By TEDDY ALLEN/Designated Writers

The entire DW Front Office went and saw Mamma Mia at Shreveport Little Theatre during its recent extended run.

And the entire DW Front Office staff remains enraptured. This is not an overstatement.

One of the staff (me) saw it four times. That’s 100 bucks well spent; one ticket was a freebie, thanks to a connection to one of the principals/principles (?) in the performance, who got two free tickets for the run. I got one; one went to our daughter. Lucky girl.

The run ended a bit over a week ago. Every performance was sold out. The initial run was sold out the day after the first show and the four added performances were sold out the day after they were added. The waiting list was eight pages.

People love this show. And if you want to go to an SLT musical, the advice is to be quick on the trigger. (“Oh, it won’t sell out.” Yes: it will.)

I was wrong about Mamma Mia. As DW wrote previously, we liked Chicago and Gypsy more. But that is only a matter of taste. And what sold this production of this carefree show to me was how much energy the cast put into it. The ensemble never let up, and if you ain’t got an ensemble, you ain’t got nuthin’.

A few things:

Can’t wait to see what next year’s musical will be.

My man John John, who can and who does fix anything that’s broken on the Louisiana Tech campus, came over to Shreveport from Ruston with his precious wife Leslie and saw his first musical. Can’t wait for another one.

“I think I’m spoiled,” he told me, “because I think I saw a good one.”

He did.

I am not a big fan of the movie at all but now wish I’d forked out the capital outlay necessary to have seen more live SLT performances. But I’m glad some other fans got my seat.

People will surprise you with how talented they are and with how much energy they are willing to put into a team effort. This sold-out run, these 20ish performances, are a testament to that.

Bravo. Wish I could go again tonight.

Stuff is going on all over the place in the art world I am sure and I need to find out what and where and when, but what I am certain of is that Who’s In Bed With The Butler? is SLT’s next offering, and It begins September 5. Break!

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