Theatrical longevity? ‘Mamma Mia!’ yes

LONDON —  When the musical “Mamma Mia!” opened in London on April 6, 1999, few expected that a mother-daughter drama set on a Greek island and scored to the songs of ABBA would go very far.

After all, it was merely “filler” at the Prince Edward Theatre until the much splashier “Ragtime” transferred from Broadway. “Ragtime,” though, eventually came to a different London theater in 2003, where it quickly folded despite decent reviews.

And “Mamma Mia!” became an international phenomenon. It celebrates its fifth anniversary next week, with 11 productions playing around the world and six more due to open in the next 18 months. (It returns to Los Angeles on April 22 for a run at the Pantages Theatre through June 12.)

“It’s like having a child that won’t stop growing,” Catherine Johnson, author of the musical’s book, says.

Currently generating more than $8 million a week in ticket sales, “Mamma Mia!” has grossed more than $750 million worldwide, including $200 million on the West End and $150 million in New York.

If the current box office activity continues, the show should easily pass the billion-dollar mark set by “The Phantom of the Opera.”

Still, solid business is one thing; stratospheric is another. “Mamma Mia!” has yet to open in a city or country where it hasn’t clicked, whether you’re talking Korea, the Netherlands or Australia. The show claims to have been seen by almost one in every 10 Australians.

That’s not bad, given that many musicals -- “The Producers,” “Rent” or even “Les Miserables” -- don’t always connect with the public.

Why, then, does “Mamma Mia!” -- which uses songs from a Swedish pop group that disbanded in the early 1980s -- work?

Director Phyllida Lloyd points to the genuine affection and seriousness of purpose with which the show was conceived.

“We never ever imagined that we were working on a hit,” she says. “We treated it very humbly.

“We were absolutely, ferociously trying to mine a drama, and we treated it very seriously and not remotely cynically; none of us thought, ‘This is going to be a gravy train.’ ”

Designer Mark Thompson agrees. “The thing is, I don’t think ‘Mamma Mia!’ was ever approached as a way to make money; it was always approached as a new book musical.”