Mamma Mia Theatre vs. Film Review

Introduction

Mamma Mia is based on ABBA sons composed by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. These were former members of the band who later became actors of the same play in 1995. The movie "Mamma Mia" was released in 2008 by the director Phyllida Lloyd. As the theatre act, Mamma Mia film has several dance sons where actors dance on stage. These songs make the movie interesting and also express the mood of different scenes in the movie. The sons are also used to explain what the actors are performing. The film stars Amanda Seyfried (Sophia) and Meryl Streep (Donna), along with Pierce Brosnan (Sam), Colin Firth (Harry), and Stellan Skarsgard (bill). The director utilizes several theatrical elements to such as onsets and location, prop and acting. He also uses other elements of drama such as light and song. These elements allow for the development of a movie with meaning and the objective. The director did a successful work by creating a credible and astonishing plot where the main character plans a wedding and invites three men whom she suspects that one could be her father. Although she did not get married to her prince charming, her father takes the opportunity to propose marriage to her mother and they get married immediately. The paper will describe the six theatrical elements drama used in 'Mamma Mia'.

The Sets

The movie was filmed in Greece particularly in the Island. It pictures the beautiful beaches and hotels were the characters were planning to have their wedding. The location makes conveniences the audience that the main characters were planning to love each other and live happily for the rest of their lives. The choice of this location makes everything appear real as the lighting was only what would have happened during the specific time of day. On the Broadway stage, both the stage and backstage were limited. The setting was also a Greek island but its locations were simple and minuscule. A cylindrical block with three sides was the only visible item for the stage show. The actors and other crew used a simple method to change from one scene to another as they just rotate the block to the correct location. In some cases, they remove or add decorations, flowers, tables, and chairs to change the setting. The show takes in two days hence to change the time light was changed to dim or bright. The light was also changed based on sons that played which is normally the case with theatre shows. Lighting is important in the show because it makes the audience part of the story because it makes them change the mood of the situation or highlight a comedy. The audience comes out of the world of the show to reality.

The Location

Watching the movie and sitting in a theatre (Broadway) are totally different experiences because at the theatre the audience gets the choreography which may not be the case in movies. In theatre, the audience may shift from one position to another and have a clear view of the dancers' movements. On the other hand, when watching the film the audience cannot move but instead watches what the cameras have captured. Although the team may try to manipulate what the audience see in the theatre they may look where they please. Sometimes this makes them miss an important moment of the plot. This is different from the screen as the team decides what the audience will see. At the theatre, it is difficult to identify the emotions of the actors because sometimes one can only hear their voices. The theatre room is largely making it hard to play to the entire audience. In both stage and screen the encore songs for instance at the end of the film Dynamos and Donna along with Sam, Sophie, and Sky, Bill sin "Waterloo" and "Dancing Queen". Similarly, in the stage production, the band strikes back after the bows to perform the reappearance of "Mamma Mia". At this point, they request their audience to sing and dance along and it is one of the most joyous experiences you will ever have. The same happens to the movie where the actors dance simple steps that the audience can follow and enjoy the songs.

Prop

"Mamma Mia" film is based on a story of a young woman named Sophie who is planning her wedding. The wedding is scheduled to take place in two weeks. However, Sophie lives with her mother in a small hostel on the island. She finds her mother's old diaries before her wedding where she gets clues about her father. Sophie does not know her ad but she wants him to give her away of her big day. The irony in the story is that there three men who can be her dad and therefore he invites them all to her wedding without her mother's consent in hope of finding out whom her father. The movie was a basic story with no subplots and it consists of more music than the story. The major theme of the story is love and the director demonstrated it effectively as it was set up well and it set the scene for the actors. Another interesting element was the path that was broken up into numerous pieces that could elevate off the floor to represent a pier, stairs, or a pathway. The blue wall was the main background and it was constantly shimmered. The wall appeared to be moving although, in reality, it was not.

The movie portrays the happiness and struggles of seldom women in modern society. They want to be independent and the work hard and achieve success on their own. Despite their accomplishments, they are victims of gender stereotypes since they believe that the life of a woman at any given age can only be complete with a man. Any film, movie or a song should incorporate the importance of women independence so that all the gender stereotypes can be put to an end because it lowers the status of women in the current world. Each and every woman should be given power, authority and the respect they deserve in all means of media and communication without any fear or shame in so doing. When a woman emerges whether single or married deserve to be incorporated into the community with love and understanding rather than being rejected because of their bravery and ambitions. In the play there was a great use of props, an example of this is the pieces of scenery that were kept onstage throughout the whole performance to represent different parts of the island and building.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the shows were compelling due to their physical setting and lighting which worked with the scenes, costumes, and sound design to evoke my moods and support the production movement. Lighting was well enhanced with production and improved my skills about stage management. The costumes made the people look real and authentic.