CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The Charlottetown Festival production of “Mamma Mia!” was cancelled Wednesday night due to the illness of a cast member.
“One person was affected but it was a key role,” says Steve Bellamy, chief executive officer of the Confederation Centre of the Arts.
The person’s name remains confidential for privacy reasons.
People who bought tickets for the Aug. 15 show will be compensated.
“We feel terrible about the cancellation. People are able to contact the box office and can exchange their tickets from last night for any show that remains in the Charlottetown Festival, whether it’s ‘Mamma Mia’ or something else.
“Also, if they are unable to attend another show, we’ll refund their tickets.”
The good news is the show will be back on the boards Thursday night, so people will be able to enjoy the high-energy musical filled with ABBA hits.
“The show will go on. We have sorted out a solution for tonight.”
To make some of the changes needed to ensure the show goes on, it will start a half hour later. For people who don’t get the message and arrive early, there will be a half hour of live entertainment.
“So, it will be an 8:30 p.m. curtain tonight.”
Based on the music of ABBA, the high-energy musical is about Donna, an independent, single mother who owns a small hotel on a Greek island. She is about see her daughter, Sophie, get married. After reading her mother’s diary, Sophie secretly invites three guests of her own. On a quest to find the identity of her father to walk her down the aisle, she brings back three men from Donna’s past to the Greek paradise they last visited two decades ago.
