‘Mamma Mia’ actress likes
saving the best for last

By Rita Charleston
For the Times

"Don’t leave at the curtain call!"
So says Susan McMonagle, one of the stars of Mamma Mia!, the ground-breaking global smash hit now on tour and settled into the Academy of Music through July 27.
"And that’s because there’s much more to come — including a finale featuring dazzling costumes, and an amazing band," she said. "I’ll be out there with others, wearing a tight lime-green sequined outfit of spandex without the spanx. We’ll be belting out great songs with hand-held microphones the audience will really enjoy."
The story of Mamma Mia! revolves around an independent single mother, Donna (played by McMonagle), who owns a small hotel on an idyllic Greek island, and is about to let go of Sophie, the spirited daughter she’s raised alone.
For Sophie’s wedding, Donna has invited her two lifelong best girlfriends from her one-time backup band to the festivities. But Sophie has secretly invited three guests of her own.
On a quest to find the father she’s never known to walk her down the aisle, she brings back three men from her mother’s past, and so the fun begins.
Part of the Cadillac Broadway Series and now a major motion picture starring Meryl Streep, and inspired by the storytelling magic of ABBA songs from Dancing Queen and S.O.S. to Money, Money, Money and Take a Chance on Me, Mamma Mia! Is a celebration of mothers and daughters, old friends and new family found.
And McMonagle is proud and happy to be part of the celebration.
"This show has been around for years, and I think one reason for that is that it’s a show everyone can relate to," she said. "It’s all pretty universal, and people’s fondness for ABBA’s music is sort of a guilty pleasure, meaning people like to make fun of saying it’s all so seventies, yet are able to sing all the songs."
McMonagle said another reason for the show’s success is the writers.
"Of course, the songs came first, but the writers have managed to weave a pretty good story from song to song," she said. "It’s a question of tongue firmly planted in cheek. By the time we go on, it’s just a matter of all of us — cast and audience — having a really good time."
McMonagle, who grew up in Littleton, Colo., originally had her heart set on becoming a figure skater.
"But at one point while I was a junior in high school and not getting anywhere, my coach suggested I take three months off and try out for the tennis team or get involved in a play," she said.
"Well," she continued, "I didn’t make the tennis team, but I tried out for a play and got a part. I think that’s when I was bitten by the bug. I had always loved theater but at that time didn’t know enough about it to think of it as a possible career. So I thought maybe I’d just try doing it for a little while and then get a ‘real job’ later on. But here I am all these many, many years later."
Along the way, the actress played Fantine on Broadway in Les Miserables. She also did national tours of The Sound of Music, The Secret Garden, Les Miserables and Pump Boys and Dinettes.
Listing several of her favorite roles — including the one she is now performing — she said there are many great moments about her life on the stage:
"For me, it’s about spending two and a half hours where I don’t have to worry about anything but what I’m doing. And what I’m doing is one of the greatest things I can ever imagine doing. ••
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