Review: Mamma Mia!

The international tour of Mamma Mia! is currently playing at Auckland's The Civic theatre. Photo / Supplied

With more fizz than an exploding champagne bottle and enough feel-good factor to fuel a cheerleaders convention Mamma Mia! thoroughly justifies the exclamation mark that is part of the show's title.

Anyone who has spent the last three decades trying to get Abba tunes out of their head will be amazed at the persistence of memory. These songs have permanently insinuated themselves into our collective unconscious.

The lyrics are vague enough to carry whatever meaning we project onto them and the music has a resonance that somehow connects with our most intimate personal dramas. As with all great pop songs they create an individualized soundtrack that encourages us to believe that our everyday lives are part of a Hollywood epic.

But the stage-show is much more than a tribute to the Swedish quartet who brought us some of the seventies most finely crafted pop songs while routinely committing some of that decade's most egregious fashion crimes.

Most of Abba's hits along with some lesser known gems have been artfully welded into tightly plotted romantic comedy that manages to deliver plenty of surprises even as it approaches the inevitable climax with I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do.

The story hinges on a very real and emotional convincing exploration of inter-generational conflict. A feisty solo mother and her pals are desperately trying to re-live their misspent youth while mocking the conservatism of the younger generation.

The children of these hedonistic baby–boomers are represented by a vivacious twenty-year-old who longs to connect with her absent father and yearns for the wholesome family values she never knew.

The lead role is carried off with panache by Miria Parvin who captures the innocent enthusiasm of a high school musical in a dazzling version of Voulez-Vous but also displays an impressive emotional range in numbers like I Have a Dream and Slipping Through My Fingers.

In the role of the mother Jackie Clune seemed to be sleep walking through the lycra-fest of Super Trouper but movingly conveys her character's emotional turmoil and powerfully connects with raw power of the divorce ballad The Winner Takes it All.

The superbly choreographed chorus and supporting cast provide plenty of exuberant humour most notably in Michael Beckley's brilliant display of physical comedy in a hilarious rendition of Take A Chance on Me.

What: Mamma Mia!
Where: The Civic until October 18