One of the most loved bands of all time, ABBA, has given birth to one of the most popular musicals of all time, Mamma Mia!, which features the majority of ABBA’s hits and is recognized as being a forerunner in the ‘jukebox’ style musical.  Written by Catherine Johnson with the help of ABBA members Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, ‘Mamma Mia!’ tells the story of Sophie, a young bride-to-be who is desperately trying to figure out who her real father is.  Just like fellow jukebox musical ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘Mamma Mia’ is known for being a show which encourages audience members to sing along to every musical number and is popular amongst young and old alike.  It has been performed all over the world, having it’s beginnings on the London theatre scene at the West End in 1999 at the Prince Edward Theatre and continuing its run in Canada, the U.S. (including on Broadway and in Las Vegas), Australia, Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium and Norway.  It has also been nominated for several highly regarded awards, such as four Olivier Awards and five Tony Awards, and has been well received by critics the world over.

Based on an idyllic Greek island, the story opens with twenty-something Sophie discovering her mother Donna’s old diary which details several love affairs with three men who could potentially be Sophie’s long-lost father.  Sophie is engaged to be married and wants to establish who her real father is before she weds, so she invites all three men to attend the ceremony without informing her mother.  As the wedding day approaches, Sophie’s mother’s friends Rosie and Tanya arrive, quickly followed by the three men Sophie has secretly invited - Sam (an American), Harry (a Brit), and Bill (an Australian).  Donna is reunited with her three old boyfriends without realizing that Sophie has invited them, and Donna quickly crumples under the pressure.  She confesses to Rosie and Tanya that she doesn’t actually know which of the three men is Sophie’s father.  Sophie, meanwhile, has had little success determining on her own who her real father is, and seeks comfort from her fiancé Sky.  Both the bride and the groom attend their respective bachelor and bachelorette parties.  The three potential fathers accidentally walk in on Sophie’s party, at which point Sophie and Bill (the Australian) establish that they are probably father and daughter.  Unfortunately, Sam (the American) and Harry (the Brit) also think that they are Sophie’s father, and much confusion ensues.  After several moments of reminiscing and several more moments of confrontation, Sophie sees that the adults in her life have had mixed success with their respective marriages and she decides half-way down the aisle that she is too young to make such a commitment.  Sam, still in love with his old flame, proposes to Donna who happily accepts.  Sophie and Sky remain together, though unmarried, and thus the soap-opera of a musical ends.