‘Mamma Mia!’ is back — and Montreal just can’t get enough of ABBA

Get ready to say “Thank You for the Music” all over again! Mamma Mia!, the smash-hit musical built around the timeless songs of ABBA, is returning to Montreal’s Place des Arts from Oct. 13 to 18. And judging by the show’s remarkable history here, Montreal audiences certainly don’t seem to mind seeing it again — and again.

This latest production marks the musical’s 25th Anniversary Tour, celebrating a quarter-century of ABBA-fuelled romance, comedy, friendship and unforgettable music. Since premiering in London in 1999 before arriving on Broadway in 2001, Mamma Mia! has captured the hearts of millions around the world.

The story takes us to a sun-drenched Greek island, where single mother Donna, played by Jessica Crouch, is preparing for the wedding of her daughter Sophie, played by Juliette M. Ojeda. There’s just one little complication. After discovering her mother’s old diary, Sophie learns about three men from Donna’s past — Sam, Bill and Harry — and realizes that any one of them could be her father. So, without Donna knowing, she invites all three to her wedding.

Cue the chaos, the romance, the revelations — and, of course, some of ABBA’s greatest hits. Among the three possible dads is Harry Bright, played by Rob Hancock, who knows Mamma Mia! perhaps better than most. In fact, Hancock can legitimately be called a Mamma Mia! veteran. He first joined the show more than 20 years ago, playing Sky, Sophie’s fiancé, from 2004 to 2006. Today, he has moved to the other side of the family tree — from the young fiancé to one of Sophie’s possible fathers. And he has a wonderfully amusing story from his earlier days with the show.

“When I played Sky, my husband played Sam,” Hancock recalls, referring to his partner, Tony Clements, who played a “young Sam,” one of Sophie’s potential fathers. “People would be in the audience and get to the wedding [scene] and Sky would take his boutonniere off and put it on Sam and people would be like, ‘They’re together, just so you know.’”

Now, playing Harry is a very different experience from playing Sophie’s fiancé. But Hancock says stepping into this new role has been both hilarious and meaningful. “It’s so fun having watched it for years to actually jump in and to be one of the quote-unquote older characters now,” he says. “It’s just wild to me because I’ll be sitting in my dressing room and I’ll hear a song and I’ll go, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s my cue,’ and [then] I’ll go, ‘Wait a minute, that was my cue 20 years ago. I have a different cue now.’”

Since its debut, Mamma Mia! has been seen live on stage by 70 million people worldwide and has also inspired two hugely successful movies. For Hancock, however, it’s the human relationships at the heart of the story that continue to make the show so compelling. He particularly enjoys the opportunity to explore the complicated history between Harry and Donna. Although the two characters spend only a few minutes together on stage, Hancock says those moments carry plenty of emotional weight.

“We spend maybe five minutes on stage together, but I love having that connection with her every night,” he says. “Yes Donna and Harry had their moment, but now they are just really good friends.”

Yes, there are the spectacular ABBA songs, the Greek-island setting, the romance, the comedy and the wedding-day mayhem. Hancock notes there is a reason why people of all ages come again and again. “Because of the movies, we now have an entire new generation of fans,” he said.

For ticket information, visit www.evenko.ca