All Shook Up vs Mamma Mia

[Bwaygirl717]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 3:35pm

How could they close All Shook Up and keep Mamma Mia open???? I saw Mamma Mia last night, and the first ten minutes were a girl who couldn't sing on a really boring stage. The first few minutes of ASU has Jenn Gambatese and her lovely voice, a car, a gas station and then a bar that looks like a bar. The "taverna" in Mamma Mia consists of a few tables and chairs and at one point one bottle comes out with a few glasses. No Cheyenne coming up on a motorcycle, no museum, no jailhouse, no shoe store, and no chapel. It just has one set that they just keep turning around and a bed that they (the actors) wheel out every so often. Bring ASU back!!!!!

[mirramar]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 3:41pm

Thank you!!!!

I was just telling my husband the EXACT SAME THING a few nights ago!!!!

I saw Mama Mia several years ago and hated it. OTOH, I really enjoyed ASU. IMHO, Mama Mia was such a wooden show. . . ASU was fun, and the acting is far better.

[worrell4077]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 3:43pm

All Shook Up never should've closed because it was a funny show with a great cast and some great Elvis songs, but more people were attracted to Mamma Mia because of ABBA.

I prefer All Shook Up to Mamma Mia
________________________________________________________________
"As my plastic surgeon always said. If you gotta go, go with a smile."
-Batman

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 3:51pm

the reason is described in your opening paragraph. mamma mia! costs less to keep open. and considering they made their investment back within the first few months it's only going to close when the producers no longer wish to keep getting paychecks...

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 3:53pm

Both shows were trash.

Both shows got the same reviews: very mixed.

People flock to Mamma Mia. Why? It has something for everyone, pretty girls, handsome guys, and music that everyone knows. The music was put together by the original members of ABBA, so that while the singers are different, the orchestrations are mostly the same.

All Shook Up, while having a great cast, changed the music enough so that Elvis fans weren't thrilled.

[liotte]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 3:56pm

ASU was much better, though I still enjoyed Mamma Mia.

[Phantom2]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 3:57pm

Mamma Mia! is an international hit. They obviously are doin' somethin' right! No need to trash one show to justify why another should have stayed open.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 4:02pm

Personally, I found Mamma Mia much more entertaining. All Shook Up may have had more expensive sets, but it didn't make up for most of the bizarre and incomprehensible scenes going on (dancing statues, motorcycle angels, everyone noticing the new guy with some sort of magic jukebox powers but pays little attention to the buxom blonde with the portable museum, the reason why the girl dresses like a guy other than it was in the Shakespeare script so they had to throw it in without coming up with a more creative explanation). The music was fun and the performers were good, but Mamma Mia was for me a much better night out, which is why I've seen it 3 times. The funniest thing about All Shook Up was that its ending was virtually identical to that of Mamma Mia - girl runs away with boy without getting married and the adults marry instead.

But the real reason All Shook Up closed and Mamma Mia stayed open is because more people want to see Mamma Mia. "They" don't close a show unless it's not selling tickets. Simple economics. But really, the two shows have nothing in common other than both are jukebox musicals. Why did Lennon close and not Mamma Mia? Why did Good Vibrations close and not Mamma Mia? Same reason. Mamma Mia has been a smash hit all over the world. That's probably why it's still running.

[hearthatstrue]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 4:09pm

Everytime a show closes I think "...and Mamma Mia! is still open." I've seen the show twice. It's just...bad. The songs don't fit the storyline, which is a bit of a mess in the first place. And the book is horrid.

But I do understand the appeal. It's internationally known, and most adults flock to see it because it brings them back. My parents absolutely love the show, while I can't stand it. They don't really care about the book or the plot so much; they just love that there's a show that can remind them so much of their teenage years. The show also has a great marketing team backing it up. While ASU is, in my opinon, the far superior show, I do see how Mamma Mia! remains open. And, hey, at least the ending is fun. And that's not just because it's over.

[Phantom2]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 4:11pm

Actually, their marketing has always been on the weak side. But then again, they don't really need to try that hard.

Updated On: 10/7/05 at 04:11 PM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 4:15pm

I know! I can't believe Joe Machota's abs were never used as part of the marketing ploy...

