Theatre Breaks in London

Mamma Mia theatre breaks in London - Abba musical

** book theatre breaks in London with Mamma Mia now**

Mamma Mia! 

Snow, high winds and blizzards. Welcome to a northern January! Bah :-( What you need is a feel-good musical, set on a sun drenched Greek island to beat the mid-winter blues.

Mamma Mia! is the most shamelessly cheery, upbeat item on the London entertainment calendar at this miserable time of year.

It premiered in London in April 1999 and is still going strong. The book was written by British playwright Catherine Johnson and music composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of Abba. It's now the most successful musical on Earth! It has grossed more than $2 billion. There are currently 10 productions worldwide, including theatre breaks in London, shows in Berlin, and even Las Vegas! More than 30 million people have seen it. Impressive numbers :-)

The story and news of Mamma Mia! the film

It tells the story of single mum and taverna owner Donna Sheridan and her daughter's search for her father. There's going to be a $65-million movie version of Mamma Mia!, starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, released this summer. That's sure to be a boost for the live shows. Streep plays Donna, and Brosnan (swoon!) plays one of Donna's three old flames, one of whom might be the long lost dad, that show up for Donna's daughter's wedding.

The opening of an Abba museum in Stockholm, in 2009, won't hurt Mamma Mia! box office receipts either. But how much do you know about Abba? Abba were huge during the 1970s but you are forgiven if you were unborn, too old, too young or just too cool (Abba was not cool in 1972!)to pay attention at then. So here are 10 things you might not know about Abba, but should take with you to London for your Mamma Mia theatre break.

1. Abba is an acronym composed of the first letters of the first names of each group member: Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.

2. When did it all happen? Between 1972 and 1982

3. They were the first (and for a long time the only!) European mainland pop group to go global.

4. All their songs were recorded in English and Swedish

5. Agnetha was the sexy brunette

6. She had a Swedish language hit single (I Was So in Love) in 1967

7. In 1969 she met Ulvaeus and they married in 1971.

8. Anni-Frid became an environmental campaigner

9. Björn was a famous Swedish folk singer before he met Benny.

10. Their first hit was People Need Love (1972) not Waterloo

And a sneaky extra one:

11. Abba Gold: Greatest Hits compilation album sold 26 million copies!

Source http://www.abbasite.com - turn down your speakers first!! :-)

In 2005 Björn disappointed Abba fans by stating that they will never, ever play together again and there won't be any reunion tours. Given that they used to be married to each other this might not come as too much of a surprise! They met publicly for the first time in 20 years at the Stockholm premiere of Mamma Mia! back in 2005. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall for that meeting. Stockholm can be a very chilly place!

There's going to be an Abba museum in Stockholm opening in June 2009. There's going to be a week-long party, and an outdoor festival with fireworks and dancing. The museum will be huge on four levels, with lots of multimedia features. You'll be able to record an ABBA song, make your own ABBA video, sing, dance, and create music. I'm thinking hen weekends :-)

Still for now why not get your Abba fix with a theatre break visit to Mama Mia! in London's West End?

Here's the link: for Mamma Mia theatre breaks in London 

• Posted by lindiop on 09/01/2008.
• lindiop's site