Mamma Mia is more than just an overused Italian saying, a song by ABBA, or a movie starring Meryl Streep. Mamma Mia tickets sell all over the world in countless productions of this jukebox musical. People are constantly making sure that they find discounted tickets to catch the Broadway or long-running London show.
The show is the brain child of Judy Craymer and Catherine Johnson, a British playwright that has gained international acclaim because of the musical. Craymer approached the original writers of the song, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson in 1983 with the idea for a musical based on ABBA's hits. Her original inspiration was the sing "The Winner Takes It All". The pair of songwriters did not shoot down the idea, but they did little to further the production initially. Some years later, Craymer then commissioned the respected playwright Johnson to write a book for Mamma Mia based on the 1968 film Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell.
It was after the book was complete that the songwriters became involved, having already written the music and lyrics for the production as hit singles for ABBA. Next, Phyllida Llyod joined the creative process, signing on as director. History, at least recent history, has deemed Mamma Mia a success. Mamma Mia tickets have sold in such volume that the collective gross of the U.S. productions alone has surpassed $2 billion.
The Mamma Mia debut production too place at the West End in 1999. The show became an undeniable success very quickly, soon after sporting productions in Toronto, Boston and Washington D.C. in 2000 and Broadway in 2001. This was an early example of a jukebox musical, a musical that takes pop hits and incorporates them into a live theatrical production, and helped to popularize the musical theater genre.
