Latest / The BSB Podcast / 'MAMMA MIA!' Story and Characters | The BSB Podcast
Transcript
- 0:00Are you feeling like a dancing queen?
- 0:01Then you've come to the right podcast as we're talking about Mamma Mia,
- 0:05which is currently touring around North America.
- 0:07However, before we take a chance on the show,
- 0:09like, follow, and subscribe to us,
- 0:11BSB Insider, on YouTube and social media @BSB.Insider Spoiler warning,
- 0:16if you have a dream of seeing Mamma Mia without any spoilers,
- 0:19pause this podcast and come back after you've done so.
- 0:22RJ, so we got to see this show two years ago and you were not the biggest fan.
- 0:28But you had obviously seen the show before,
- 0:30being an usher, being a theater lover.
- 0:34How far back does Mamma Mia go for you?
- 0:37And when did you decide that maybe it wasn't the show for you leading
- 0:40up to this production of it?
- 0:42Shockingly, I don't think that I saw it too much before.
- 0:46I'm not even sure if it was touring when I was ushering,
- 0:51or if it was I
- 0:52Really?
- 0:53was so disinterested that I did not even sit in on it.
- 0:58But really, yeah.
- 0:59You were like, not for me.
- 1:01Yeah. Which is shocking because as we'll dive into,
- 1:05like I actually very much love the music.
- 1:06So...
- 1:08But yeah, so really like the thing that comes to mind is when we saw it
- 1:11a few years back, that was really my,
- 1:13aside from of course the films,
- 1:16which I also love, that is pretty much it in regards to exposure.
- 1:21Yeah, I say I have to say I think I'm pretty much at the same boats where
- 1:24I have seen the movie and who doesn't love Meryl Streep and ~ Amanda Seyfried.
- 1:30I love those films. But I hadn't seen a live until we went two years
- 1:34ago and I actually saw it twice that time because I saw it with you when
- 1:40we started ~ doing the writing for this.
- 1:44hadn't started the podcast yet.
- 1:45We hadn't fully developed the idea.
- 1:47You were just tagging along and I said,
- 1:49let's go to Mamma Mia. And you said,
- 1:51Okay, like you went but but like it was like I Was dragging you a little
- 1:57bit I was like go to Mamma Mia with me because somebody has to go see this show
- 2:01~ and all I can really remember from that production of it is the fact that
- 2:05we got stuck inside the theater because they wouldn't let us out because
- 2:10of the ~ Encore that was like ten minutes long and everyone was trying
- 2:15to leave because the stage was too like the
- 2:18The battles were taking too long and then there was like a break and then they
- 2:20did it. Do you remember how long it took and we were like standing in
- 2:23the aisle way trying to get out and we're like,
- 2:24what the hell's going on?
- 2:26Now that you mention it, yes, I forgot about that.
- 2:31~ But it totally makes sense because obviously they've improved that since,
- 2:38I mean, that could have just literally been that evening.
- 2:40~ But there is like a little bit,
- 2:44which I don't know why, because I don't think there's any costume changes right
- 2:48away, but I could be wrong. ~
- 2:51But interesting. I do remember
- 2:51But there is, there's like a, there was like a long pause.
- 2:54we like, yeah, we got up, we were literally like up,
- 2:58like in the aisle and then like turned around.
- 3:01We were good. Like we were already like halfway out the door,
- 3:04I feel like. Which is very
- 3:06Correct. And then they started.
- 3:09like I well, and that alone tells me that I haven't seen it before because I
- 3:15will always stay for encores even if it's not my favorite thing like
- 3:19I just know typically to stay ~
- 3:25so interesting I totally I blocked that out apparently
- 3:29Well, I think that that goes to show you that you're trying to block
- 3:31out a whole experience because when we are going into this Mamma Mia,
- 3:36I not, I'm not going to throw you under the bus too much,
- 3:39but I do think it's interesting that when we first announced it,
- 3:41you were like, I'm going to be out of town,
- 3:43which is totally valid. And then all of a you're like,
- 3:45wait, I'm not going to be out of town.
