Very Greek: Don’t Myth Mamma Mia!’s Serious Side
In searching for her mother, Sophie becomes her—and vice versa
The Broadway Maven’s fourth Advanced Sondheim Academy kicks off with a dazzling deep dive into Into the Woods, in a FREE one-time class on Tuesday, May 6 at Noon ET.
In the first half-hour, Sondheim Hub creator and Sondheim theorist Alex Marsden unpacks the Baker’s poignant journey through the show’s lyrical and musical transformations. In the second half-hour, Broadway Maven David Benkof brings sharp insight and wit to the show’s comedic brilliance, revealing how Lapine and Sondheim’s humor enriches the story’s emotional core.
Shalom, Broadway lovers!
In today’s special issue of MARQUEE: The Broadway Maven’s Weekly Blast: A) an extended essay proposing a more meaningful way of thinking about Mamma Mia!, through the lens of the mother-daughter relationship rather than the search for a father; B) a Broadway Blast about Avenue Q; C) an “instrumental” Broadway quiz; and D) a Last Blast about Oklahoma!.
ESSAY: At a key moment in Mamma Mia!, a mother brushes her daughter’s hair in front of a mirror. No disco lights, no dads in sight. Just two women, side by side, reflecting on each other—and themselves. Yet that mirror, the focus of the song "Slipping Through My Fingers," is in some ways the central symbol of the show.
That's because, at its heart, Mamma Mia is a role reversal. Sophie starts the show headed toward a white wedding and a conventional married life, while Donna proudly faces life without relying on a husband per se. By the end of the show, their situations have swapped. The emotional reversals might not involve a body swap, but this is Freaky Friday for grown-ups—with ABBA, sand, and sequins
The transition becomes clear when looking at four touchstone songs in the show.
"Honey, Honey." The journey starts with “Honey, Honey,” the show’s first big number—and one that’s easy to underestimate. It’s playful, peppy, full of diary gossip and girlish glee. But beneath the sugar rush is something deeper. Sophie may claim she just wants her father at her wedding, but the scene tells a different story. She isn’t just flipping through Donna’s past for names—she’s searching for meaning. For connection. For the woman her mother was before she became “Mom.”
At first, Sophie’s performance of the diary entries is lighthearted. She mimics Donna’s voice, reenacts her words, and invites her friends to laugh along. But as the lyrics shift, so does the emotional tone: “I’d heard about you before I wanted to know some more And now I’m about to see What you mean to me.” That’s not Donna talking anymore. That’s Sophie. The voice has changed. The giggles have quieted. The performance becomes personal—and emotional. She’s no longer just quoting her mother. She’s addressing her mother’s past directly, trying to understand it. Even the show’s creators nudge us toward this shift.
In ABBA’s original version of the song, the line ends cheekily: “You’re a love machine.” But in the stage version, that innuendo is dropped. The joke gives way to a revelation. Because Mamma Mia! isn’t, at heart, a show about a search for a father. It’s a show about a search for a mother—and the girl trying to find her by reaching back through time.
"Slipping Through My Fingers." If “Honey, Honey” is a daughter’s search for her mother’s past, then “Slipping Through My Fingers” is a mother reckoning with what that past has cost her. As Donna brushes Sophie’s hair in front of a mirror, the moment looks gentle—but the lyrics speak of guilt, loss, and something closer to regret.
"What happened to those wonderful adventures?” “And a sense of guilt I can’t deny.”
Donna isn’t lamenting that her daughter’s growing up—she’s mourning a version of life she never got to live. Not just because time moved quickly, but because she did it alone. The line between maternal pride and personal grief blurs, and for the first time, Donna seems to want something more—someone beside her.
Meanwhile, Sophie sits quietly. She doesn’t sing. She lets the wedding happen around her. There’s no defiance yet—but also no drive. In this moment, marriage isn’t something she’s claiming; it’s something being done to her. The mirror captures not just tenderness, but imbalance. One woman is rethinking solitude. The other is beginning to feel the weight of tradition.
"The Winner Takes it All." Donna’s aria—and the show’s most classically Greek moment—is “The Winner Takes It All." Donna stands center stage, alone, caught in the emotional wreckage of decisions made long ago. Fate, memory, abandonment, regret—she lays them all bare. And while the song is directed at Sam, its emotional trigger is Sophie. It’s Sophie’s search that has summoned this speech from the past. “The gods may throw a dice…” That line doesn’t just reference chance—it evokes myth. Donna is no longer just a mother. She’s a tragic heroine, grappling with choices that shaped her life and her daughter’s. The role reversal deepens here: Sophie, once seeking control, now watches her mother become vulnerable. Donna, once avoiding vulnerability, steps straight into it. This is the turning point—not of plot, but of identity.
