New York
‘Mamma Mia!’ Is Returning to Broadway This Summer
“Mamma Mia!” is returning to Broadway this summer after a decade away.
The big-hearted musical, which combined Abba songs and abs to become a huge hit onstage and then on film, is scheduled to start previews on Aug. 2 at the Winter Garden Theater — where it spent much of its original run. The opening date is set for Aug. 14, and the run is expected to last at least six months.
“I hope it will be a bit of an end-of-summer treat for New York,” said Judy Craymer, the British producer who initially commissioned the musical and has transformed it into a global business.
The musical’s first New York engagement, with 5,773 performances from 2001 to 2015, made it the ninth-longest-running show in Broadway history. Its 50 productions around the world, in 16 languages, have been seen by more than 70 million people and have grossed more than $7 billion, the show’s publicists said.
The musical’s mother-daughter story is set on a fictional Greek island, where family and friends have gathered for a wedding. The daughter is determined to use the occasion to figure out which among three of her mother’s ex-boyfriends is her father, whose identity she has never known.
The plot, for many fans, is largely a scaffolding for an extremely popular set of Abba tunes and a lot of upbeat dance numbers (performed by actors in exuberant, and sometimes skimpy, costumes) that prompted occasional dancing by patrons in the aisles.
“It’s the idyllic Greek holiday,” Craymer said, “and everyone wants to be on that island, cellphone free, having a fun time.”
The show opened in London in 1999, and has been running there ever since. The Broadway production opened just after the terrorist attacks of 2001, and although reviews were tepid (the New York Times critic Ben Brantley called it “a giant singing Hostess cupcake”), its escapist tone was a key ingredient to its success and its symbolic role in helping Broadway rebound. It sold well for years, but enthusiasm had softened by the time it closed, prompting the initial run’s end.
Among the four productions currently running is one on a cruise ship. For the last 11 years, the show has also been available for licensing by local theaters and schools where it has been staged more than 4,500 times.
“It celebrates women, it’s about second chances, it’s about hope, and it’s not political — it brings audiences together,” Craymer said. “And it has become empowering to young female audiences, definitely — that’s not to exclude the blokes, of course.”
Craymer said the stage productions have also benefited from the pair of films starring Meryl Streep, including the original, “Mamma Mia!,” released in 2008, and a combined prequel-sequel, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,” released in 2018. Craymer said she is committed to making a third film — “there’s a story still to finish,” she said — but that the timing is uncertain.
“Mamma Mia!” features music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of Abba; the book is by Catherine Johnson, and the director is Phyllida Lloyd.
Although the Broadway return engagement is being announced as a limited run, Craymer was noncommittal about how firm that is. “I hope that either it means we can come back again or we’ll extend further,” she said, adding that the show remains unchanged, other than some minor design tweaks. “This isn’t a secondary production or a revival,” she said. “It’s still the show.”
New York
Video: Fans Show Up to the Parade in Their Best Knicks-Themed Attire
new video loaded: Fans Show Up to the Parade in Their Best Knicks-Themed Attire
transcript
transcript
Fans Show Up to the Parade in Their Best Knicks-Themed Attire
New York Knicks fans showed up in droves to a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan in their best orange and blue outfits to honor the N.B.A champions.
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“Patrick Ewing. He didn’t get a ring. But I wear your sneakers, bro. When I was in high school, back in the ’90s, Patrick Ewing, John Starks, they were the team that I rooted for in the ’90s. They didn’t make it. So as a tribute to him because this is where I started at being a fan, Patrick Ewing. Knicks hat in denim — I’m a denim fanatic. So I love denim — Knicks hat. And yeah, that’s it.” “This is my style. I usually dress like this every day. But I did a special Knicks edition. It’s all really fun. I start with my makeup. I did really cute flames on my eyes because the Knicks are fire. I don’t really know what I’m going to do before I put it on. I just figure it out along the way. Like, this is a piece of fabric and I just layer in stuff.” “This is from my online boutique and the hat I just bought on the way to the parade because I wanted to match the jumpsuit, and that’s how I came up with the outfit.” “She was ready to go, man.” “Can you show your fingernail?” “She’s been sleeping in her Jalen Brunson jersey for the last 10 weeks. We’ve been watching all the games. You want to tell them who’s your favorite player?” “Jalen Brunson.” “I’m pretty sure this jersey was actually made for a human baby. But they’re selling them around the block. And we threw it on Chester and everyone started clapping. So — he wears it well.” “Blue and orange.” “So I did blue and orange.” “It had to be orange and blue. “Orange and blue. Orange and blue.”
By Meg Felling, Jeremy Raff, Ang Li and David Cheung
June 18, 2026
New York
Video: The Democracy of The Dive Bar
new video loaded: The Democracy of The Dive Bar
By Anna Kodé, Gabriel Blanco, Haimy Assefa and Laura Salaberry
June 19, 2026
New York
Video: Knicks Fans Celebrate With Ticker-Tape Parade
“It’s been 53 years. I’ve been waiting that long.” “It’s been a very long time, a long time coming. And I’m so excited that my Knicks finally brought a championship home.” “Let’s go Knicks.” “I had to wake up at six o’clock.” “Knicks in five.” “Let’s go, Knicks.” “Let’s go, Knicks!” “We just moved to D.C. a few years ago, but we’re so happy to be back in New York, celebrating. Once we won we were like — we’re absolutely coming home. So, we had to bring Chester with us. I mean, he’s the biggest puppy Knicks fan there is. Chester, can you say Knicks in 5? Knicks in five.” “I got hurt a couple weeks ago, but this is the first time they’ve been to the finals since I was a year old. And so to be able to be here, this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.” “My man’s out here with a boot and a Josh Hart jersey. My man’s got heart.” “It feels so overwhelming but overwhelming in a good way, where, like, I want to be — I want to, like, shoot some balls. I want to, like, just vibe with everyone because everyone’s here for one purpose, and that’s celebrating the Knicks.” “This has been like a uniting situation for New Yorkers, and I just can’t wait to feel the love from everybody.” “I think it’s a great equalizer, right? It brings everyone together. It doesn’t matter if you make $900,000 a year, if you make $50,000 a year. You’re united because of the Knicks.” “So often when this city comes together, it is because we are forced to by a moment of tragedy or adversity. What a gift it is to be brought together by pure, unfiltered joy.” “Most importantly, thank you to the fans. I’m not going to lie though, y’all all are some pretty hard critics, but we appreciate it. At least I do, appreciate it a lot.”
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