INTERVIEW: Expect to dance at ‘Mania: The Abba Tribute’ in PA
Photo: Mania: The Abba Tribute heads to the State Theatre in Easton, Pennsylvania, on Friday, Feb. 9. Photo courtesy of Mania / Provided by the State Theatre with permission.
Somehow Abba is as popular as ever, even though the legendary Swedish band hasn’t toured in decades. Much of their continued success is thanks to Mamma Mia!, a musical that continues to play in the West End, and they’re now in good company with a new Abba avatar experience playing on the opposite side of London. Tribute acts populate the performing arts centers of the world, and one of the most respected in the field is called Mania: The Abba Show, featuring a talented group of singers and musicians bedecked in sequins and platform shoes.
Mania, which plays Friday, Feb. 9, at the State Theatre in Easton, Pennsylvania, has been touring the world for nearly a quarter century. Based on that history alone, this is one of the top tribute acts on the planet. Alison Ward has been portraying real-life singer Agnetha Fältskog for more than a decade in the Mania show, and she is loving the current North American tour.
“We’re having a lot of fun,” Ward said in a recent phone interview. “Obviously, tour life is both things. It’s great. It’s a lot of fun seeing the audiences, but obviously being on a tour bus for a long time is quite a lot. But we enjoy it because we love the show, and we’re a good little family on the bus. We’re having a lot of fun.”
Ward likes to call Mania one huge party for the assembled crowd — and what a crowd it will be in Easton; the show is nearing sell-out status. The actual experience is a reenactment of a late-1970s concert that Abba played, which means audience members will be catching the “band” in their heyday, with all of the hit tunes present and accounted for, everything from “Waterloo” to “Dancing Queen” to “Mamma Mia.” Ward promises that most people will know all of the words for the entire evening.
“We encourage everyone to sing along and dance along, and that’s what everyone needs to expect,” she said. “Be ready to join in a good-old, feel-good evening of cheesy Abba pop — a lot of sparkles, a lot of high energy, a live band, production, lots of sparkly lights, sparkly costumes and platforms, and that’s for the guys as well.”
The singer said she is a natural brunette, but she becomes another person when she puts on the blonde wig and portrays Fältskog on stage. She likened the experience of entering another world. The sequins, the big boots and the wig help her get into character and become one-quarter of the Abba act. “I’m not Alison anymore,” she said. “I’m Agnetha, so that’s how we get into character — the costumes, sparkles. I think the guys are getting used to the heels and the platforms now.”
Ward auditioned for the show back in England in 2010. Mania was holding an open call for performers, and her singing skills placed her at the top of the list for consideration. Now it has been a decade and a half of nonstop Abba. “I get the big task of singing ‘The Winner Takes It All’ every night, and some of these Abba songs, as pop and lovely and fun as they are, they are quite sad some of the songs,” Ward said. “So singing ‘The Winner Takes It All’ is always a big moment for me every night. It’s quite a big, poignant part of the show. I’m definitely living vicariously through my blonde-wigged character of Aggy, which I call her.”
Ward has been in a musical family her entire life. She grew up attending dance school, and she had Abba playing in the house when she was a little girl. In fact, she believes that childhood of hearing the Swedish band on the radio is an experience shared by millions of people around the world.
“I feel like most people growing up, whether you’re an Abba fan or not, you definitely come across one of their hits over the years,” Ward said. “Obviously as Mamma Mia! was released and definitely since I’ve been in the show, I feel like I hear Abba in every grocery store, every mall. I feel like I’m surrounded by Abba … but I’m definitely a bigger fan since being with the show.”
She added: “Honestly, it’s just feel-good music. I’ve sang some of these songs hundreds, maybe thousands of times now. It’s just the feel, the words. It’s not crazy pop, hardcore rock or anything, not jamming out too hard. It’s just light-hearted fun. … That’s what I say to anyone coming to the show: You don’t have to be a huge Abba fan, but for the evening that we provide, we definitely like people to relax, join in, sway those hands, dance up and down. I will guarantee that everyone leaves feeling just as good. It’s a feel-good evening, for sure.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Mania: The Abba Show, featuring Alison Ward, plays Friday, Feb. 9, at the State Theatre in Easton, Pennsylvania. Click here for more information and tickets.
