Mörbisch Floating Stage. Seefestspiele Mörbisch 13 July 2023 - Mamma Mia! | GoComGo.com

Mamma Mia!

Mörbisch Floating Stage. Seefestspiele Mörbisch, Mörbisch am See, Austria
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Select date and time
Thursday 13 July 2023
8:30 PM

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Important Info
Type: Musical
City: Mörbisch am See, Austria
Starts at: 20:30
Sung in: German

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Festival

Seefestspiele Mörbisch 2023

Anyone who has experienced the fascination of the Seefestspiele Mörbisch will always come back. Because the natural scenery of the Neusiedler See National Park, the culinary variety, the incomparable atmosphere and the unique open-air stage ensure a magical overall experience that you will never forget and want to experience again and again.

Overview

The rousing musical world success "MAMMA MIA!" brings atmospheric entertainment and good mood to the lake stage in Mörbisch in summer 2023 with the hits of ABBA. Over 60 million people have already seen the hit musical and loved it. And rightly so!

The humorous story penned by British author Catherine Johnson impresses with its charm, wit and esprit. Themes such as love, friendship and family, dreams, longing, memories and the search for happiness are the linchpins of the colourful, happy event. In MAMMA MIA! The "mother-daughter story" about the single Donna and her 20-year-old daughter Sophie, who wants to unveil the secret of who her father is shortly before her wedding, is told in a moving manner and at the same time skilfully interwoven with ABBA's most famous pieces of music. A cleverly told declaration of love to life, legendary ABBA sound and impressive stage scenery will sweep and enchant visitors to the Seefestspiele Mörbisch.

History
Premiere of this production: 06 April 1999, Prince Edward Theatre

Mamma Mia! (promoted as Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus' Mamma Mia!) is a jukebox musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. The title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia". Ulvaeus and Andersson, who composed the original music for ABBA, were involved in the development of the show from the beginning. Singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad has been involved financially in the production and she has also been present at many of the premieres around the world.

Synopsis

Act I

Before the curtain rises, the orchestra starts playing the overture, which is a montage of instrumental versions of some of Abba's hit songs.

On the fictional Greek island of Kalokairi, 20-year-old Sophie is preparing to marry her fiancé, Sky. She wants her father to walk her down the aisle ("Prologue") but doesn't know who he is. Sophie discovers her mother's old diary and finds entries which describe intimate dates with three men; Sam Carmichael, Bill Austin and Harry Bright ("Honey, Honey"). Sophie believes one of these men is her father and, three months before her nuptials, sends each an invitation to her wedding, writing in her mother's name, Donna, without letting her unsuspecting mother know.

Donna begins receiving guests at her taverna. The first to arrive are her long-time best friends, Tanya, a rich woman who has been married and divorced three times, and Rosie, an unmarried, carefree woman. The trio used to comprise a girl group called "Donna and the Dynamos". The three women catch up and talk about their lives ("Money, Money, Money").

Later that day, Sophie's three possible fathers arrive: Sam (an American architect), Harry (a British banker), and Bill (originally an Australian writer and adventurer, and currently American in New York and on tour). Sophie convinces them not to tell Donna that she invited them ("Thank You for the Music"). Donna is surprised to see her ex-lovers ("Mamma Mia") and leaves in tears. Donna, crying, explains to Tanya and Rosie the situation, and they cheer her up ("Chiquitita"). Tanya and Rosie try to convince Donna that she can still be the girl she once was ("Dancing Queen").

Sophie had hoped she would know her father the moment she saw him but is now only confused. She tries to tell her fiancé, Sky, how she feels without confessing what she has done. Sky tells her he will be the only man she ever needs ("Lay All Your Love on Me").

At Sophie's hen party, Donna and the Dynamos don their old costumes and perform a song, ("Super Trouper"). Sam, Bill, and Harry accidentally walk in on the party, and the guests persuade them to stay ("Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)").

Sophie first pulls Sam out of the room to talk to him. After he asks why he is there, she is overcome with guilt and goes to talk to Harry, instead. But Harry asks if Sophie's father is at the party, and she tells him the whole truth.

Lastly, she draws Bill aside to talk with him. She learns that Bill has an aunt Sophia who left all her money to Donna's family. Bill learns that Donna built the taverna with money she inherited from a friend she lived with when Sophie was a baby; that friend was Bill's aunt. They both think this means he is her father.

Sophie asks Bill to walk her down the aisle, but Bill wants to discuss it first with Donna. This has been her secret, after all. But no one knows yet that even Donna doesn't know who the father is, because she slept with the three men in such swift succession. Sophie insists they mustn't tell Donna anything ("The Name of the Game") and finally, Bill agrees.

Afterward, everybody crashes the hen party (including the guys from the stag party). During the party, Sam pulls Sophie aside and tells her he has figured out why she invited him. He knows he is her father and promises to walk her down the aisle the next day. Then, Harry approaches Sophie, apologizing for being so slow on the uptake; he is also convinced that she is his daughter and promises to walk her down the aisle. Sophie leaves the party, hopelessly confused; she doesn't want to turn any of them down ("Voulez-Vous").

Act II

(Entr'acte) Sophie's having a nightmare, involving her three possible fathers all fighting for the right to walk her down the aisle and wakes up despairing ("Under Attack").

