ABBA fans having the time of their life

In all fairness, I should begin by noting that a couple thousand people appeared to be enjoying themselves tremendously in the ABBA musical, “Mamma Mia.”

I did not happen to be one of them. My enjoyment was handicapped by the fact that I am not an ABBA fan. I recognized two songs out of 22, and I had never particularly liked those in the first place, when they were screeching out of the car radio in the ‘70s.

Nor am I a fan of what you might call karaoke musicals, in which a thin story is concocted around an old pop group’s songs. The performers essentially stand on stage and deliver faithful versions of the Greatest Hits. As an art form, this is not exactly on the level of “West Side Story” or “Les Miserables.”

Yet I am also compelled, in fairness, to acknowledge that “Mamma Mia” pulls this off better than most. The story is endearing, funny and sometimes even touching. It’s about a young woman about to get married at her mother’s Greek island resort. She discovers her mother’s diaries and realizes her father could be any of three men. She invites them all to the wedding. Confusion, comedy and romance ensue. It all ends in nearly Shakespearean style with a big wedding, but not necessarily the one you’re expecting.

“Mamma Mia” also does a relatively seamless job of incorporating the Greatest Hits into the story. It helps that ABBA songs are romantic-comedy (or soap opera) ready. Let’s face it: The job of selecting a song for a proposal scene is pretty simple when the ABBA catalog contains a song titled “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do.”

And most importantly, this national touring Equity company is first-rate in talent and panache. The mom, played by Laurie Wells, has everything a musical comedy lead needs – looks, comic timing and a great voice. The troupe overall is particularly good at comedy shtick.

I have no doubt that ABBA fans will find it thoroughly satisfying. Yet it all begs the question: Can a non-ABBA fan grow to love it?

Maybe, but it was sure an uphill climb for me. My problem was ABBA itself. The music is essentially a Euro-pop version of the Bee Gees, which I don’t mean as a compliment. Their songs struck me as a constant, treble-intensive onslaught of bad ‘70s semi-disco. I prayed at one point never to hear a synthesizer keyboard again. My prayers were not, to put it mildly, answered. (The pit band includes four keyboards and a “synthesizer programmer.”)

I also found the entire tone of the show to be aimed at a 15-year-old sensibility, which is about right for a pop song but a bit juvenile for a Broadway show. Even the middle-aged characters in the cast acted like teenagers.

This does not mean there is nothing for a non-ABBA fan to appreciate. The show does have some funny comedy bits, most of which were delivered expertly by Laurie Ware and Lisa Mandel as the mom’s friends and ex-backup singers, Rosie and Tanya. The choreography also had some funny absurdist bits, involving a chorus line of people in scuba gear.

So, if you are partial to ABBA at all, I have no doubt that you will have a good, dancing-queen time.

If you are not partial to ABBA, please ask yourself this question before you go: How high is your synthesizer tolerance?