- 3:47I guess I can go, but you were never like excited to go see Mamma Mia again.
- 3:52It was one of those ones you're like,
- 3:54Yes, I'll go. We hadn't recorded a podcast.
- 3:57My family would probably like to go.
- 3:59It was like very much like every reason to find like,
- 4:03find a reason to go like you were pushing yourself to go.
- 4:06~ but you were not enthused to see this,
- 4:09which I think really sets the tone for like how we went into Mamma Mia
- 4:13and how maybe this one was the best production we've seen of this show so far.
- 4:19Yeah, I mean, I'll just call myself out.
- 4:20Like, absolutely did not want to see the show.
- 4:22Nothing in me wanted to see it based on...
- 4:25And I knew that it wasn't fair 100 % to the production because I also recall
- 4:31the reason that I was so turned off last time was the audience around us.
- 4:35I was so
- 4:36correct.
- 4:37agitated and just, like, distracted that I was like,
- 4:43I don't want to sit in an ABBA concert.
- 4:45That's not what I came here to do.
- 4:47That's not what I want to go do.
- 4:48And I was afraid that that is exactly what I would be walking into again.
- 4:53So...
- 4:56Yes, I will agree that I, last time we saw it,
- 5:00first off, I thought you said avocado concert.
- 5:04And I was like, it took me a long time to be like,
- 5:06~ he's talking about ABBA here.
- 5:08~ But yes, no, were absolutely,
- 5:10just again, it's one of those shows that has been around for 25 years.
- 5:15Everybody knows ABBA. Everybody loves ABBA.
- 5:18ABBA is for old people and for gays.
- 5:20there's like, it ~ crosses a wide span of things.
- 5:24But I feel like we frequently talk about some shows that just bring
- 5:26in a certain type of crowd. And this is not me being
- 5:29an elitist theatrical person,
- 5:34but maybe just a little bit, where it's just like.
- 5:37you go there and people think that they can sing the songs.
- 5:39They think it's a concert. think it's,
- 5:41it's, but this is still a show.
- 5:44This is still a show that has a story.
- 5:45This is still a show that has characters and bits and actors up there giving their
- 5:50all. And so I do think that when you look at the environment we were in last time,
- 5:55comparatively to maybe this time,
- 5:57though we could talk a little bit about that later,
- 5:59it did feel like there was maybe a different type of people that
- 6:04we were surrounded by this time.
- 6:06with maybe a few exceptions. Like it felt more like
- 6:08Yeah.
- 6:09a traditional theater experience.
- 6:11Yeah, and I think that is due to,
- 6:13you know, when we saw it last time it was the 25th anniversary,
- 6:16right? If I'm
- 6:17Yes.
- 6:18remembering that right. And so I think that drew out people who maybe
- 6:24are more so used to a concert setting.
- 6:27Whereas this was just like an add-on production.
- 6:31And so it...
- 6:35It seemed that there were more theater goers and less concert goers,
- 6:40which there's a lot of gray there because arguably they could be the same.
- 6:47yeah, ~ I don't know.
- 6:51Just the dynamic felt different even just walking in.
- 6:56I do think part of it too, boils down to maybe people got out of their systems with
- 7:00the first one. But I think that a lot of people who loved the movie went
- 7:04to see this and it's not exactly the movie.
- 7:06You still have a lot of that same beats,
- 7:09but there's a lot more songs. There's different songs.
- 7:12They're in different orders. They're sung by different people.
- 7:16Like there's just, this one is exactly what
- 7:22a theater goer would expect. And I wonder if some people,
- 7:25for the movies would go in there and be like,
- 7:27~ they're not on a boat singing the song.
- 7:29know, like there's a lot of differences in that aspect.
- 7:32And so now we get to go into with this with this newer cast,
- 7:36we get to go into the show with a more theatrical group of people
- 7:40and a more theatrical lens, which did lend itself pretty well.
