! story goes like this:
An independent, single mother who owns a small hotel on an idyllic Greek island, Donna is about to let go of Sophie, the spirited daughter she’s raised alone. For Sophie’s wedding, Donna has invited her two lifelong best girlfriends—practical and no-nonsense Rosie and wealthy, multi-divorcee Tanya – from her one-time backing band, Donna and the Dynamos. But Sophie has secretly invited three guests of her own.
On a quest to find the identity of her father to walk her down the aisle, she brings back three men from Donna’s past to the Mediterranean paradise they visited 20 years earlier. Over 24 chaotic, magical hours, new love will bloom and old romances will be rekindled on this lush island full of possibilities.
Inspired by the storytelling magic of ABBA’s songs from “Dancing Queen” and “S.O.S.” to “Money, Money, Money” and “Take a Chance on Me,” MAMMA MIA! is a celebration of mothers and daughters, old friends and new family found.
© JOAN MARCUS FOR THE NATIONAL TOUR OF MAMMA MIA!
Produced by Judy Craymer, Richard East and Björn Ulvaeus for Littlestar in association with Universal, the creative team responsible for bringing MAMMA MIA! to theatrical life includes some of the most gifted and celebrated talents of musical theatre and opera. With music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, MAMMA MIA! is written by Catherine Johnson and directed by Phyllida Lloyd. MAMMA MIA! has choreography by Anthony Van Laast, production design by Mark Thompson, lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Andrew Bruce and Bobby Aitken, and musical supervision, additional material and arrangements by Martin Koch.
More info about Mamma Mia! and the North American Tour here.
And here is a link to the Crew that are coming.
So, get your tickets soon. Should be a great show. I’ll let you know what I think of Mamma Mia!, the Rudder Theatre and the experience as a whole. Here’s the Wiki page in case you want to learn more before you go.
Tags: A&M, broadway, College Station, mamma mia, rudder
