The Decemberists to play Greek Theatre on Friday

Spoiler alert: As some point during their show at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on Friday, The Decemberists will make a major theatrical production of ...

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'Mamma Mia!' to close on Broadway in September following 8th longest run in history

by  Associated Press ABBA musical 'Mamma Mia!' to close on Broadway in September by MARK KENNEDY, Associated Press - 9 April 2015 19:57-04:00 NEW YORK (AP) — "Mamma Mia!," Broadway's dancing queen, will close in September after a 14-year run that included two theaters and made it the eighth-longest running show on the Great White Way. Producers said Thursday that the frothy musical that uses ABBA songs will close Sept. 5 after 5,765 performances. It has grossed more than $600 million — quite a lot of "Money, Money, Money" — and outlasted over 500 other Broadway productions. A hit in London, the show opened in New York in dark times, just a few weeks after the 2001 terror attacks. The New York reception turned out to be much like everywhere else. The feel-good show — featuring more than 20 classic ABBA hits, including "Dancing Queen" and "S.O.S." — has been a hit in dozens of countries, including South Korea, Italy, Denmark, South Africa and Spain. Producer Judy Craymer conceived of the show in the 1980s and approached members of ABBA. Instead of doing a musical about the band, she insisted their songs help tell an original story. "I love musicals and I loved ABBA's songs and I genuinely believe that those songs were very theatrical," Craymer explained in 2013 when the show left the Winter Garden Theatre after 12 years to its current home at the Broadhurst Theatre. "To me, 'The Winner Takes It All' was the big 11 o'clock number. That has to be sung onstage by a woman. That is the 'Don't Cry for Me Argentina.' And that's where it started." Craymer teamed up with playwright Catherine Johnson and a story set on a Greek island was born: A young woman who is about to be married wants her father to give her away. The musical also prompted Craymer to produce a movie version starring Meryl Streep that boosted the show's box office. The musical has resonated so much that it has in some ways become better known than the people who created the songs. "People hear ABBA and they go, 'That's "Mamma Mia!'''" said Craymer. ___ Online: http://www.mammamianorthamerica.com ___ Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits News Topics: Arts and entertainment, General news, Musical theater, Theater, Performing arts, Entertainment People, Places and Companies: Meryl Streep Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Ben Whishaw to star in Almeida Theatre's new Greek season

The Almeida Theatre, the small venue that caused a stir at last year's Olivier Awards, has launched its new season: of Ancient Greek plays bringing ...

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Rex in Downtown Athens to Be Transformed into Theater Complex

The National Theater of Greece was granted the right to use the Rex theater building in downtown Athens, as part of the efforts to reinvent Omonoia Square and the surrounding area. An Athens court has ruled that the National Theater will be able to use all three of the stages that are hosted at the Rex theater building, including Sineak-Paxinou and Kotopouli stages. According to Sotiris Hatzakis, National Theater director, the ground floor stage, the largest one, will be used for musicals, a genre that is slowly developing and gaining an audience in Greece. The director plans to launch the “Phantom of the Opera,” a renowned international production that will promote the National Theater’s initiative. Hatzakis also wishes that the theater will now only operate as a theater, since it has doubled as a music stage until now. Moreover, the building’s interior will be refurbished in order to be fully accessible to people with disabilities. The National Theater is able to commit to this plan thanks to September’s 260,000-euro surplus, along with many months of careful financial management.

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