Today was a real treat, as I had front row, centre seat tickets to see Mamma Mia in Carré. And not just two of them, either, but also a third, so that Eloïse could enjoy it, too.
It was another freezing cold day, with snow falling for most of the morning. After lunch, we dropped Lucas at Mina’s house, as she had kindly offered to babysit him, and then biked through the snow to Carré for Eloïse’s first adult musical. She’d seen Nijntje Op Vakantie a couple of years ago, but this was theatre for grown-ups; the real thing!
She did very well, I must say. It’s a three hour show with only a short intermission, which is a long time for a four year old to have to sit still and not talk. She seemed enthralled, overwhelmed even, by the action taking place on the stage just a few centimetres in front of her nose. We really did have the best seats in the house and saw every aspect of the show in glorious detail.
We’d played the CD of the musical to her a few times in the days leading up to the show, and we’ll try to engrave in her mind the memory of the experience today with a few more plays in the days ahead. Eloïse says that her favourite songs today were Mamma Mia itself, Dancing Queen and Zo Ben Ik, Zo Ben Jij (better known as Knowing Me, Knowing You).
This was my fourth time to see Mamma Mia and, like the music of Abba itself, the show never loses its sheen through repetition. The song-writing genius of the Andersson and Ulvaeus partnership is an enduring cultural legacy, no matter how uncool it may be to confess such a belief.