Sophie's upset, and Donna assumes that Sophie wants to cancel the wedding and offers to handle all the details. Sophie's offended and vows that her children won't grow up not knowing who their father is. As Sophie storms out of the room, Sam enters and tries to tell Donna that Sophie may not be all she seems, but Donna won't listen ("One of Us"). She hates Sam; at the end of their affair, she said she never wanted to see him again. But it seems that Sam was the man Donna cared about the most, and both of them wish they could go back to the start ("SOS"').

At the beach, Harry asks Tanya what the father of the bride ought to be doing for Sophie's wedding. Tanya explains that for her part, her father gave her his advice and then paid. Pepper, one of the guys who works at Donna's taverna, makes advances to Tanya, but she rebuffs him ("Does Your Mother Know").

Sky finds out what Sophie has done in inviting Sam, Harry and Bill to the wedding. He accuses her of wanting a big white wedding only so that she can find out who her father is. He's very hurt that she kept this plan a secret from him. He storms off just as Sam walks in. Sam tries to give Sophie some fatherly advice by describing his failed marriage ("Knowing Me, Knowing You"), but Sophie isn't consoled.

Harry offers to Donna to pay for the wedding, and they reminisce about their fling ("Our Last Summer"). Sophie arrives and Donna helps her get dressed. She can't believe her daughter is going to be a bride ("Slipping Through My Fingers"). Donna admits that her own mother disowned her when she learned that she was pregnant. They reconcile and Sophie asks her mother if she will walk her down the aisle. Sam arrives and tries to speak to Donna again, but she doesn't want to see him, and asks him to leave. He refuses, and a bitter confrontation ensues. Donna tells Sam that he broke her heart, presumably when she found out he was engaged ("The Winner Takes It All"). It emerges that the two still love each other dearly, albeit against Donna's better judgment.

Rosie is making final preparations in the taverna when Bill arrives. He's upset because he has received a note that Donna will be walking Sophie down the aisle. Bill reaffirms his commitment to the single life, but Rosie has become attracted to him, and urges him to reconsider ("Take a Chance on Me"). They are about to have sex in the taverna, but the guests arrive, leaving Rosie quite stunned.

The wedding begins, with Donna walking Sophie down the aisle. Before the priest has a chance to begin the ceremonies, Donna acknowledges to everyone that Sophie's father is present. Sophie tells her mother that she knows about her father. Donna realizes that Sophie invited them to the wedding for that very reason. The issue of Sophie's parentage is left unsettled, as none of them have any idea whether they are actually her father. Everyone involved agrees that it doesn't matter which one of them her biological parent is, as Sophie loves all three and they are all happy to be "one-third of a father" and a part of her life at last. Finally, Harry, who has made frequent references to his "other half" throughout the show, is revealed to be in a committed gay relationship.

Suddenly, Sophie calls a halt to the proceedings. She isn't ready to get married and Sky agrees with her about not getting married. Sam seizes his chance and proposes to Donna in order to prevent the wedding preparations from going to waste. He explains that he loved her, even when he left to get married. It is revealed that he called off the wedding and came back to the island, only to be told that Donna was going out with another man (Bill). He went back, married his fiancée and had children but he got divorced. Surprisingly, Donna accepts ("I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do"). In the end, Sam and Donna are married, and at the end of the night, Sophie and Sky depart on a round-the-world tour ("I Have a Dream").

Venue Info

Mörbisch Floating Stage. Seefestspiele Mörbisch - Mörbisch am See
Location   Seegelände, 7072

The initiative for the Seespiele, founded in 1955-57, came from the chamber singer Herbert Alsen, who was celebrated at the Vienna State Opera and who, together with his wife, the Berlin-based costume designer Gisela Bossert, was looking for the venue accidentally discovered a vacation spot that was climate-friendly to his voice and which was permanently touched by the peculiar musicality of this landscape.

Alsen's plans were enthusiastically received by the local council of Mörbisch and the representative of the state, Landesrat Hans Bögl, especially since the project fit into the tourism concept of the municipality and the state, and Alsen subsequently agreed to initially grant the directorate of the Seespiele for five years take over (with reference to any competition with the Bregenz Festival), emphasizing that the Seespiele in Mörbisch did not want to be a festival that would increase the large number of festival venues.

After two years of preparation, the opening took place on July 6, 1957 with the operetta Der Zigeunerbaron by Johann Strauss.

The floating stage was built in a bay next to the Mörbischer bathing beach on hundreds of pilots according to the plans of architect Ferry Windberger, the designer of the first Bregenz floating stage. Their dimensions were 42 by 20 m; the auditorium created by the filling of the lake comprised 1,500. Seats. After an expansion in 1959, 3,000 people could be accommodated. Today the auditorium has over 6000 seats. In the following years, due to the great public response, there were constant extensions, both in terms of the number of performances and the size of the auditorium and stage. From the initial six performances with around 7,000 spectators (1957), there was an increase to over 30 performances in July and August.

In 2006, a new sound system, which was developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology and is also in use at the Bregenz Festival, was put into operation. This means that directional listening is possible despite the size of the stage.

In 2018, specially staged performances for children were also shown for the first time. A one-hour adaptation by Countess Mariza was shown in June 2018 on a stage set up on the festival grounds in a total of six performances. There was space for up to 250 children per performance, and visitors were also given the opportunity to sing and dance along. The aim was to bring the operetta closer to children. The same soloists were to be seen on stage as in the regular performances. As part of the Austrian Music Theater Prize 2020, the Seefestspiele were awarded the prize for the best youth and children's music theater production for Land of Smiles for Children.

Important Info
Type: Musical
City: Mörbisch am See, Austria
Starts at: 20:30
Sung in: German
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