"Mamma Mia" At Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas

When John Wright and myself handed our tickets to the usher, the usher got excited and said "Oooh! These are special tickets!" Then he showed us where they were: dead center, first row, of the 1600-seat house. Pointing at the conductor and lead keyboardist, the usher said: "Say hi! to Pepe!" We all said: "Hi Pepe!"

I sat directly behind "Pepe" (the program lists him as Michael Brennan). I could easily see the three electric guitarists and three other keyboardists in the orchestra pit. I could comfortably read Pepe's music, and if I didn't like what he was playing, I could easily have leaned forward and smacked him on the side of his head.

Beside us sat a couple from Winnipeg, Manitoba. The fellow was a radiologist, and was a frequent visitor to UCD in Davis. Especially at intermission, they listened appreciatively I told them all about Kelly Daniells, and her start with DMTC, and some of her background in Sacramento-area musical theater.

The show itself, from such a close vantage point, was like being swept away in an explosion of high energy - a nuclear detonation of high-energy singing and dancing, with no end of exciting shocks! I have nothing but the highest praise for the show. Kelly was fantastic as Sophie Sheridan, of course, but everyone else was a phenomenon too: Vicki Van Tassel as Tanya, Robin Baxter as Rosie, and Carol Linnea Johnson as Donna Sheridan. The men were great as well: Jefferson Slinkard, Rick Negron, and Andy Taylor (Taylor played Leo Bloom in "The Producers" when its tour last stopped in Sacramento, and he will be reprising the role in the Las Vegas version of "The Producers.") The supporting corps of performers were just as fantastic, or in some cases, even better.

The only concerns I had were safety issues - I freaked when Vicki Van Tassel skidded towards the orchestra pit, and I was concerned in the Dream sequence at the top of Act II, when Kelly's head was positioned at the whip end of a rapidly-moving bed. My concerns were apparently-unmerited, but in community theater, such moves would be problematic.

At the end of the show, I leaned forward and told the conductor: "Great job! Now, play "Chess"! He nodded and said "Actually, I'd like to play that."

After the show, we lingered briefly in the event Kelly came out early, but we were both hungry and tired and ABBA-blasted, so we departed.