In the beginning, almost no one expected a musical wrapped around two dozen vintage ABBA pop tunes, such as "Dancing Queen," "Super Trooper" and "The Name of the Game," was a workable idea for a musical, much less a smash success musical that still would be playing on Broadway seven years after its 2001 opening. When "Mamma Mia!" producer Judy Craymer approached first ABBA songwriters Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, they were not at all interested. They told her to get back to them when she had a story to show them. Backers were skeptical. Theater critics had difficulty wrapping their heads around the idea. "People thought that it was either a biography of ABBA or a tribute show," said Craymer in a previous interview. Instead, Cramer, book writer Catherine Johnson, director Phyllida Lloyd and choreographer Anthony Van Laast created something entirely different -- a brand new story about a young woman living on a Greek island with her single mother who runs an inn. The about-to-be-married young Sophie invites three men -- anyone of whom might be her father -- to attend her wedding. The musical used the ABBA songs to advance the plot, invented a chorus of Greek citizens to sing backup, employed snorkels and swim fins in dance numbers and showcased the mother of the bride and her two friends in Day-Glo Spandex outfits for some retro-nostalgic disco numbers from their youth. As previews began in London's West End, doubts began to evaporate. "It was like Mardi Gras in the street outside the theater," Craymer said. As word of mouth spread, seats filled up and advance sales soared. Tough-minded theatrical agents and casting directors became repeat audience members at previews. On opening night in London -- March 23, 1999 -- Cramer watched as the audience literally danced in the aisles during curtain call. Even critics had been won over. "The fun of this show lies in the skill and wit with which the songs are fitted into the story, not just as decorations, but moving it along, almost as if they had been written for it," said John Peters in London's Sunday Times. Nine years later, the live musical continues its runs in London and on Broadway. Open-ended runs continue in nine other cities around the globe. The U.S. national tour recently played its 2,600th performance. "Mamma Mia!" trivia • More than 30 million people have seen a live stage production of "Mamma Mia!" since the musical debuted in London's West End in 1999. Since then, it has played in 170 cities around the world and been translated into eight languages. • Productions of the stage musical are playing on Broadway, a U.S. national tour and 11 cities around the world that include Las Vegas; Nagoya, Japan; Istanbul; Paris; London; and Stockholm. • Christine Baranski, who plays Tanya, is performing on Broadway in the comedy "Boeing-Boeing." She appeared on Broadway in the 1991 musical "Nick and Nora" and also was seen in the film version of the musical "Chicago." • Meryl Streep makes her movie musical debut as Sophie's mother, Donna. But she has sung onscreen before in the films "Postcards From the Edge" and "A Prairie Home Companion." • Between 1975 and '77 Streep appeared on Broadway in five plays that included the original musical "Happy End" and a revival of "The Cherry Orchard." In 1976, she received a Tony nomination for best featured actress for her role in a program of one-acts by Tennessee Williams -- "27 Wagons Full of Cotton" and "A Memory of Two Mondays." • This summer, you might be seeing a lot of Colin Firth, who plays one of Sophie's three potential fathers. In addition to "Mamma Mia!," he has four films recently released or about to be -- "Then She Found Me," "When Did You Last See Your Father?," "The Accidental Husband" and "Easy Virtue," which will be released in the United Kingdom in September. • Gary Goetzman, who produced "Mamma Mia!" the film, also served as producer of another Greek-wedding movie -- "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." • Phyllida Lloyd, who served as director for the stage and film versions, did a test run for the movie by pre-shooting the musical in its entirety with cast members from stage productions. This allowed her to work out the logistics of choreography, camera movement and song structure before she began shooting the actual movie version. • The wedding chapel in "Mamma Mia!" is Agios Ioannis (St. John) Chapel that sits atop a rocky crag 60 feet above the sea on the Greek island of Skopelos. It's reached by climbing 105 steps carved into the rock.The movie crew rebuilt the chapel for the movie. • The PNC Broadway Across America -- Pittsburgh series will bring the national touring production of "Mamma Mia!" to the Benedum Center, Nov. 5-9. Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. Sept. 12. Details: 412-456-6666 or www.pgharts.org . Singing surprises Musical theater requires triple-threat performers who can sing, dance and act. When Hollywood casts movies, they sometimes choose acting talents and box office appeal over the ability to carry a tune and step lively. These actors who have appeared in musical movies, some of whom didn't sing their songs and some who did, including few who shouldn't have. "Mamma Mia!" (2008): Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Pierce Brosnan and Julie Walters and Broadway performer Christine Baranski, all sing their own songs as Donna, her three former beaus and her two female friends. "Dreamgirls" (2006): That was Eddie Murphy's voice on "Fake Your Way to the Top" and other songs. "Chicago" (2002): Renee Zelwegger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere all performed their own songs as the two merry murderesses and their pragmatic lawyer. "Man of La Mancha" (1972): Peter O'Toole did the speaking for Don Quixote. But Simon Gilbert did his singing. Sophia Loren gave voice to her songs as Dulcinea. "Paint Your Wagon" (1969): Clint Eastwood sang "I Talk to the Trees" and Lee Marvin sang "Wand'ring Star." "Camelot" (1967): Vanessa Redgrave and Richard Harris sang Guenivere's and King Arthur's songs. But Gene Merlino's voice substituted for Franco Nero, who played Sir Lancelot. "The Sound of Music" (1965): The singing voice of Christopher Plummer's Captain Von Trapp was dubbed by Bill Lee. Margery McKay did the singing for Peggy Wood's Mother Abbess on "Climb Ev'ry Mountain." "My Fair Lady" (1964): Rex Harrison worked his way through all of Professor Higgins' songs. But Marni Nixon was the singing voice for Audrey Hepburn's Eliza Doolittle. "The King and I" (1956): Yul Brunner did his own singing as the King. But Marni Nixon did the singing for Deborah Kerr's Anna Leonowens. "Guys and Dolls" (1955): Marlon Brando did his own singing as Sky Masterson.

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