Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia! at Connor Palace Theatre

You know the songs. Now see what happens when they run the show. Connor Palace Theatre turns up the glitter on Thursday, January 14 with Mamma Mia!, a crowd-pleaser with a heart.

Mamma Mia! has been winning over audiences for more than 25 years, and the official materials point to the characters, the story and the music as the reason it keeps coming back. The official preview promises "the timeless hits of ABBA," and these numbers do more than fill space. They drive the whole evening with melody, jokes and heart. The historic room is big enough for the laughs and the ensemble energy to fill it, and intimate enough to make the emotional turns and comic beats feel immediate. The official materials describe the show as spoken dialogue, ABBA songs and dance, which is exactly why it works so well on stage. The music is part of the storytelling, not a break from it.

You get the sparkle of a Broadway-style crowd-pleaser and the pleasure of hearing these songs do their work inside a live story instead of floating past on a playlist. Playhouse Square's Connor Palace Theatre gives the evening a grand downtown Cleveland setting. Midweek theater is a smart way to break up the routine. It sits in the middle of the run. Treat yourself to a night of pure theatrical fun. Get Mamma Mia! tickets for Thursday, January 14.