The Shanghai run of Mamma Mia! got off to a rocky start. The show, which won the 2002 Tony for Best Musical, began its four-week run at the Grand Theatre in the People's Square on July 6. Like previous runs of Broadway shows in Shanghai, tickets to the initial performances Mamma Mia! sold at a rate befitting an ABBA concert in Stockholm circa 1976. In fact, before the curtains went up on the first performance, all of the 200-yuan tickets, the cheapest seats available, were sold out for the entire four weeks, while the 700-yuan seats were wide open. This fact illuminates the paradox of theater in China—while the Chinese have shown an interest in Broadway theater, often ticket prices to theatrical imports do not reflect China's standard of living.

Then disaster struck. After a strong Friday night opening, Mamma Mia! was forced to cancel six performances last week when the show's leading actress, Katie Brayben who plays "Sophie," fell ill. But in an "only in China" turn of events, Brayben's two understudies also got sick. Perhaps they dipped their chopsticks in the wrong plate of Kung Pao Chicken. Early last week the production flew in a new "Sophie" and resumed performances Thursday.

Until the run concludes on August 2, the already sub-par international cast will be without its leading lady. In addition to the depleted cast, the Shanghai production of Mamma Mia! falls short of an authentic Broadway experience. At times, the orchestra drowned out the voices, dance moves were chaotic and singers sounded off-key. The actress who played "Rosie" looked like a generic 20-something's mom who was thrown on the stage without rehearsal. And the actors who played "Harry Bright" and "Bill Austin," two of Sophie's three potential fathers, did not have the zest of Broadway-caliber performers. Perhaps this is why they're not on Broadway. I won't even touch on the musical number performed by men dressed in snorkels and flippers, but suffice it to say, I was uncomfortable.

The bright spots of Mamma Mia!, other than those hot ABBA tunes, were the actors who played American expat "Donna Sheridan" and her old flame "Sam Carmichael." Their chemistry was genuine and their duet of "The Winner Takes It All" is the dramatic climax of the show.

As for ABBA. The global reach of this Swedish bubblegum foursome is broad enough that even predominantly mainland Chinese audience knew the words to "Mamma Mia" and "Dancing Queen." ABBA's more than 30 year-old, piano-heavy theatrical arrangements mirror the elements of today's pop music in China. And with regard to songs like "Knowing You Knowing Me" and "SOS," nobody appreciates love ballads like the Chinese. The disco-ey music of Mamma Mia! sounded great live and audience members, Chinese and Western alike, sang and danced along throughout the show.

While Mamma Mia! performed in front of a Shanghainese audience is undoubtedly a fun experience, for theater fans, the ABBA-inspired show is yet another in a trend of lackluster musicals based on the songs of pop groups. By virtue of the fact that the plot must be molded around singular, disjointed pop songs, the story lines of these shows (Mamma Mia! is no exception) are usually somewhat nonsensical. Timothy M. Gray of Variety put it best when he reviewed the 2002 U.S. tour: "The notion of contorting a musical around some proven pop hits seems distressingly calculated and cynical."