Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, the musical geniuses behind ABBA, were a bit hesitant about making a musical when producer Judy Craymer first approached them with the idea. But they didn't outright refuse and when Craymer commissioned playwright Catherine Johnson to create an original musical told using ABBA's smash-hit songs, Benny and Björn gave it the green light. At present, Mamma Mia! has been seen by upwards of 30 million people worldwide and is counted among Broadway's longest-running musicals. The story — about free-spirited Donna and her engaged daughter Sophie, who invites three men from Donna's past (all potentially her father) to attend her wedding — is set to ABBA classics like "The Winner Takes it All," "Dancing Queen" and "Voulez-Vous." The national tour makes a stop at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center this week. For more info about the show, visit mamma-mia.com. Aug. 19-24, 7:30 p.m. Tues.-Thurs., 8 p.m. Fri., 2 and 8 p.m. Sat., 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sun., Carol Morsani Hall-TBPAC, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, downtown Tampa, $26-$80, 813-229-7827, tbpac.org.
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