- 7:44the exception of that, again, there was a few people there that were comparing
- 7:47it to the movie at intermission.
- 7:48They were even pulling up the movie and listening to it and were comparing it and.
- 7:53This does have such a different entity,
- 7:55even if the themes themselves are kind of the same.
- 7:59Yeah, and you mentioned a couple differences.
- 8:02It actually reminds me of another show we recently saw,
- 8:06Sound of Music, ~ where, yeah,
- 8:09Yes.
- 8:10you have very common songs, themes,
- 8:13but the script is different. And some of that does have to do with,
- 8:19of course, like the fact that it is live on stage and you can't be in
- 8:22the middle of an ocean on stage.
- 8:24~ And also like the...
- 8:29who is delivering certain lines changed a little bit,
- 8:33again, because you're on one set.
- 8:37And so how...
- 8:41Donna is introduced to or reintroduced into the dads
- 8:47and how like those pieces are different,
- 8:50but they still get to the same point.
- 8:54Absolutely. And speaking of those thematic themes and points,
- 8:58there's quite a bit in here, RJ.
- 9:00Which one really, this time around,
- 9:03this time stepping into the Fisher Theater to see the show,
- 9:06what theme really stood out to you the most?
- 9:09So we have like friendship, have love,
- 9:11we have identity. I think it's interesting that there's all these different pieces
- 9:15and that depending on what part of your life you're in,
- 9:17you're probably connecting with a different part of it.
- 9:19Like, can't you offer
- 9:20Yeah,
- 9:21love?
- 9:23honestly, I would say,
- 9:26well, what's interesting is like in the movies,
- 9:28I would have said like love, but for this show,
- 9:31even particularly, I would have said family,
- 9:35that the kind of tension bond between
- 9:41a mother and daughter dynamic was very real and very forward.
- 9:48Can I ask you, do you think that part of that changed seeing the show with your mom?
- 9:54Like, because your mom got to join us and she was sitting next to you.
- 9:57So you had a familial bond sitting there.
- 10:00Does that change that perspective?
- 10:02Because yeah, there is a really strong family component here.
- 10:05But I'm wondering if like that's influenced by seeing it with a mom.
- 10:11I'm sure. I'm sure. Right? Like when we think of this scene of slipping through
- 10:16my fingers and ~ especially being someone
- 10:22who transitioned, vividly remember sitting there watching this scene and thinking,
- 10:29about the fact that that is something that my mother would have envisioned
- 10:34me having or being a part of and now she won't.
- 10:38~ From a traditional lens of like the mother to daughter wedding prep
- 10:44~ scene and so I'm sure yeah and if one
- 10:49of and if any of our friends had joined us I probably would have seen
- 10:53it more through you know when we look at Rosie and Tanya and the other
- 10:57two friends like
- 10:59Yeah, think it definitely, whoever's experiencing,
- 11:03and that's the thing about theater too,
- 11:04whoever's experiencing it with you in that moment can absolutely change
- 11:09the trajectory of the things that you're focused in on.
- 11:12I am going to agree with that.
- 11:16And I think that what's interesting is that I also was picking up
- 11:18on the family aspect, but it wasn't the one that was standing out to me.
- 11:22And I'll get to what was standing out to me in a second.
- 11:24But I found myself reflecting on exactly what you said about you and your
- 11:28mom as I was sitting there, just being like those moments.
- 11:32But also I was thinking about my own mother and the fact of like,
- 11:36Donna's fiercely loyal to her daughter and like loves her and cares about her.
- 11:41And I think that
- 11:42You know, we both come from very strong families.
- 11:44come from families who are strong family units.
- 11:48And so the idea of like the, even when you're upset with each other,
- 11:51you are still there for each other.
- 11:53Even when you don't understand why somebody makes a decision,
- 11:56you're still there for them. And it kind of goes into the conversation of love,
- 12:00you know, and I think about comparatively the love between Donna and Sophie,
- 12:05and I compare it to that of Sophie and Skye
- 12:08where like Skye and Sophie have a very naive love.
