Express & Star

Mamma Mia! Hit ABBA musical opens at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

The hit ABBA-inspired musical Mamma Mia! has opened its 2023 tour of the UK and beyond at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, where it is playing every night until Saturday.

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The Dynamos, stars of Mamma Mia! in costume outside the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre. Photo: Alex Styles

The timeless story of a mother, a daughter and three potential fathers on a Greek island idyll, all set to ABBA songs, will be told onstage at the Grand every night until Saturday, with additional daytime performances on Wednesday and Saturday.

The Dynamos, played by Sara Poyzer (Donna), Sarah Earnshaw (Tanya) and Nicky Swift (Rosie) posed in their Super Trouper outfits to launch the show outside the Grand Theatre.

The full cast for Mamma Mia! features Sara Poyzer (Donna Sheridan), Nicky Swift (Rosie/alternate Donna Sheridan), Sarah Earnshaw (Tanya), Richard Standing (Sam Carmichael), Neal Craig (Harry Bright), Phil Corbitt (Bill Austin), Jess Michelmore (Sophie Sheridan), Christopher Foley (Sky), Tanisha Butterfield (Ali), Freya Humberstone (Lisa), Jaden Oshenye (Pepper), Archie Flynn (Eddie) and Andrew Bateup (Father Alexander).

The Dynamos of Mamma Mia! in costume. Photo: Alex Styles

Further casting includes Clàudia Bahrani, Alice Baker, Peter Camilleri, Henryk Firth, Andrew Gallo, Claire Greenway, Ashleigh Harvey, Ashleigh Jones, Matt Kennedy, Robert Knight, Grace May, Hollie Nelson, Ashley Rowe, Nathen Scott, Marissa Sims and Lucy Walsham.

The UK and international tour is celebrating 24 years since Mamma Mia! premiered in London in April 1999. To date, it has been seen by over 65 million people in 50 productions in 16 different languages. In 2011 it became the first Western musical ever to be staged in Mandarin in the People’s Republic of China. Mamma Mia! became the 8th longest running show in Broadway history where it played a record-breaking run for 14 years.

The story's enduring popularity was such that it was adapted into two feature films, in 2008 and 2018.

With music and lyrics by ABBA's own Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus, Mamma Mia! is written by Catherine Johnson, directed by Phyllida Lloyd and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast. The production is designed by Mark Thompson, with lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Andrew Bruce and Bobby Aitken, and musical supervision, additional material and arrangements by Martin Koch.

The tour is produced by Judy Craymer, Richard East and Björn Ulvaeus for Littlestar in association with Universal and NGM.

Tickets for Mamma Mia! at Wolverhampton's Grand Theatre until Saturday, January 28, are on sale now at grandtheatre.co.uk.