'Mamma Mia!" returns to Sarasota

The story's kind of silly -- a young woman living in Greece conjures a ridiculously complicated plan to discover the identity of her father from a list of her mother's ex-boyfriends -- but the music's so much fun you probably won't even notice.

"Mamma Mia!" is a jukebox musical built around songs by ABBA, including the title song, "Does Your Mother Know?" "Dancing Queen," "The Winner Takes It All" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You." A non-Equity national tour will be stopping at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota for two shows Tuesday and Wednesday.

If it's done well, it's a completely enjoyable musical theater experience, packed with wonderful songs by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, who were both involved in the conception of the show back in 1999, and some pleasing dance numbers. The book, by British playwright Catherine Johnson, is better than one might think, considering that it has to twist and turn improbably to make all those songs fit into the story.

A couple of advisory notices: The film version of "Mamma Mia!" was pretty bad, but don't let that dissuade you from seeing the stage musical. And don't try to beat traffic by leaving as soon as the curtain drops. There's an three-song encore that's the best part of the show, and a lot of people miss it.

Details: 8 p.m. April 19-20, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets: $65. Information: 941-953-3368, vanwezel.org.

-- Marty Clear

This story was originally published April 13, 2016 at 6:04 PM with the headline "'Mamma Mia!" returns to Sarasota ."