- 12:11And there's also a lot of like,
- 12:13almost stipulations to their love.
- 12:15You know, he like gets mad at her when he's like,
- 12:17you didn't need to find your dads.
- 12:18Like, why does it matter if you found your dads?
- 12:20Like, is this why you wanted the wedding?
- 12:22I thought you loved me. Where Donna didn't appreciate having that sprung on her.
- 12:29She didn't love the fact that those three men were there.
- 12:31She didn't want Bill and Harry and Sam to mess everything up.
- 12:34But she also loved and understood Sophie.
- 12:37that it was something that Sophie needed to do.
- 12:39even it was like, they're like,
- 12:42yeah, I don't appreciate your decision,
- 12:43but I'm gonna back you anyway.
- 12:44So I think that's interesting,
- 12:45because I've never compared those two loves.
- 12:47Usually I compare Donna to Bill and Harry and Sam.
- 12:50~ But this time I had a different comparison of the love between Donna
- 12:55and Sophie comparatively to Sophie and Skye.
- 12:58Well, and yeah, and even to add to that then,
- 13:00kind of like a secondary thought is the love then from
- 13:07the dads to Sophie, having not had that 20 year span with her.
- 13:12Again, a parallel to my life.
- 13:16I was adopted by my mom as a single woman and then
- 13:20my dad proposed knowing that he would basically inherit a child,
- 13:25right? ~ And like that being the choice
- 13:31and it never being, it never feeling like
- 13:35I wasn't his. ~
- 13:41And so you kind of see that with these dads,
- 13:43like where they're like, we don't even know,
- 13:45right? We could do a blood test.
- 13:47We don't even care. Like, we're just happy to even be in the conversation.
- 13:53~ and then obviously the end happens and she technically has a stepdad,
- 13:59potentially real dad. but yeah,
- 14:05it's, it's so many crossovers happening.
- 14:08You know, as somebody who was half adopted,
- 14:10I also experienced that because like,
- 14:14you know, I did have a biological dad.
- 14:15did know of him in like a very,
- 14:18abstract kind of way.
- 14:21Like I knew of him. I went to school with cousins and years down the road,
- 14:26I found out that, you know, my,
- 14:28one of my biological brothers from him was one of my best friend's sister's best
- 14:32friends. Like there was.
- 14:34there was a world that we existed within each other.
- 14:36We went to parties together that we didn't even know each other.
- 14:39~ But like my dad, he, my dad who adopted me,
- 14:42he came in when my mom had three kids and it wasn't a question.
- 14:45Like, you know, he had, he did adopt the two of us.
- 14:47One of them wanted to take on her father's name.
- 14:50He was still in the picture. And so I did,
- 14:53get that. I had that a little bit as well.
- 14:55Just like there's a deep love for somebody who like couldn't or could
- 14:59not be your child, but it doesn't matter because like,
- 15:02What is a family? It doesn't always come down to blood.
- 15:04It comes down to the connections you make.
- 15:06~ Which I think leads me to the one that really stood out to me.
- 15:11And RJ, not to get sentimental,
- 15:13I'm sorry, I'm about to do this on camera with lots of people watching us.
- 15:18By lots of people, mean, you,
- 15:19because we haven't been sucking up all this whole time.
- 15:22thank you 17 people who watch our podcast religiously.
- 15:25~
- 15:26I think that the friendship really stood out to me this time.
- 15:28And I think that when I was reflecting on it,
- 15:30you know, I'm sitting at the show with somebody who before COVID wasn't in my life.
- 15:36And now you're like, you're in my life every single day,
- 15:39sometimes every hour of the day.
- 15:43And we've built this podcast. We built this website.
- 15:46We're doing all these cool things.
- 15:48We're going and traveling places and we're going to do things.
- 15:52And so.
- 15:53For the first time, really was drawn to,
- 15:56~ I shouldn't say the first time,
- 15:58but I should say I was really drawn to the relationship of Tanya and Rosie this time
- 16:03because I almost saw us in that relationship.
