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We had a blast. And this production—with mostly Filipino performers—did a remarkable job of interweaving the ethnicity of the actors into the characterizations, leaning into Pinoyness rather than circling around it. Stick dancing! Catholicism & Tagalog jokes! Men in barongs! 👍
It was an interesting decision because it led me to fill in the backstory of the characters in a way the original MAMMA MIA didn’t allow. There’s no real explanation for any of the characters’ narratives in the Broadway show, and it’s overlooked, because it’s just a lark.
But...a nightclub singer who gets pregnant while performing in Europe, is cut off by her family, and through sheer will goes from domestic care worker to business owner?
Given the context of Filipino guest workers on cruise ships and at resorts, it all starts to come together.
Given the context of Filipino guest workers on cruise ships and at resorts, it all starts to come together.
It makes you feel like MAMMA MIA should’ve had a Filipino cast of characters all along.
Filipinos are the only people who can sing the hell out of an ABBA song better than the Swedish originals anyway.
Filipinos are the only people who can sing the hell out of an ABBA song better than the Swedish originals anyway.
Funny enough the flight I’m on has MAMMA MIA: HERE WE GO AGAIN
It shows the origins of “Donna & the Dynamos” as the rebellion of a privileged white girl who flies to Europe to protest her mom’s skipping her graduation
EWP’s implied Filipino backstory is more interesting
It shows the origins of “Donna & the Dynamos” as the rebellion of a privileged white girl who flies to Europe to protest her mom’s skipping her graduation
EWP’s implied Filipino backstory is more interesting
