Harvey Fierstein
sMtaarsmimn athMe iBarcoaapdtwioanygoes
mhuesreic.aMl AamCmataeM reida caption
Agfofaeisr, hwehreic.hMhaemma Mia
adapted from a Paddy
Chayefsky teleplay.
“You need to find a piece
that doesn’t quite work
but has all the bones
or has the soul, that
something that you as an
artist can then elevate.”
musicals must be completely reinterpreted seems radical, but nothing bears
out the theory better than the disappointing performance of the movie musicals that followed Chicago but didn’t
follow the strategy.
The ABBA-infused global juggernaut,
Mamma Mia!, is the latest stage musical
set to make its way into movie theaters,
and it’s bringing some top-level talent
with it.
“When we cast the movie we decided
we wanted to go for movie stars because
we were taking it away from the stage,”
says Judy Craymer, global producer of
both the stage musical and the film. “And
we certainly got some.” The movie stars
she’s referring to are Meryl Streep and
Pierce Brosnan, part of an ap-
parent legion of actors eager to
show their musical talents now
that the genre has been reborn.
“Many actors can sing,”
Craymer says. “It’s in their DNA
and part of their training. But
if you take the path of a movie
star, you’re rarely going to com-
mit to do a Broadway or West
End show. So it’s exciting for
them to sing … especially ABBA songs on
a Greek island.”
With 10 productions running
concurrently around the world and
more than 30 million people who’ve
already seen the stage show, Mamma
Mia! seems poised to be a summer
movie hit. And why not? With the Iraq
war and global warming atop our seemingly endless list of insoluble problems,
it hardly seems accidental that musicals
have come back into style. From the
escapist experience of ABBA songs on
a Greek island to the artful expression
of emotions too great to communicate
in words, you can’t deny the musical’s
enduring appeal. Even if you’re on the
wrong side of the world’s divide.
