Here we go again, it's Abba

By ALAN PERROTT

It would be wrong to call Mamma Mia an Abba revival - the songs have never really gone away.

Those naggingly unforgettable tracks, which aided the success of movies Muriel's Wedding and Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, are now responsible for pulling audiences of more than 10 million worldwide.

And as the global musical franchise opened at The Civic in Auckland last night, Abba's enduring popularity ensured 110,000 of the 200,000 tickets available were presold.

Associate producer Louise Withers guessed she had seen Mamma Mia at least 100 times over the past four years and was yet to encounter an audience where nobody finished up dancing like a loon.

The cast of 32, backed by a live band, will leap, strut and grin their way through 76, 2 1/2-hour shows between March 4 and May 9.

"It's very athletic and the whole cast appears in every show eight times a week. So it's as much a fulltime job as any other occupation," said Ms Withers.

Mamma Mia, with songs by Abba's Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, features a stand-alone plotline, but most fans will be there for the songs.