Thoughts on the National Tour of Mama Mia

I wasn't sure what to expect with the (4th?) National Tour of Mama Mia. (It might be the 3rd?) Having been on Oklahoma for over a year I was thinking the line between a union tour and a non-union tour would be fairly distinct. I was pleasantly surprised to find otherwise.

Mama Mia was a good show. A good show that also suffers from some of the same touring life hazards as 'Oklahoma'. The talent was for the most part fine. A few performers I wasn't particularly crazy about and a few really great ones.


There was the occasional missed spot cue. The randomly focused light. There were cuts made for this leg of touring. (The stones in the show deck no longer light up)

But what I noticed most was where every tour suffers that I hadn't noticed until working in touring spaces. For the last year or so I thought some things about Oklahoma were odd but have come to realize that all shows have to deal with the same problems.

For instance, growing up I never realized that the show decks rarely cover the whole stage. You can always see the black or bare wood beneath around the edges. And that messy snake of coil is always present, running from the stage to the sound booth. At some theatres it's elevated, in some it's hidden and in some it's just taped over on the floor.

Mama Mia opened my eyes to the fact that seams show in just about every touring show regardless of the tier and that ultimately it's what's going on onstage that the general theatre-goer focuses on. (Thank goodness)

Kasey RT Graham