- 16:08I saw us being like the, that's what we're gonna be like when we're 40
- 16:12or 50 years old and like, you know,
- 16:14like where Tanya hadn't seen Donna in 10 years and it was like nothing
- 16:18had ever happened, you know, and that they were still kicking it off and they...
- 16:22We're still head inside jokes and they still loved and cared about each other
- 16:25so much. And so, ~ yeah.
- 16:28So that's my sentimental soap box for the day of like,
- 16:31was really drawn to that because I did see for the first time I'm almost
- 16:34in the age bracket of Donna. It's kind of sort of,
- 16:38and it kind of led to this feeling of experiencing that with,
- 16:43with you and what we're doing here.
- 16:45Yeah, I mean,
- 16:45I can understand that dynamic because...
- 16:51while we aren't rock stars. We weren't in
- 16:54yet, yet.
- 16:56a dynamo band at a young age.
- 17:01the similarity of building something,
- 17:03first of all, a lot of work,
- 17:07a lot of time, a lot of effort.
- 17:09And that naturally draws people together,
- 17:14But still kind of in the same vein because it's still the arts,
- 17:19right? Like, I mean, we're on the flip side,
- 17:22right? We're analyzing the art,
- 17:23but rather than creating it, but...
- 17:25~
- 17:27I will say, I mean, I love their friendship,
- 17:30the friendship that they portray.
- 17:33And I love that they make it both generations.
- 17:37Like
- 17:38Yes.
- 17:38I love that Donna has her friendships and then Sophie has her friendships.
- 17:44And you can kind of see the parallels,
- 17:48right? ~ Because also,
- 17:51this is the feminist in me coming out,
- 17:54like women's...
- 17:56Friendships are incredibly important ~ and most of the time they're actually
- 18:02You can you know, tell me I'm wrong.
- 18:04Mr. Therapist man, but most of the time I feel like they're more important than
- 18:07their actual spouse or like the men in their lives Assuming that's a assuming
- 18:12a lot of straightness, which I don't not my intention ~
- 18:18But in this case ~
- 18:22Just the, I've got your back no matter what.
- 18:25Even though, like you said, we haven't seen each other in 10 years,
- 18:29but we're starting off again like we never left.
- 18:34And while you and I interact,
- 18:38like you said, on a day to day,
- 18:41sometimes hour to hour, and sometimes multi-day,
- 18:46I mean, you know, depending, whatever,
- 18:47there are also those...
- 18:50that I'm reminded, and I think you have some too,
- 18:53where you don't see the people all the time.
- 18:55You haven't seen them in a long time.
- 18:58Or now you only see them for special events or what have you.
- 19:02~ I just had this happen this past summer where I hadn't seen a friend.
- 19:07She lived across what felt like the world,
- 19:10but across the nation. And we hadn't seen each other in a very long time,
- 19:15but we literally just got coffee like it was...
- 19:20just yesterday. And so those friendships are so
- 19:26interesting in regards to us remembering who we were but also now who we are.
- 19:31But that is also a very hard line to run,
- 19:36which is why I think it was so hard for Donna to see the three guys also come
- 19:42in at the same time, because now you're literally-
- 19:45I can't imagine if like five people from my past all came at me at
- 19:50Sure.
- 19:51the same time, three of which I'm like-
- 19:54exes or whatever, know, like that,
- 19:56I would die. Like, ~ I don't even know what I would do.
- 19:59~
- 20:01You're like, that's my worst nightmare.
- 20:02Not to mention like, yeah, just putting myself in Donna's shoes,
- 20:06I'm like, holy, like, obviously,
- 20:10it's kind of like the butt of the joke of the whole show.
- 20:12But I'm like, oh my God, if this happened in real life,
- 20:15I'd literally just die. Especially if it's like my daughter's wedding
- 20:20and I don't know who that, you know what I mean?
- 20:23Like, nope, couldn't do it.
- 20:25I would have gotten on a boat and sailed off that island so fast.
- 20:29Yeah, I would have been like, we need to leave right now.
