Mamma Mia! Israelis are Dancing Queens

June 19, 2007 - 10:43 AM by

The big news in Israel is not just what’s going on in Gaza or Lebanon but even bigger news from the United Kingdom.

Calls for boycotts coming out from the UK unions? Nope. Guess Again.

Give up? Alright, I’ll tell you ….

Mamma Mia, it’s one of Israel’s largest international performances – the British production of Mamma Mia, featuring the hit songs of ABBA, in Tel Aviv!

Despite FALSE reports in some UK newspapers that Israelis were threatening to boycott the British production , the production – lasting several weeks – has been the talk of the country. And of my house.

For several months, my wife had been bugging me to see the show, and so (because I’m such a loving husband, of course) I got tickets as a birthday/anniversary present and so, after work last night, we went to Tel Aviv to see the show.

The stadium (it is playing at Tel Aviv’s basketball stadium, Heichal Nokia, because that is the only location in Israel large enough to stage the play) was packed by 8:30 (with most people, in typical Israeli fashion, arriving at the last minute. Yet the show only started a few minutes late at 8:37 despite the late arrivals).

Growing up in Washington, seeing shows at the Kennedy Center, National Theatre, and even arenas like the old Capital Centre and the MCI Center, we both were a bit disappointed upon entering Heichal Nokia. Billed as the only venue in Israel with the capacity to host the performances, it was smaller than my university’s old (but legendary) basketball arena. Too typical of Israel, we thought. On the other hand, it also meant that our nosebleed seats weren’t as far away then nosebleed seats at other arenas and so we could still see the performance – which was good because the two screens at the side had running (mis)translations into Hebrew rather than live video of the performance.

Yet, when the show began, all was forgotten. Dance after dance, song after song, the crowd (a mix of upper-middle class secular Sabras and a handful of religious Anglo immigrants) kept on singing and dancing. I hadn’t seen such enthusiasm at any show or even concert I had been to at top-venues in the US. Maybe it was the ABBA songs but I suspect some of it was simply Israeli enthusiasm.

Song after song, the crowd grew more and more enthusiastic, the singing and cheering louder each time (but yet, still respectful to the performers). By the encores, the crowd was on their toes dancing and singing in the aisles.

The stadium may have been a bit small for my taste, but the enthusiasm and spirit was overflowing. Truly, these Israelis were “dancing queens” (and kings).

Check it out for yourself – a few tickets are left but they’ll be gone soon!

Tags: • Category: Art, General, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Pop Culture 

Comments

One Comment on Mamma Mia! Israelis are Dancing Queens

  1. I Wanna See Nathan Lane as Herod | Benji Lovitt on Sun, Jan 16th 2011 2:49 PM

    2. [...] we had back in our home countries but theater shouldn’t be one of them. After all, “Mamma Mia” came a few years ago. Then it was “Avenue Q” in Hebrew. Now, my Tony-loving readers, [...]

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