When MAMMA MIA fills more seats than AVENUE Q - something is wrong in this country. — Page 2

What's the problem? Mamma Mia is a show for the gazillion tourists, while Avenue Q has a slightly more direct audience. I like Q more but who cares?

There's nothing wrong with our country, a lot of people prefer ABBA and cheap jokes (however lame they may be) to puppets and 'political incorrectness'.

I think Ragtime is better than O Calcutta! but so what?
There's a reason these shows run for so long.
A whole ton of people out there like CATS, even if they don't want to admit it.

I think that Mamma Mia is terrible, yet somehow I've seen it 3 times...

Is this surprising? If you think that Broadway theater
audiences are sophisticated.....chat with the rubes in the TKTS line. Its Faustian isn't it? We sold our soul to Disney to save Broadway. We are now doomed to "Mamma Mia meets The Lion King in Brooklyn who can't pay Thoroughly Modern Millie to save Beauty and the Beast in spite of The Boy from OZ." Shows like "Avenue Q" and "Urinetown" are clever Off-Broadway pieces that moved to Broadway to feed the declining minority of theatergoers who want something of substance rather than the plastic screaming drivel. Is that a revival of "Zeussical"
I see in the distance?

maybe we did sell our souls to disney to save Broadway- but if Broadway was so good before Disney, why did it need saving? The fact is, musical theatre needs Disney and Mamma Mia and all that crap to keep it alive. Just like we need to earn money to buy food to stay alive. Get over it people. Disney has brought more people into theatres for the first time in their lives than anyone in history.

Yes - but the thing is, all of Disney's shows were GOOD, at least.

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I don't think there is anything wrong with Mamma Mia at all. Love the music, the story is cute and fun, the show is a great night out. Not sure what so many people have against it. I took my dad to see the show (his two favorites are Les Mis ad Falsettos) and he loved it. He loves telling all his friends the plot to the show because he found it quite clever. He's not a musical theatre fanatic or snob (though he and my mom recently watch the entire Broadway: The American Musical series twice), but he definitely knows what he likes and what he thinks works well (he definitely didn't think much of All Shook Up). Considering he's closer to the average theatre-goer, but certainly not of tourist mentality, I thought that was a pretty good indication that the show did its job and did it well.

I'm sure nobody wanted or needed to know that, but there you are.

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I actually think Mamma Mia(!) is not far off from being a really solid show (don't get me wrong, it's got huge gaping holes as it stands now).

I think if they cut two numbers, cut some of the verses (NOT every song needs to be the entire thing! --see 'knowing me knowing you'), and re-wrote the book it could be a really fabulous show. They really need to make the role of Sky not so unbelievably lame. That one scene where he "breaks down" is a joke.