[Phantom2]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 4:17pm

Another show tried that with Matt Cavenaugh. He's gorgeous, but unfortunately, it didn't help.

[hearthatstrue]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 4:21pm

Really? I see ads all over the place. And the commercials are played incessantly. Unless that's just a New York thing. Hm.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 4:27pm

lol. yes, the national tour is coming to san diego for a few weeks and I've seen more commercials for mamma mia! then I have for any of the movies coming out this weekend, but still, the ads are very simple as well as the poster... few colors and not much info on the show... it doesn't need it though, obviously...

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 4:42pm

"The songs don't fit the storyline, which is a bit of a mess in the first place."

Which songs? When I saw the show, it made sense.

"And the book is horrid."

While the story was based on a film, I found the book far more interesting and comprehensible than All Shook Up, which lacked focus and left me wondering what the hell was going on.

[Phantom2]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 4:42pm

Plus, there are a lot of Dancing Queens out there, whether they want to admit it or not!

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 4:44pm

oh, yes. every moring I wake up and dance to "Dancing Queen" and "Shakalaka Baby" ...

[Phantom2]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 4:46pm

Tony Vincent would be proud! They actually reference Dancing Queen in the Las Vegas production of We Will Rock You.

Updated On: 10/7/05 at 04:46 PM

[Fosse76]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 5:15pm

Mamma Mia's book doesn't insult the intelligence of its audience too much, whereas I was so offended by the stupidity of All Shook Up's book I almost walked out.

[tthomas76]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 5:28pm

Sorry, but Mama Mia is a fun show... I never got to see All Shook Up and I'm sure it was great as well.. However, if I remember right they have pretty strong tickets sales as to where All Shook Up was in the 50's and below...

MAMMA MIA! (CADILLAC WINTER 99.2% I didn't see All Shook Up ever with that percentage...

Plus, all tourist go see Mama Mia because of the Abba, etc.

[jeremykushnier1fan]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 5:44pm

i love both.

[Bwaygirl717]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 7:09pm

That's the only reason why the show has been opened for as long as it has been... because it advertises and people hear the name everywhere so when they want to see a show they ofcourse are going to go to one that they heard so much about... it wouldn't be opened as long as it has been without that because the show is really bad. As for asu, the never advertised anything so nobody ever heard anything about it. That's why that show closed. Heck, when my mom told me that she was taking me to see asu the first time I didn't want to go because i never heard anything about it but ASU was sooo much better than Mamma Mia.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 7:48pm

"it wouldn't be opened as long as it has been without that because the show is really bad"

Uh, sorry, but advertising was not the key to Mamma Mia's success. The show was a hit in London and on tour before it arrived on Broadway. Eurpoean tourists already knew the show and a huge positive buzz allowed the show to open with a bang and it has stayed in the top 5 ever since. Probably the number one reason of the show's success is featuring the music of ABBA. Even 25 years after their split, they have remained the number one pop group in the world. The second reason for success would be creating a fluffy fun book show that was neither overstuffed with plots, nor insultingly simple rather than simply a revue of songs which would serve as nothing more than a hit parade. Third would be marketing and their rather amazing worldwide sales have made it possible for the producers to spend more money on advertising, but even vast amounts of advertising can't save a bad show (Brooklyn).

All Shook Up had some fun moments, and the cast was great, but it didn't fix the rather confusing and muddy book. Since I dn't live in NYC, I don't know about its marketing, but that can surely kill a show. It did have quite a prominent presence on Times Square and hotels were loaded with flyers, so it's not like they didn't flood the biggest tourist spot in the city.

[WholeLottaShakin]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 7:55pm

The main difference for me was that I still kept thinking days later about how much fun I had after the first time I saw ASU. After seeing MAMMA MIA! the first time, I thought, "OK, that was fun," then forgot about it.

[kate2]

Posted: 10/7/05 at 8:07pm

what is it that's confusing about the plot of ASU?! is it that people just needed a stupid reason to say something negative? "Can't help falling in love" when they yell the names out clears it up and the wedding scene too! it really wasnt hard to follow throughout the show! sorry, this is one thing thats really been bothering me!! it wasnt a hard show to follow, and it was so easy to love!!