- 20:32We are going to the mainland. But of course,
- 20:35again, also like so Greek.
- 20:37so Greek. I do want to say, though,
- 20:39I think that what when you think about how this is at its core,
- 20:44people would argue that this is a love story.
- 20:46I think that it truly is.
- 20:49I don't I don't remember feeling this way about the last time we saw it,
- 20:52so I don't know if my perspective has changed.
- 20:54The show itself has changed. Again,
- 20:56we've had a new cast come through and that always changes how we're interpreting
- 20:59the show. But it felt like Mamma Mia was not about Donna's
- 21:05falling back in love with potentially one of these three men.
- 21:09But it truly was about the love that you have and the friendships that carry
- 21:14you through. And I think you see in the moment where ~ chiquitita into Dancing
- 21:20Queen, and she finally tells them that it could potentially be three men.
- 21:25And they're shocked at first, but they're not angry that she never told them.
- 21:30They never once lose sight of their they immediately jump in and like,
- 21:34okay, we'll distract these men will help you.
- 21:36Like, it just is there's such a profoundness to the relationships that Donna
- 21:43has made again, and along with Sophie,
- 21:45Ali and Lisa, who are very early on in their friendship comparatively.
- 21:49But I think that the beauty of Mamma Mia really does come from
- 21:54the relationships that are friendships.
- 21:56but are also so filled with love.
- 21:58If you want to talk about it being a love story,
- 22:01it's more of a love story between Donna and her daughter and then Donna
- 22:04and Sophie and their friends, more so than Donna falling in love with a man,
- 22:09which seems groundbreaking when you think about this show came out almost
- 22:1330 years ago. And also just because you don't always see a storyline about friends
- 22:20being there, like the love of a friendship instead.
- 22:23Yeah, mean, for sure probably felt super revolutionary when it came out
- 22:28and or I mean it was that feels about right because it was when we talk about love
- 22:33in general. ~ I mean now basically what 2000s
- 22:39~
- 22:40Mm-hmm.
- 22:42or late 90s like that totally I mean as old as us practically
- 22:46~ tracks but ~
- 22:48Yeah.
- 22:50Yeah, I've honestly never even when I watch the films like it was almost
- 22:55for me it was like a it was just like a this also happened to happen when
- 23:01we talk about like Donna's ultimately love life.
- 23:04~ Yeah, it was never I never saw it as the focal point of the show.
- 23:11And even interestingly, the focus on
- 23:16Who is the main character? Because I think in the films it felt like Sophie was.
- 23:22I mean,
- 23:22Correct. ~ absolutely.
- 23:24more so than the theatrical production,
- 23:28but in the stage show...
- 23:30It's a little bit more, but I mean,
- 23:32Donna is the front runner, I think.
- 23:35~ But Sophie kind of dominates
- 23:40the first quarter of the show,
- 23:43I think. And so then she fades and then it fades into Donna's experience.
- 23:48with like one or maybe two songs with Sophie.
- 23:52But that's not, it's interesting,
- 23:53because I think the stage show reframed that for me.
- 23:57That's not how I, even though Meryl is a goddess,
- 24:01Amanda,
- 24:03Seifried.
- 24:04to dominate the film for some reason.
- 24:08Granted, I haven't watched it in a minute,
- 24:09so I could.
- 24:10Well, think that, yeah, because one of the last times we watched it was when
- 24:13we went to Florida. We were eating pizza and watching Mamma Mia.
- 24:16~ But no, so I'm pulling from that memory right now.
- 24:20I'm almost positive that they framed Sophie as the protagonist of the story.
- 24:26But truthfully, she's the catalyst for Donna's story.
- 24:29Like it truly is the story of Donna.
- 24:32And part of me wonders if this does go into the fact that we just
- 24:35had such a fantastic Donna this time around.
- 24:37Shout out to Jessica Crouch.
- 24:40I cannot, I have not stopped thinking about her performance
- 24:45as Donna since we saw the show.
