Somewhere deep inside MAMMA MIA! The Musical there’s a rather engaging 80-minute play trying to get out. The musical’s story is relatively engaging but I’d like to explore the setting and the culture and the mythology more.

But that’s just me. No-one else could care less about that. At least not the shrieking hordes surrounding me in the Lyric Theatre at QPAC Saturday night.

I mean, who doesn’t love the music of ABBA? Am I the only one with my hand up right now?

If music was nutrition ABBA would be a relatively light meal that would soon leave you hungry again. Like take-away.

I know people love this stuff and they sing along during the show which is a tad annoying. Yes, we all know the words to Dancing Queen, S.O.S. and Take a Chance on Me. I get it.

The whole point of this show is to gratuitously cash in on the ABBA brand (or pay tribute to it if you prefer) and hey, that’s show business, I understand. But we have seen this show before which begs the question – why do we recycle the same shows over and over again? Because people love them and they make big money for the venues and the producers.

This is all fair enough.

The music and lyrics for this production are by none other than ABBA’s two Bs, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus and the show features their original songs with a few by Stig Anderson chucked in for good measure. The backing music is by a hot live band by the way, which helps.

The ABBA songs are timeless and everyone knows them. I know them too, being of a certain vintage, and I could sing along if I was that way inclined.

And while I realise that everyone else around me was loving the show unconditionally I found it problematic. The choreography is clunky, the dancers are average, the storyline is thin and relies on humor that is less than subtle.

Somehow stars do shine in this show with Sarah Krndija as Sophie Sheridan a standout. She’s terrific and there is emotional depth and truth to her portrayal of a young woman who has invited three men, all of whom might be her dad, to her wedding on the Greek island where her mum runs a taverna. Her mum Donna (Elise McCann) has never told her who her father is which seems cruel but there you have it. McCann is an experienced hand and does a pretty good job.

She has two friends there for the nuptials … Rosie played with verve and penty of physical humor by Bianca Bruce and Deone Zanotto as Tanya, a bit of a flirt. She’s hilarious at times.

The trio of possible dads are quite good, particularly Martin Crewes as Sam Carmichael. He’s a very credible thespian. Drew Livingston is charming as Harry Bright who has only ever had one affair with a woman and that was Donna. If you know what I mean.

Then there’s adventurer Bill Austin played by Tim Wright. He also slept with Donna, let’s be frank, and he could be Sophie’s dad too. Of course, DNA testing could have solved all this but might have spoiled the story.

Sophie is getting married to Sky, played by Lewis Francis. There was absolutely no chemistry whatsoever between these two and I didn’t believe they could possibly be engaged to be married, not even for a second.

The leading ladies steal the show as singers while the dads struggled but that’s okay. Nobody seemed to notice or care because the spirit of the show sweeps people up and deposits them in an ecstatic screaming heap two and a half hours later.

The standing ovation at the end was only matched that night, I imagine, at nearby Suncorp Stadium (let’s use its real name – it’s not Brisbane Stadium) where the Matilda’s had just trounced the French.

So, MAMMA MIA! The Musical is a hit all over again and people are going along in droves. Again.

So, what does it matter if it’s patchy at times, that performance standards seemed to have slipped somewhat après the pandemic? That’s okay. Or is it?

MAMMA MIA! The Musical is on in the Lyric Theatre at QPAC until September 24