Greek Musical, Mama Mia!- Be Reel

Lauren Zanetakos

Abba is a Swedish band that was famous in the 70 ’s. The band was made up of two couples. Abba became “one of the most commercially successful rock groups of the 1970’s” Biography.com reports. Their hit song Dancing Queen was the only song of theirs’ to hit the United States’ singles chart. Catherine Johnson, playwright, would not write the script until about 27 years later. Amanda Seyfried plays the main character, Sophie, academy award winning actress Meryl Streep plays the mother of the bride and is also the main character if you really think about it. Mama Mia was originally a Broadway play, written in 1997. Even though the script was written 21 years ago and filmed 10 years ago, the theme of female empowerment still holds up today in current society. The overall conflict in this film is that Sophie, Amanda Seyfried’s character, wished to have her father attend and give her away at her wedding. The only problem is that she has no idea who that could be. While cleaning up she finds the diary that her mother wrote during the summer of her conception. In this said dairy there are three different possible men that could be her father. Sophie decides to invent them all to the wedding and (...) Just to outline a few songs so Spoilers ALERT "I Have A Dream" this song is chosen for the first song because it represents how Sophie is feeling about how she wants her father to come to her wedding. The song "Honey, Honey" is integrated with Sophie reading the diary her mother kept during the summer of her conception, the song is a bouncy and catchy tone that speaks about how it feels when you’re in love. Now onto "Money, Money, Money" with the constant obsession with money, we as humans want more, more, more! In Dona’s case, she can use the money to repair her hotel and hire more people so that she can relax like she could when she was younger. The phase mamamia is used to express shock so it only fitting that the title song "Mamma Mia" is sung when Dona discovers that her three mysterious summer lovers are all at her daughter’s wedding. The song is about a past lover coming and missing them. When Donna is feeling overwhelmed by all the chaos with prepping for the wedding and have her past surprisingly coming back into her life. This song, "Dancing Queen" sung by her two best friends reminds Donna and all the women who hear them singing if a time in there life when they felt most happy, free and empowered. Dancing Queen is a song of letting go of all that is keeping you down. Thinking that her three possible dads have left, Sophie tracks them down on their boat and joins them on a trip around the island. During their time together each man tells their “summer story with Dona” through the song "Our Last Summer". Each had very different stories they all professed the same amount of love for Donna. In the end, all three men agree to stay for the wedding. Later that day at the bachelorette party Sophie is surprised by a performance from her mother and her old girl group. The song "Super Trouper" is a very special song from the Donnamos and for Sophie. This song is important because it symbolizes how close of a relationship Donna and Sophie have. While the party is living up, the bachelor party decides to join the fun. "Voulez-Vous" is kinda a mixed bag because on the one hand it’s meant to a celebration song but within the course of the song Sophie faces the obstacle of all three potential fathers agreeing to walk her down the aisle the following afternoon. It’s the day of the wedding and tensions are high the song "SOS" sung by Donna and one of the men, Sam. it is a song that expresses the conflict and emotion that has been bottled up for so many years. With all the drama of the wedding being hours away Sophie is overwhelmed and seeks her mother’s help when getting ready. Donna gazing at Sophie and starts to sing "Slipping Through My Fingers" this song is told through the eyes of a mother watching her child growing up. On the way to the church, Donna is confronted by Sam and the two engage in an argument that results in Donna pouring out her heart to him through belting out the song"The Winner Takes It All". This song puts to words the feeling that one endures when going through a breakup that never seems to end. In the end, Sam and Donna realize that they are meant to be and get married. The ending song, "When All Is Said and Done", it’s a gentle tone that gives the audience the happy ending they’ve been waiting for. The overall story is of a girl who listens to her heart and acts on the thought that she needs to jump into the stereotypical marriage at 20. Only to find through her mother's untraditional relationship with her fathers, can she does she realize that she wants to experience more out of life before setting down. The play/film is enjoyable to experience and reminds the audience to just enjoy life and have fun whenever possible. Highly recommend!!