- 24:48And I can't help but think that maybe that's why Donna felt so refreshing
- 24:53and or why she felt like she was actually the protagonist of the story instead
- 24:57of just a secondary character to Sophie.
- 24:59I can't figure it out that what's going on.
- 25:01It's always been that way. We just did not have as good of a Donna last time.
- 25:06Or if just.
- 25:08Crouch is so good at what she's doing in this role that it just makes Donna shine
- 25:13more and you really get to see why she is kind of the hero to her own story.
- 25:19Yeah, I mean, she is the definition
- 25:23of why casting matters.
- 25:26I... I... You know, it's not
- 25:31too often that I dislike an actor or actress.
- 25:37~ And dislike even might be a strong word.
- 25:41Prefer or not prefer. But for some reason,
- 25:45well...
- 25:46There were a handful of reasons that I won't even break down,
- 25:48but the difference between the last tour and this one,
- 25:55it matters when you show up and you bring the energy.
- 26:01And I think Jessica just brought it on a level that
- 26:07I'm not even sure we've seen in another production recently,
- 26:11like to the same degree. And it-
- 26:15what's crazy, and I know that their job is acting.
- 26:17However, even through the encore...
- 26:21There was so much joy and just through that
- 26:27joy energy that I think that is actually what made one of
- 26:33the things that made this production stand out way further than the previous one.
- 26:39~ Because of course, like you said,
- 26:43like we are basically reliving her story.
- 26:46And if you don't have someone in that role who is bringing that,
- 26:51this show can crawl. And I think that
- 26:55Yeah.
- 26:56is what happens. Unfortunately,
- 26:59it could have just been an off night.
- 27:01I'm not even going to say who we saw,
- 27:03but night and day,
- 27:06night and day difference. And that just made the rest of the cast also.
- 27:14Like on fire. Like everyone was so good.
- 27:16But when you have a lead that's leading the way that Jessica seemed
- 27:23to be, it's infectious. Like on and off stage.
- 27:27And that was the other thing. Like obviously we see actors on their socials
- 27:32and what have you. And it just seems like not only is
- 27:37she a wonderful actress, but she's a great human.
- 27:40And that is making this touring experience.
- 27:44great for everyone.
- 27:45And something that I do want to point out is that they did have a switch
- 27:49up because they recently went to Broadway.
- 27:51A lot of people have their Broadway debut and then they moved on
- 27:55and they started back up. Jessica recently took over this role as a whole bunch
- 28:00of other people did. But even the people that were in the show previously.
- 28:04know, Harry was in the show previously.
- 28:07Rob Marnell, Sam Carmichael's actor,
- 28:10Victor Wallace, has been in show for quite some time.
- 28:12~
- 28:14the two friends, Rosie and Tanya,
- 28:15Carly, I'm so sorry, love, if I say this wrong,
- 28:18Scarlove and then Jalen Steele,
- 28:21they've both been the show before,
- 28:22but there was just such an energy with all of these characters that,
- 28:26audience, I'm gonna be very, I'm not throwing you under the bus,
- 28:30again, sorry, but RJ is not always a laugh out loud person when it comes to shows.
- 28:35He's not always like a super like ha ha ha kind of guy.
- 28:41And when I tell you that this man was actually like belly laughing at quite
- 28:47a few parts, I think that it really sticks,
- 28:48talks to the energy that they brought to the show and everybody.
- 28:52mean, also shout out to Juliette Ojada who played Sophie.
- 28:57Phenomenal. They are all so good in this time.
- 29:00And I was just like, this is not the same show that we saw two years ago.
- 29:03This is not the same show. You cannot convince me it was the same show.
- 29:05And it has to all boil down to.
- 29:08these actors who are embodying these roles.
- 29:11Yeah, there was just, you know,
- 29:13I'm not sure this is right word,
- 29:16but like a youthfulness ~ to this cast that...
- 29:22Sometime, you know touring casts they have it is hard.
- 29:25Like if you don't know like touring is hard work you're doing like nine shows
- 29:31a week eight nine shows a week and You're you're floating hotel at a hotel.
