The making of Mamma Mia! the hit musical

MANILA, Philippines - The size and success of Mamma Mia! didn’t happen overnight.

As creative producer, Judy Craymer’s job began long before the script had been written. In fact, the story began 22 years ago when she first met Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, the songwriting geniuses behind ABBA.

Meeting the men who had written Dancing Queen, one of the greatest pop songs of all time, Craymer was suddenly inspired. She was triggered by the song The Winner Takes It All, its lyrics telling a roller-coaster story of love and loss, which became the basis in creating what would become Mamma Mia!

The team did not change the lyrics and made a story that is contemporary, ironic, romantic comedy and that if you listened carefully to ABBA’s songs, you would notice how they fell into two different generations — the slightly younger, playful songs like Honey, Honey and Dancing Queen, plus the more mature, emotional songs such as Knowing Me, Knowing You. The idea of a cross-generational love-story was devised.

April 6, 1999 became the date of the world premiere of Mamma Mia!. The audience was charmed and one British critic said “Mamma Mia! could put Prozac out of business.”

And the rest, as they say, is history.

After its premiere 12 years ago in London’s West End, Mamma Mia! will be presented in Manila by Infinity, powered by Smart and Citibank at the CCP Main Theater starting Jan. 24, 2012 for a strictly limited season. Tickets are priced at P750, P1,000, P1,500, P2,000, P2,500, P3,000, P3,500, P4,000, P4,500, P5,000, P5,500 and P7,000. Senior citizens enjoy a 20 percent discount.

Mamma Mia! also became the 10th longest-running show in Broadway history, surpassing the record previously held by Miss Saigon.