Movie Musicals Quiz: Mamma Mia!

Poster of Greek Island available from Allposters.com

The musical Mamma Mia! was based on songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA fame and originally performed with Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog.

In April 1999 the curtain rose in London on a stage musical based on many of ABBA's most popular hits. The original London cast starred Siobhan McCarthy as Donna and Lisa Stokke as bride-to-be Sophie.

12 years later Mamma Mia! is as popular as ever as a stage musical, and has been staged in countries around the world including Denmark, Italy, Spain, Brazil, China, Japan (see the Japanese cast of Mamma Mia! in action), and Korea.

Louise Pitre opened the Broadway production playing Donna Sheridan with Tina Maddigan as Sophie. Lisa Brescia and Liana Hunt currently star as the mother and daughter.

Poster of Santorini in Greece available from Allposters.com

Mamma Mia! The Movie burst onto our screens in 2008. Meryl Streep, a huge fan of the stage musical, had jumped at the chance to play Donna. She was joined by former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan in the role of Sam.

Colin Firth and Swedish star Stellan Skarsgard took on the roles of her other old flames, Harry and Bill. Sophie and her husband-to-be were played by Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper.

Mamma Mia! Cast Trivia

Meryl Streep has 2 Academy Awards (Oscars) and has had a record-breaking 16 nominations. She will be 62 years old this year. Her real name is Mary Louise Gummer.

Amanda Seyfried was 23 when Mamma Mia! was released. She is 5 foot 3 and a half inches (1.61m) tall. She stars with Justin Timberlake in sci-fi thriller Now (2011) and in 2012 will appear in another thriller, Gone.

Pierce Brosnan was born in Ireland. He also now has American citizenship. One of his talents is fire eating.

Mamma Mia! Movie Trivia

The church in the movie is on the island of Skopelos in the Greek Islands. Filming in Greece also took place on Skiathos, with beach scenes shot in California.

Pierce Brosnan signed up on the strength of playing opposite Meryl Streep in Greece -- he didn't know what the movie would be.

Box office profits for Mamma Mia! in the UK beat those of Titanic.

ABBA poster available from Allposters.com

ABBA need no introduction. This legendary Swedish pop group shot to fame in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. You can discover the full ABBA story on their official site.

The ABBA stars are now all in their sixties. Although Benny and Frida, and Björn and Agnetha, were at one time married the couples both divorced. The group split up in 1982.

Benny and Björn went on to work together on the musical Chess. Frida released a solo album in 1996 and Agnetha released a CD of some of her favorite songs in 2004. However, it seems unlikely that the group will reunite and their music lives on in their recordings, the musical Mamma Mia! and tribute bands.

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