Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

‘Mamma Mia!’ returning to Las Vegas Strip at the Tropicana

Broadway Season 2 at The Smith Center

Kirvin Doak Communications

Mamma Mia” is part of the Broadway Season 2 lineup at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Downtown Las Vegas.

‘Mamma Mia!’

Sky (played by Victor Wallace) and his fiancee Sophie Sophie (played by Jill Paice) ,center, dance during a scene in the musical Mama Mia at the Mandalay Bay Sunday February 2, 2003. Launch slideshow »

The renovated Tropicana Theater is hosting that hotel’s first resident musical production since “Folies Bergere” closed four years ago, and it’s a proven hit on the Strip. “Mamma Mia!” is returning to Las Vegas, set to open at the Trop in the spring of 2014.

The show has been long-rumored to be setting up at the Trop, and in September colleague Robin Leach reported the likelihood of it returning to the Strip. No ticket prices or dates have been specified.

The musical spent six strong years at Mandalay Bay before moving out in 2008 as “Disney’s The Lion King” moved in.

The show is still well-received around the world, with 13 versions either in residency or currently on tour, including shows on Broadway (where it is among only five shows to run 10 years or longer) and on London’s West End (where it has been performed 6,000 times). The U.S. tour of “Mamma Mia!” stops at Reynolds Hall in Smith Center from Jan. 7-12.

The musical’s creator and producer Judy Craymer said in a statement, “It’s so exciting that ‘Mamma Mia!’ is returning to fabulous Las Vegas. We are so thrilled to be invited to the New Tropicana. It is the perfect hotel for us to bring the original show back to the Strip among the glamor and excitement of this legendary playground.”

The new Tropicana Theater is big, bold and beautiful, no question.

The old “Folies” showroom has been given a thorough upgrade, with showroom booths and tables set up near the front of the stage and proper theater seating leading to the back. The room is bathed in a deep red and has been expanded since the “Folies” days to seat as many as 1,100.

But the new Trop theater has not been busy since it reopened this year. Its biggest shows were performances by the band Chicago opening the venue in February. Most recently, the venue hosted the first Miss Asian Las Vegas Pageant. But now officials are eager to roll out a proven Broadway hit to a room that suits such a show ideally.

As Tropicana Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Fred Harmon said in a statement, “Our newly renovated, state-of-the-art Tropicana Theater is the perfect venue for the return of the show that set the standard for Broadway in Las Vegas.”

Boyz II Men Opening Night at The Mirage

Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman and Nate Morris of Boyz II Men perform on opening night of Boyz II Men's residency at The Mirage on Friday, March 1, 2013. Launch slideshow »

• The spirited Boyz II Men production at the Mirage has been extended through the spring of 2014.

Tickets for performances at Terry Fator Theater scheduled January through April are $39.99, $49.99 and $59.99 (not including tax and service fees). They are on sale now at any MGM Resorts ticketing outlet, online at Mirage.com and by calling (800) 963-9634 or (702) 792-7777.

“We are thrilled and honored to be a part of the Mirage family for a second year in a row. The Mirage’s reputation is unmatched for hosting the biggest and the brightest entertainment on the Strip,” Nathan Morris, founding member of Boyz II Men, said in a statement. “There is no place we would rather be!”

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.

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