About 3 weeks ago I noticed how absolutely in love with Mamma Mia! our oldest daughter was. I think she has the same love for musicals and music that I do. She is always singing and dancing and making up her own little tunes. Not only that, but she has an amazing little voice and has the ability to very accurately mimic a tune soon after she's heard it. Love that about her. Reminds me so much of myself when I was a kid.
So, the thought popped into my head of how fun it would be to take her to see Mamma Mia! live on stage. I was a bit discouraged at first because the tickets I found were over a hundred pounds apiece. After searching for a couple of days I found tickets for around 22 pounds. Not too shabby. So, I called the ticket office to purchase them and when the guy asked me which night I'd like to go on, I had no clue. So, I asked for his suggestion. Without hesitation he said we would really enjoy the performance on April 6th. It was to be the 10th anniversary London performance. I thought "Ok, cool." and didn't really give it another thought.
I decided to keep it a secret from Lara. I simply told her that she had a surprise in London and left it at that. Lara, however, could not stop talking about it. She was dead set on guessing what it was and she would ask me all kinds of questions. I eventually had to tell her that we couldn't bring it home (only because she was trying to pick out a place for it in the house). Colin and I laughed our tushies off thinking about bringing the cast home on the train!
So Monday afternoon we headed for London around 4 pm. When we got to Piccadilly Circus, I let Lara choose the restaurant and of course she chose Pizza Hut. I didn't care much because at least Pizza Hut was going to be fast and we only had an hour and half!
After dinner (which was painfully delayed and sprinkled with less than bad service) we walked out to the street so I could find the theater. I spotted the marquis in the distance and we started making our way towards it. I just waited for Lara to spot it and to see her reaction. About a block away she saw it and thought it was the coolest thing ever.
We walked up to the theater and it was completely packed with people on the sidewalk. The doors were blocked off and the street corners across the street were even filled with spectators! We then started talking to the people around us and it seemed that Benny and Bjorn of ABBA were expected to arrive at any minute. This was the point when I realized I had forgotten to take the memory card out of our printer and all I had was the hard drive memory...which could take about 6 photos on the lowest resolution. I had to choose wisely. Ack!
While we were standing in front of the theater, Lara's face suddenly lit up with understanding.
"Is this my surprise?!?! Are we going inside?!?! What's in there?!?!"
I told her that inside this building was where they performed the musical live on stage and then she said something like
"LIVE!?!? ON STAGE!??! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT!!!!!"
So, Benny and Born and their entourage showed up and the crowd went wild. It was kinda unbelievable seeing these 2 older gentlemen trying to squeeze through the crowd without getting crushed. After they were safely inside they let us all line up to get in. Even though we'd arrived at 6:45 for a 7:30 show, we got to our seats around 7:20 so I decided we would wait til the intermission to get snacks and drinks.
The show did not disappoint. Lara literally sat on the edge of her seat throughout the entire performance. At the intermission, we got up so she could go to the bathroom and because they had signs everywhere offering free champagne as part of the celebration. So while Lara went to the little girls' room, I went and grabbed some champagne and juice and a couple of mini tubs of ice cream. We then walked back to our seat and had our snack while the curtain went up for the 3rd act.
I wish I could convey the energy of the crowd. It wasn't like going to any musical I'd ever been to. Even when I know all the lyrics, I would never sit in the crowd and sing along with the actors. But on this night, it was a veritable free-for-all sing-a-long! The entire audience was clapping and singing and dancing in their seats. I'd never seen anything like it!
I think that's what Lara loved the most. She didn't have to sit there all quiet just enjoying the show. She got to sing along with some of the biggest Mamma Mia! fans out there!
After the performance, the actors did a little encore performance of a couple of songs like Dancing Queen and Mamma Mia and then the producers took the stage for a thank you toast and to talk a bit about the show and its beginnings.
Then, they suddenly announced Benny and Bjorn and they came out on stage! The crowd completely erupted and the energy was taken up a notch with explosions of confetti, streamers and fireworks! They shot fireworks INTO the crowd! It was kinda crazy!
After the guys spoke for a couple of minutes, the actors started dancing again with a 3 song dance number and the whole crowd sang along, on their feet, clapping their hands.
The energy was fantastic!
I swear everyone in that crowd left the theater on Cloud 9. It was an exhilarating experience and I'm so glad we took the booker's recommendation. I'll never forget this performance.
I have to say, though, that it was all for her. This face was what I was aiming for. This sweet little face filled with happiness and wonder. I think I got it. :)
My favorite part?
During the intermission, she stopped eating her ice cream, placed her hand on mine and said
"This is the most fun I've ever had. I never thought I could have this much fun."
