I attended Mamma Mia! in 2005 and again in 2007 at the Winter Garden Theatre. In my first visit, I sat beside some enthusiastic ladies — we laughed, cried, and even sang together during the staged curtain call. Fortunately, I had loved ABBA for years and had memorized most of the lyrics by heart well before attending.

Donna was played by the same actor in both performances, as far as I recall. She was an excellent singer, and without her, the overall quality of the show might have suffered. I remember hearing from fellow audience members that the actor playing Sophie in 2005 was a replacement, and sadly, she seemed somewhat unstable in her role. Though she tackled the emotional songs, she relied too much on bending notes, which I found disappointing.

Harry, Bill, and Sam didn’t need to be top-notch singers, but they delivered solid performances. Harry, who had a brief guitar moment, had a notably rich vocal texture. Donna’s friends, Tanya and Rosie, blended their subplots smoothly into the narrative, mixing ABBA’s songs with delightful humor and charm.

As this was my first jukebox musical, I initially thought the concept was a great way to honor and to showcase an artist’s lifelong work. I didn’t yet realize that Mamma Mia! was among the best of its kind — a standard many later jukebox musicals would not meet. I also enjoyed the younger cast: Sky, his friends, Sophie, and the bridesmaids brought lively energy to the stage.

The set design cleverly occupied only a small portion of the proscenium, allowing for easy manual scene changes, which worked well. I didn’t expect this musical to break the fourth wall by turning the staged curtain call into a sing-along with handheld microphones, with Donna and the Dynamos in costume, followed by Sam, Harry, and Bill — which was hilarious. I was overjoyed when it happened, especially after the emotionally charged final scene. Like old acquaintances, the ladies beside me and I sang and danced together. In fact, the entire audience joined in. What fun!

On my return visit in 2007, I sat in the balcony with a limited view. Despite that, the audio quality was good, and I could imagine the unseen parts based on my memories from 2005. Once again, Donna carried the weight of the production.

Between my two visits, I had listened to the original cast recording, which featured Sophie’s clean, controlled vocals. While it’s perhaps unfair to compare a live performance to a studio recording, I still felt a bit disappointed. The songs are not easy, and hearing them reminded me just how skilled Agnetha (of ABBA) was — and still is. I especially admired her rendition of "The Winner Takes It All", written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. In the live production, belting the song seemed to dilute its bittersweet, restrained emotion.

Expecting the celebratory curtain call this time, I didn’t cry during the final scene but eagerly awaited the encore.

During the second performance, I also found myself curiously looking for the microphone setups, especially on the male actors wearing swimsuits. I couldn’t spot any. Were the mics hidden in their hair or perhaps in their goggles? I also noticed clusters of microphones positioned like small “bushes” around the stage, which made me wonder whether, instead of body-worn microphones, the production used numerous strategically placed stage mics to capture the actors’ voices.