"I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do." The music swells with “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do,” but the most important action comes from someone who doesn’t sing a word. Sophie steps aside, not out of defeat, but clarity. She thought this moment was hers—but it turns out, it belongs to Donna. And Donna, who once rejected commitment, now accepts it with a joy that surprises even her.
In this exchange—no dialogue, just gesture and presence—the role reversal becomes complete. Sophie gives her mother a wedding. Donna gives her daughter an exit. It’s not a switch. It’s an act of mutual rewriting.
And by the time the curtain falls, the reversal is complete. Donna walks toward a future she never expected—one that includes partnership, vows, and perhaps a second chance. Sophie, in turn, chooses not to marry. But it’s not rebellion—it’s recognition. She no longer needs a ceremony to define her. She’s no longer reenacting her mother’s past. She’s rewriting her own.
It all began in front of a mirror—and in a way, it ends there, too. The mirror is gone, but its meaning lingers. Sophie no longer sees Donna as a puzzle to solve or a relic of a past she can’t understand. She sees her as a full person—flawed, strong, uncertain, evolving. And in that clarity, Sophie sees herself more fully, too. She set out looking for a father, but found instead a fuller picture of her mother—and, in the process, herself.
BROADWAY BLAST: Sesame Street teaches kids they’re special, but Avenue Q breaks the news that they aren’t. Princeton (whose name suggests privilege and power) starts out searching for his “purpose,” but every answer he finds is unsatisfying, temporary, or just plain wrong. Even the puppets' physical qualities reinforce the message—bright, colorful, and full of life, yet stuck in a world of rent, rejection, and regret. Avenue Q isn’t cynical, though; it just swaps childhood’s easy answers for something messier but real. Life may suck-a-suck, but at least the songs are catchy!
QUIZ: Which Broadway shows have these lyrics referring to musical instruments? Answers at the end of the newsletter below the Last Blast:
1. “Where the gin is cold but the piano’s hot”
2. “Double-belled euphoniums and big bassoons"
3. “The lady ain't been born can take the place of a horn with a cornet man”
4. "Hound dog howl and the whistle blow"
5. "A song played on a solo saxophone"
6. "Bump it with a trumpet"
7. "Will you be ready to go when I blow my horn?"
8. “Sing us a song, you're the piano man"
9. "Singing our space songs on a spider web sitar"
10. "He plays the violin He tucks it right under his chin"
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• Monday, April 28 Noon and 7 pm ET The Wizard of Oz (Members only)
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• Tuesday, May 6 Noon ET Sondheim Academy: Into the Woods (Register here)
• Monday, May 12 Noon and 7 pm ET The Broadway Institute (1960s and 1970s) (Members only)
• Tuesday, May 13 Noon ET Sondheim Academy: Merrily We Roll Along (Members only)
• Monday, May 19 Noon and 7 pm ET The Broadway Institute (1980s and 1990s) (Members only)
• Tuesday, May 20 Noon ET Sondheim Academy: Sunday in the Park with George (Members only)
LAST BLAST: “Kansas City” in Oklahoma! is often played for laughs—Will Parker’s wide-eyed amazement at modern inventions and big-city indulgences. But it’s not just a comic number. It’s a subtle signpost of what’s coming for the entire community. The musical begins on the open prairie, with cowboys, farmers, and homesteaders—but “Kansas City” introduces progress, danger, and spectacle. The city has burlesque shows, motorcars, and buildings seven stories high. Will might be dazzled, but his song is a warning disguised as excitement. Oklahoma! is set during a turning point in American life: the closing of the frontier and the rise of urban modernity. “Kansas City” isn't about one man’s trip—it's about a whole culture on the brink of change. And what makes it brilliant is that the future arrives with a grin, a tap dance, and a lasso.
ANSWERS TO QUIZ: Chicago, The Music Man, Funny Girl, Hadestown, Miss Saigon, Gypsy, Anything Goes, Movin' Out, Hair, 1776
The Broadway Maven is a vibrant educational community that helps its members think more deeply about musical theater. Every month, members may attend 5-15 expert-led classes and innovative Broadway experiences, all for just $18. We also foster enthusiasm for Broadway through the FREE weekly Substack newsletter MARQUEE and host an expansive YouTube channel. It's your home for Broadway appreciation. Contact The Broadway Maven at DavidBenkof@gmail.com.