- 29:37There's really like no consistency anything could change at any time
- 29:42and It is grueling
- 29:45And even though they love what they do,
- 29:47like you can get tired. Like we all have day jobs,
- 29:50right? And we all get tired of them.
- 29:52And that is where I think, and I'm not sure what tour stop we were
- 29:57for the last production, but that might be playing a role because like you said,
- 30:00this is, you know, fresh off Broadway.
- 30:02They basically, some of them are from the previous cast,
- 30:06but reinvigorated with lots of new individuals.
- 30:11And it makes a difference if your stop number like
- 30:15versus stop number 45.
- 30:19Like there is a difference there because at that point
- 30:23Correct.
- 30:23they've done this show like 500 times and
- 30:28so there's again like it's still new it's still exciting and
- 30:34you can just you can tell.
- 30:36I am gonna throw this in here as well,
- 30:39that ~ Jessica Crouch actually posted on her story about our review.
- 30:45And this is not me humble bragging,
- 30:47but I think it's interesting what she said about the character.
- 30:50I don't know, did you see this,
- 30:51RJ? Did you see what she posted to her story?
- 30:53I did not,
- 30:53this is news to me.
- 30:55So she posted our picture of what you said about,
- 30:58know, RJ's words were, undeniable centerpiece of this production is Donna.
- 31:02From the moment Jessica Crouch steps onto stage,
- 31:05there's an ease and authority that anchors the entire show.
- 31:08She embodies Donna not as a stereotype of independence,
- 31:10but as a fully realized woman,
- 31:12strong, flawed, guarded, and deeply human.
- 31:15And so she wrote and said, I don't often read or give reviews any mind,
- 31:20but this popping up does make,
- 31:21does feel nice because Donna is
- 31:24such an incredibly complex woman.
- 31:26I like to call her a seven course dinner that I get to feast on every day.
- 31:30And when I read that, I said, not only does she understand Donna,
- 31:34but she actually loves Donna. And sometimes I do think I've talked
- 31:37to actors before and they said,
- 31:39this is a paycheck. This is a job,
- 31:42which by all means it is, it absolutely is a job.
- 31:46It absolutely is a paycheck. And I don't want to undermine that.
- 31:48Whatever reason you have to do it,
- 31:49that's fine. But she actually
- 31:52is talking about this character like she loves Donna.
- 31:55And I think that does show, like you said about the energy about doing this,
- 31:59and great, we are fresh into this new run,
- 32:01so that does explain some of it.
- 32:03But like there's just such a beauty to that,
- 32:06I just, it feels good to see an actor just love who they're playing.
- 32:11Yeah, and the want to, and she has expressed this,
- 32:14the want to share that with people.
- 32:17And I think it matters also right now because of the way the world is currently.
- 32:23It's really hard to escape the craziness that is our current existence.
- 32:29so...
- 32:31It is one of, it is a joyful,
- 32:35light, yes there's some drama,
- 32:38comedy, ~ it makes you forget.
- 32:43And I think that's what this cast did quite well,
- 32:48is kind of take us out of the day that we're having and immerse us in this story,
- 32:54which is the point of theater,
- 32:55but sometimes, you know.
- 32:57Theater can be heavy, it can have undertones that are heavier,
- 33:00and this one still does in regards to those themes,
- 33:04but there was still a level of joy at the end of the day.
- 33:07~ the energy you bring is the energy that you're gonna give.
- 33:13And if you're intentional, especially as an actor saying,
- 33:17I want to bring people joy.
- 33:21you're manifesting that. You're putting it out into the world as such,
- 33:26and I think that's awesome.
- 33:29And with that, we are running out of time,
- 33:30but stay tuned for part two of our Mamma Mia discussion.
- 33:33But we want to know what messages from Mamma Mia stand out to you.
- 33:37Let us know in the comments or share with us on social media.
- 33:39Thanks again for joining us here in our box seats.
- 33:41Until next curtain call.