ABBA's ‘Mamma Mia!’ jukebox musical returns to Mirvish like a clingy ex you can't get rid of

Nothing’s changed.

They’re still dressed in that awfully garish garb from another millennium. They’re still all pizzazz and not much substance. And they still have that odd habit of breaking out into random ABBA songs whenever they want to make a statement. But boy, for all their flaws and idiosyncrasies, creaking joints and aching bones, do they still possess an undeniably winsome and irresistible charm. 

Such is director Phyllida Lloyd’s production of “Mamma Mia!” And such is also the conundrum faced by the show’s protagonist, Donna Sheridan (Jessica Crouch), a single mom and the proprietor of a Greek inn who finds herself face-to-face with not one, not two, but three of her former lovers on the eve of her daughter Sophie’s wedding — a waking nightmare brought about by Sophie’s desire to find her true father. 

This touring production, billed as a 25th anniversary tour, is much the same as the one that played at Toronto’s CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre in 2024. And even with a brief Broadway stop in the interim (which you’d expect would inject some fresh energy into this aging and flagging production), the show remains as much of a mixed bag as before. 

As for the bright spots: Unlike in 2024, Andrew Bruce and Bobby Aitken’s sound design has, thankfully, dialled back the ear-splitting volume. In fact, this is one of the best mixed touring productions I’ve seen recently at the notoriously unwieldy Princess of Wales Theatre. 

As Donna’s good pals Tanya and Rosie, respectively, returning cast members Jalynn Steele and Carly Sakolove are this production’s standouts, a dynamic duo whose over-the-top campiness perfectly capture the musical’s kitschy tone and esthetic. When they’re together on stage, like in their rousing rendition of “Chiquitita” in the first act, they’re like Laurel and Hardy reincarnated as a Botox-loving divorcee and her delightfully frumpy best friend. (The costumes and sets are by Mark Thompson.) 

So magnetic are these supporting performances, however, that they end up overshadowing Crouch, who has a gorgeously rich lower vocal register (almost reminiscent of ABBA’s Anni-Frid Lyngstad), yet whose upper register offers far less agility and colour. 

Crouch, who joined the production after its Broadway stop last year, plays Donna as quite a bit younger than in other interpretations I’ve seen. That she comes across as less jaded than merely exhausted makes a number like “Money, Money, Money” lose some of its effectiveness. 

But Crouch also lends a real vulnerability to the role. When she sings the wistful number “Slipping Through My Fingers,” her voice barely louder than a whisper, it’s as if her Donna is not only lamenting the loss of her own daughter to adulthood, but also her own youth. 

Juliette M. Ojeda also plays Sophie with youthfulness and a touch of naivety; it’s not difficult to believe that she’s really only 20 years old. (The same can’t always be said about other Sophies.) As her three possible dads, Rob Marnell, Leland Burnett and Victor Wallace all have fine voices, even if their acting comes across as somewhat stiff. 

There’s much you can nitpick in Lloyd’s production. Choreographer Anthony Van Laast’s dance moves — all high knees and extended limbs — have lost some of their pep. Thompson’s scaled-down set, with two curved walls that require stagehands to manually move them around, looks cheap and flimsy. Some of Howard Harrison’s lighting designs also look like they’ve been pared down. 

Yet “Mamma Mia!” still manages to work its theatrical magic. When the production breaks into full-fledged song and dance, with numbers like “Dancing Queen” and “Voulez-Vous,” Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus’ tunes (with additional music by Stig Anderson) generate a sort of euphoria that’s impossible to resist. 

It’s this lethal, musical concoction, I think, that wins me over every time I see this show. And more than a quarter of a century after its Toronto premiere, and some six productions later, it’s like this city is also locked in an on-again, off-again situationship with Mamma Mia! You know it’s in desperate need of a makeover, yet you can’t ignore its oddball charm.