I had taken my daughter to see the musical many years ago when it first came to Edmonton back in 2007, when she was just fourteen years old. You see, my husband and I have always had an eclectic taste in music. Growing up, my kids were exposed to every genre and decade imaginable. ABBA Gold was a CD that often hit the stereo during their upbringing; it was a known crowd-pleaser and common ground for me and my teenage daughter. There is a special kind of magic in sharing the soundtrack of your own youth with your children, watching them find the same pure joy in it that you did.
You can imagine how excited my daughter and I were about getting to see a musical created entirely around ABBA's music! That night in 2007 is still a moment that I can recall vividly. A year after we went to see the musical, the popular film adaptation of Mamma Mia! was released. When the sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, came out in 2018, a very dear friend of mine rescued me from my husband's hospital room for a much needed night at the movies to see it.
And now, it was time to take three generations to the latest Broadway Across Canada production.
Anticipating the show took me right back to where my love for the band first began. The single "Knowing Me, Knowing You" came out in February of 1977, and it was my very first taste of ABBA. I was eleven years old and had a fold-up, briefcase-style record player, as was popular at the time. Its permanent home was on the floor of my closet, where I had just enough room under my hanging clothes to sit curled up on the pink shag rug, my head resting right next to the speaker. I had excitedly bought the 45, and I still remember playing it over and over again in my dark little hideaway.
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| my record player looked just like this one! |
My granddaughter is now almost ten years old, but she has been a fan of ABBA for many years already and can sing all of the songs. Early on, I think much of her experience came from singing in the car with her mom on their way to daycare. But once she was old enough to watch the movie, well, that became her FAVOURITE show. I think she has watched it hundreds of times and is quite the expert on the film. When we go anywhere in my car, she becomes my DJ, and I guarantee you at least one or two ABBA songs will be played. Sometimes the whole journey becomes an ABBA karaokefest!
It was about a month ago, while singing SOS on our way to our weekly swim date, that I tried to explain to her just how amazing it was for me to share this music with her. I told her about my eleven-year-old self, curled up on that pink shag rug in my closet, and how that little girl would never have believed that one day she’d be a sixty-year-old grandma singing those exact same songs in the car with her granddaughter. It’s hard to fully put the magic of life into words—how deeply I feel that connection, first with her mother, and now with her. How wonderful life is!
I was on cloud nine when I walked into that theatre with my beautiful daughter and granddaughter. My granddaughter had previously asked if it would be different people in the show compared to the movie, and I realized this was her very first time seeing a live theatre performance.
When the curtain went up, I turned to look at the excitement and joy on my granddaughter's face, and then I saw the expression on my daughter's face, as she shared this special moment with her daughter. It was incredible. Throughout the whole performance—which was excellent, by the way—I couldn't decide whether to watch the stage or watch the faces of my two precious girls. At intermission, my granddaughter pointed out slight differences and nuances between the stage show and the film. I knew that girl paid attention!
At the end of the show, the entire audience sang along to the encore, and the positive energy and excitement in the theatre was palpable. We all sang along to every word of Mamma Mia, Dancing Queen, and Waterloo. I didn't want the night to end!
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