Mama Mia! opened on
Broadway thirteen years ago and still fills the house with ABBA fans. In the
70s, single and pregnant Donna opens a resort on an island in Greece. Twenty
years later, her daughter decides to get married and the three possible fathers
show up for the wedding. In the film starring Meryl Streep as hippie Donna the
footage of Greece is breathtaking. But in the stage version you get invited to the party.
The audience sang along and rocked out which
no doubt they do at every performance of Mama
Mia! around the world. Theatre veteran Judy McLane, after seven and a half
years of playing Donna’s girlfriend, now plays Donna. Her strength, relaxed
delivery, and vocal pop chops are perfect for the role. She is Donna. Trio numbers
with sidekicks Lauren Cohn (Rosie) and Corinne Melancon (Tanya understudy) were
fun. The young lovers were precipitous and hunky. Dance numbers got the audience up
and swinging their Spandex-clad hips. The florescent swimsuit and flippers song
was too much fun. Both my eight-year-old daughter and seventy-seven-year-old
mother-in-law loved it.
Jekyll & Hyde is a haunted
restaurant and bar in Times Square named for 19th century grave
robbers Burke and Hare, who inspired the book by Robert Louis Stevenson. There’s
a choice of two entrances from the street: one normal and the other scary. Impromptu
science experiments, talking wall sconces, and unexpected guests at your table
are the norm. The Asian salad with cashews, mango, red peppers, and soy ginger
sauce was surprisingly good. Burgers and hearty pasta dishes are also. If you want to avoid the
weekend crowd you can pay for a J&H membership. Fifty dollars for a one-year Esteemed Pass will get you priority
seating and you’ll wiz right past the waiting crowd. The
Chamber of Horrors is in a back room. Entertainment fees are tacked onto the
bill.