I went with high expectations, which is not a good thing because it normally leads to disappointment. It was difficult to not have high expectations when every review raved about it and every person I spoke to who has seen it loved it. I am happy to report that I was not disappointed, it was a great show.
My companion provided a fair amount of amusement at the beginning because she had no idea it was a play. She was expecting a ‘tribute to Abba’ style ‘concert’. Her exclamations of confusion and surprise during the first 10 minutes where most amusing. By interval time she was into it and by the end of the show she was excited about the show.
I won’t spoil the story by telling you what it’s about. All you need to know is that it’s a very amusing story with some heartwarming moments. The characters are easy to relate to, the costumes at times are fabulous and the sets are well done. All of which makes up for the fact that the singing was not that great. The Abba songs fit nicely into the storyline, they don’t seem forced as one might expect them to be. At the end the audience is treated to a few extra Abba numbers not included in the show, so by the time you walk out you’re smiling and humming Abba tunes all the way home.
Great stuff, I recommend you make the effort. On that note, I’m proud of CT for filling the Artscape solidly for a 5 week run. That’s what keeps the good shows coming.
Did you know: Abba still sells over 3000 albums everyday around the world!
ps. Get somone with an Edgars Club card to buy your tickets from the computicket office. We got a discount of R50 off each R320 ticket.