Mamma Mia - Song, Stage Musical And Blockbusting Movie!

Mamma Mia! How Can I Resist You?: The Inside Story of Mamma Mia! and the Songs of ABBA

by: Judy Craymer, Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus

Amazon Price: (as of 07/12/2009)

In the 1970's, the Swedish musical phenomenon known as ABBA-Agnetha F?skog, Benny Andersson, Bj?Ulvaeus, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad-succeeded in reinventing the world's perception of pop. They produced hit after catchy hit, each one instantly recognizable, infectious, and irresistible. Nearly a quarter of a century later, these beloved songs gave birth to the blockbuster musical MAMMA MIA!, which became a legend in its own right. It opened in 85 cities and has since been seen by more than 20 million people throughout the world. This officially sanctioned book tells the double story of the band and the play-and it's told by those know it best: two of the group's singer/songwriters and MAMMA MIA! producer Judy Craymer. It's colorful literally and figuratively, and jam-packed with illustrations from the group's own archives. Through first-person recollections from ABBA members, intertwined with commentary from the MAMMA MIA! team, Thank You for the Music cuts through the thicket of myths and misconceptions that have grown up around ABBA to reveal what actually happened.

Amazon UK customers can also get MAMMA MIA! How Can I Resist You?: The Inside Story of Mamma Mia! and the Songs of ABBA.

Mamma Mia! The Movie [Blu-ray]

Amazon Price: $27.49 (as of 07/12/2009)

Universal Pictures Mamma Mia! The Movie (Blu-ray) The delirious sight of Meryl Streep leading a river of multigenerational women singing "Dancing Queen" is one of the high points of Mamma Mia!, the musical built around the songs of the hugely popular pop group ABBA.The plot sets in motion when Sophie (Amanda Seyfried, Mean Girls), daughter of Donna (Streep), sends a letter to three men, inviting them to her wedding--because after reading her mother's diary, she suspects that one of them is her father. When all three arrive at the Greek island where Donna runs a hotel, Donna flips out and finds that passions she thought she'd laid aside are coming back to life. But let's face it, the plot is not the point--it's a ridiculous contrivance that provides an excuse for the characters to sing the massive hits of ABBA.

Mamma Mia Cast List

• Meryl Streep as Donna Sheridan, Sophie's mother, owner of the hotel Villa Donna. Wife of Sam


• Amanda Seyfried as Sophie Sheridan, Donna's daughter and Sky's fianc?


• Julie Walters as Rosie Mulligan, Donna's best friend, an unmarried fun-loving author.


• Christine Baranski as Tanya, Donna's best friend, a rich, three-time divorc?


• Pierce Brosnan as Sam Carmichael, Sophie's possible father, husband to Donna, and an American architect.


• Colin Firth as Harry Bright, Sophie's possible father and a British banker.
• Stellan Skarsg? as Bill Anderson, Sophie's possible father, a Swedish sailor and travel writer.


• Dominic Cooper as Sky, Sophie's fianc?li>.
  
• Philip Michael as Pepper, Sky's best man who likes Tanya.


• Ashley Lilley as Ali, a close friend of Sophie.


• Rachel McDowall as Lisa, a close friend of Sophie.


• Benny Andersson (cameo) as Piano player during "Dancing Queen"


• Bj?Ulvaeus (cameo) as Greek god


• Rita Wilson (cameo) as Greek goddess


• Dylan Turner as Stag, a friend of Sky's