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The global smash hit musical Mamma Mia! is to return to Belfast next year for a run of 18 nights at the Odyssey Arena, it was announced today.
The world-famous production, based on the songs of Abba, will play at the venue from March 10-29, 2008 as part of its international tour.
Once again the Belfast Telegraph will be the media partner of the show, which was a massive success and sold out each night last year.
Inspired by the story-telling magic of Abba's timeless songs, writer Catherine Johnson's sunny, funny tale of family and friendship unfolds on a tiny Greek island.
On the eve of her wedding, a daughter's quest to discover the identity of her father brings three men from her mother's past back to the island which they last visited 20 years ago.
The production features 22 of Abba's hits including Dancing Queen, I Have A Dream, Knowing Me, Knowing You, The Winner Takes It All, Take A Chance On Me and Voulez-Vous.
With more productions playing simultaneously around the world than any other musical, Mamma Mia! is among the top shows in the world with eight current global productions.
Over the last three years the tour has visited Dublin, Edinburgh, South Africa, Lisbon, Paris, various cities in Germany, Copenhagen, Riga, Tel Aviv, Shangai, Beijing, Dubai, and Belfast. It has been seen by more than two million people.
The musical has also been translated from English into eight languages - German, Japanese, Dutch, Korean, Spanish, Swedish, Flemish and Russian.
Since its stage premier in 1999 Mamma Mia! has gone on to gross over £155m at the UK box office and over $$2b worldwide. More than 30 million have seen the show worldwide.
The musical was written by Catherine Johnson, with music and lyrics by Abba's Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. It is directed by Phyllida Lloyd, with choreography by Anthony Van Laast, production design by Mark Thompson, lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Andrew Bruce and Bobby Aitken and musical supervision, additional material and arrangements by Martin Koch.
A film is also being made of Mamma Mia, starring Hollywood actors Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan.
