Mamma Mia!

The queen of musicals has finally arrived in Glasgow.

With all super-shows – of which Mamma Mia is one of the biggest, after being seen by more than 30 million people around the world – there's always the danger that actually watching it can be a big let down. But the opening night crowd at the Clyde Auditorium was not left disappointed.

The musical sees the songs of ABBA woven into a slightly dubious tale. Sophie (played by Scot Haley Flaherty) has never known who her real father is until she reads her mums old diary and discovers it could be one of three men. Yes, her mum got around a bit it seems.

Due to get married on her Greek Island home, Sophie invites them all along with the hope of figuring out who her dad is in time to walk her down the aisle. But in the land of musicals things are not as simple as that. Hence the excuse for songs including Take a Chance On Me, Knowing Me Knowing You, Super Trooper, I Have A Dream and the brilliant Winner Takes It All.

The cast – which includes notable comedy performances from Felicity Duncan and Anita Booth as Sophie's mum's pals – succeed in putting a new spin on the old disco favourites. However it's Carolanne Weidle as Sophie's mum Donna who steals the show with fabulous charisma.

As with all 'jukebox' musicals, the story tends to be secondary to the songs, and there are some points when you're itching for the orchestra to strike up. And the show is seriously missing a big opening number to get the audience going. It's not until the hen night in the middle of the first half that the sequins and strobes finally come out and the atmosphere goes up a notch.

But by the finale the audience is on its feet and lapping up the kitsch, camp favourites like Waterloo and Dancing Queen. On opening night there was a faint hum of people singing along. Come the weekend there’s a risk it’ll turn into a singalong when the girls nights out will no doubt come out in force (they'll love the topless male dancers who are a prominent feature – it is set in Greece after all).

But that's part of the fun, isn't it?