by Harry Duke *

Transcendence Theatre Company closes out their 2026 Broadway Under the Stars series with the popular ABBA jukebox musical Mamma Mia! It’s the show’s first Sonoma County appearance after a couple of Marin County mountings including a 2018 production by The Mountain Play atop Mt. Tamalpais and a season-closing production just this past May by the Novato Theater Company. The Transcendence production, directed by Tony Gonzalez, runs outdoors on the Field of Dreams in Sonoma through Aug. 30. 

You don’t have to like or even know the work of the Swedish pop music supergroup ABBA, but it sure helps as you’re gonna hear about two dozen of their songs before the night is over. They’ve been worked (some more successfully than others) into a somewhat nonsensical plot about a bride-to-be’s wedding day plan to meet her heretofore unknown father.   

After reading her mother’s diary, twenty-year-old Sophie Sheridan (Karsten Lane Flake) has invited the three men her mother Donna (Allsion Pierce) had a fling with twenty one years ago to attend her Greek isle wedding at her mother’s small taverna and guest house: Sam (Blake Whyte), Harry (Matt Gibson), and Bill (Brian Ray Norris). In no time at all, she manages to invite all three to walk her down the aisle, deceive and alienate her fiancé Sky (Elton J. Tanega), and tick off her mother. Fear not, all will be resolved by show’s end. 

Folks don’t come to musicals like this for the plot, they come for the music and the cast gathered by director Gonzalez and the musicians gathered by music director Susan Draus and conducted by Kenji Harada deliver the goods. 

Strong vocals are a hallmark of Transcendence productions with Flake’s delivery of “I Have a Dream” and Pearce’s wrenching “The Winner Takes It All” good examples.  

The ensemble pieces spotlighting choreography by Monica Kapoor were a highlight including “Money, Money, Money” and “Lay All Your Love on Me” featuring the famous flipper ‘ballet’. 

The cast is uniformly strong, but the fine comedic work by Lori Haley Fox as Donna’s friend Rosie really stood out. Fox has been affiliated with almost every iteration of the show including the original 1999 West End production, the Broadway run, the National Tour, and the 2008 film. She’s a hoot.

Transcendence stepped up their technical game with nice scenic design work by director Gonzalez. Sight lines. though, were an occasional issue, particularly with the cast entering from all over the field. Having your audience strain to see what’s going on is never a good thing.

Lighting, by Søren Olsen, doesn’t really come into play until after dark, but then adds some nice atmosphere. Costumes, under the supervision of Melinda Hare, are light and breezy. A few mics came on late but that timing should get ironed out over the run.

Mamma Mia! is the theatrical equivalent of a popcorn movie in that it really serves no purpose other than to entertain and no great thought is required to enjoy it. The swinging and swaying opening night audience was just fine with that.

Transcendence Theatre Company’s ‘Mamma Mia!’ runs Thurs-Sun through Aug 30 at the Field of Dreams, 151 First Street West, Sonoma. Venue opens @ 5pm, show starts @ 7pm. $44–$165. 877.424.1414. bestnightever.org

Photos by Ray Mabry

This review originally appeared in an edited version in the North Bay Bohemian.