Mamma Mia... Here I go Again....

It's already been two weeks since I went to Winnipeg to see Mamma Mia. Pam and I left early that Saturday morning. She hadn't been there for ages and so we had a little ground to cover. We started with lunch at The Forks and we enrjoyed a bit of Pakistani food before venturing out to browse the shops. In the pavillion area there was a ballroom dance competition and we watched for awhile. We paused to take in Oodena Celebration Circle (a circular shallow bowl in harmony with the solar system, earth, wind, and water defined by limestone monoliths supporting sighting armatures for naked eye astronomy.), the Path of Time monument that just "looked cool" and then we walked across the new bridge... which Pam aptly pointed out looks a lot like the one in Sevilla. Interestingly enough, I have actually been there and seen that! As we walked across the bridge I noticed a unique feature on the side of the bridge designated for automobile traffic. It had a story or legend carved from one end of the bridge to the other. At first I thought it was just "pretty" and then I realized it actually told a story. It's little details like that which make me very happy.



When we'd had enough of strolling we set out for the exchange district determined to find a few music shops and book stores and indeed we did. Both of us were successful in finding used cds in a store called Into the Music. I bought a White Stripes CD and one of Bond theme songs. I thought it was appropriate considering my quest to watch all the films.

Next stop was a bookstore I found advertised on the Internet: Aqua books. I was a little disappointed in the selection, but I also had a very specific list of titles I was looking for and they were more current whereas many of the books in this shop were a little older. I guess that's to be expected in a "used book shop." I think I've been spoiled by Half Price Books. Next we consulted our book walk map and we set out to find a shop called Red River Books. We found it and I felt hesitation walking in based solely on the crumbling cement in the entry way and the junk heaped in the corner. Still I was not prepared for what I was to find inside. I've never seen a bookstore like it. The picture gives only the nicest glimpse of the best part of the store. The shop is barely navigable with its stacks of books at every turn. The shelves are filled and the stacks are waiting. For a neat freak like me, it was very disconcerting and if I hadn't found a copy of Janet Evanovich's Ten Big Ones in the first five minutes of being in the store I might have run for the door. In the end, the most amusing bit was listening to the store staff talking to each other. I wanted to pull out a pocket tape recorder and capture that exchange. I could NEVER write dialogue like that. These girls were a riot and totally unaware. Their conversation was slightly crazy, funny, rude, and unbelievable.
And sadly, I can't remember a word of it.

Next we set out for Baked Expectations because I can't make a trip to the north without taking in my favorite dessert place. It was good that we had that dessert because our plan for tapas at Diablos didn't pan out. It would have been perfect. The restaurant is one that is actually about two blocks from Centennial Hall where we saw the show. We found parking in a lot and paid only four Canadian dollars. We strolled across the street to this restaurant and discovered signs that declared it was closed. The excitement at seeing Mamma Mia overshadowed our disappintment. As I tried to figure out how to describe the show, I found this description on the website: "A mother. A daughter. 3 possible dads. And a trip down the aisle you'll never forget! Writer Catherine Johnson's sunny, funny tale unfolds on a Greek island paradise. On the eve of her wedding, a daughter's quest to discover the identity of her father brings 3 men from her mother's past back to the island they last visited 20 years ago."

You can watch a preview here. And if you go to the official website, be sure to turn on the Mamma Mia radio to hear the songs from the show. As we drove home to the sounds of ABBA Gold, Pam mentioned that she would like to have a CD of the songs as they were done in the musical and I discovered the CD is available anywhere really. The actress who played Donna Sheridan, the mother in the musical, did a fantastic job and I loved the story and the way they wove the songs into the plot. There was one point in the show when Donna's friend was making her move on one of the three dads, the gun-shy Aussie. She establishes her interest in him, is rejected and before she gives up, she poses and says dramatically.... "If you change your mind." The room exploded with laughter. I realized then that this show might not be as much fun if the audience wasn't so familiar with ABBA hits. In case that wasn't clear, that phrase is the first line in the song "Take a Chance on Me" and she followed it up by singing the song. I wouldn't have enjoyed it less if she'd only spoken that one line at that moment; it was just that funny. One of my favorite numbers was the song that shares the title of the musical. Donna's trying to prepare for her daughter's wedding and suddenly discovers her secret past is knocking on her door... all three of them! She's overwhelmed, hiding under the covers and her friends do all they can to bring her out of it singing "Mamma Mia" with blow dryers as microphones. I think my very favorite is "Does Your Mother Know?" Another of Donna's friends sings this song to the groom's friend who has been hitting on her all night. The words, the choreography... it was a riot.

My own love for ABBA began when I was young. I first became aware of their songs on my Minipops album. There was a time when no one knew what I was talking about when I'd refer to this record. Then one day in college during a thrilling game of canasta I sang to myself, "Knowing me, and knowing you" and a friend of mine, sitting across the table absentmindedly sang in response, "Uh-huh..." and then both of us looked up and sang "there is nothing we can do..." and having recently purchased a copy of ABBA Gold and rediscovered the songs in their natural state I assumed that's how he knew the song too until I asked... "How do you know that song?" And he replied matter of factly, "Minipops." I almost died. It turns out that my British pal, Emma also grew up with the record. Looking back, I do find my love for that record to be disconcerting. Small children singing "Gimme, gimme, gimme a man after midnight...." Not long after ABBA resurfaced in my life I saw my first Toni Collette film, Muriel's Wedding. Imagine how thrilled I was when I learned about the musical. I can't believe I waited this long to see it. I highly recommend it.