Bubbly ‘Mamma Mia!’ will lighten any sour mood

“Mamma Mia!” — which opened Friday at Diamond Head Theatre — is one of those Broadway musicals that is equally loved and loathed.

It had a 14-year run, in two different theaters, in post-9/11 New York, and was generally thumbs-downed by critics but cherished and cheered by fans. It posted weekly grosses of $1 million-plus in its heyday, impressive in the pre-“Hamilton” era, and it’s destined to cap DHT’s 101st season as a sellout.

“Mamma Mia!” spawned a hit film in 2008, starring Meryl Streep, also with a wide divide between reviewers and fans. The musical, and the movie, helped make Greece — where this tangled romance story is set — a popular destination for a time.

Simply, “Mamma Mia!” is a honey — sunny and funny, harmless and happy summer fare. It makes you forget politics, terrorists, road rage. Haters become likers. If someone bottled the show’s aura, life would be a continuous happy-face emoji.

I admit I loved it, but must confess its plot is as thin as Pringles. Yet it bubbles like Champagne, effervescent with inoffensive laughter, explores and promotes familial and marital bliss, and establishes an unlikely story hinged to the disco-flavored rhythms of ABBA, the Swedish pop sensation.

Even if you’re a grumpy soul and totally clueless about the hits of ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (with collaboration from Stig Anderson) that fill the score, “Mamma Mia!” will turn your frown upside down. The party-hearty finale — deemed a mega mix, with stand-up-and-dance audience participation — will transform you into a fan … if you’re noble enough to admit it. Simply, this is contagious fluff.

As a jukebox musical, a term referring to a show relying on familiar pop hits to underscore and support a story, “Mamma Mia!” ran for 5,758 performances and grossed more than $600 million. It’s now the eighth-longest-running show in Broadway history.

The story involves a scheming young bride-to-be, Sophie Sheridan (played by Sarah Halford), who invites three former boyfriends of her mother, Donna Sheridan (Alison Aldcroft), to see if she can uncover the father she never knew, from relationships 21 years ago. Suitors Sam Carmichael (Neil Scheibelhut), Harry Bright (Thomas Johnson) and Bill Austin (LeGrand Lawrence) think Donna invited them to Greece.

Donna’s BFFs, who are former girl-group partners, are portrayed by Liz Stone (Tanya Cresham-Leigh) and Stacey Pulmano (Rosie Mulligan), and they assemble at Donna’s taverna on a small Greek island to attend Sophie’s wedding, along with the exes from the past, amid obvious complications.

The result is predictable and pompous, but cheerful and charming, particularly if you lived through the ABBA reign and remember the group’s spandex uniforms with flared bell-bottoms, accordion-fold garb and vibrant hues. Oh yeah, and platform shoes.

As directed by Kimee Balmilero, a local actress who was a member of the original Broadway ensemble, and choreographed by Mark Kanemura, the island dude with TV creds (“So You Think You Can Dance”) and affiliations with huge super troupers from the pop world (Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Janet Jackson), the musical retains the vigor and vision of the original.

Halford and Aldcroft are perfect as the daughter and mom, with pipes that deliver ABBA anthems, though Halford had mike issues on opening night. Their conflicted relationship — a daughter trying to find out who her dad is, a mother pretty much sold on her solo journey through life and overwhelmed when the past clouds her present — is part of the realities of real life.

As Donna’s supportive gal pals, Stone and Pulmano provide comic relief — one’s a former sexpot still trolling for action, the other’s a foundation of sound reasoning. Their harmonies are spot-on nostalgic.

The gents each have solo moments, assuming they are Sophie’s dad, but it’s Scheibelhut who leaps out of the ranks as top banana in song, notably in his duets with Aldcroft on a pair of belters, “S.O.S.” and “The Winner Takes All.”

About the tunes: ABBA had a habit of redundancy and repetition, reflected in such ditties as “Honey, Honey,” “Money, Money, Money,” “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme” and “I Do, I Do, I Do.” So what, so what, so what.

Reyn Halford as Pepper (who gets a charge out of Tanya), and Jeff Brackett as Sky, the presumptive groom of Sophie, stand out in secondary roles.

Willie Sabel’s stuccolike set, against chalky blue hues, suggests Mediterranean charm, and Phil Hidalgo conducts DHT’s seven-member orchestra, utilizing three keyboarders to replicate some of ABBA’s electric-tech vibes, evoking satisfying disco fever. Remember how fun it used to be? It still is in “Mamma Mia!”

Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment writer based in Honolulu.

Credits: Directed by Kimee Balmilero, choreographed by Mark Kanemura, musical direction by Phil Hidalgo, set design by Willie Sabel, costume design by Karen G. Wolfe, props design by Christina Sutrov and Frances Hisashima, hair and makeup design by Friston S. Ho‘okano, lighting design by Dawn Oshima, sound design by Cameron Olson; production stage manager, Meagan Olson.

Cast: Alison Aldcroft, Sarah Halford, Liz Stone, Stacey Pulmano, Neil Scheibelhut, LeGrand Lawrence, Thomas Johnson, Jeff Bracket, Reyn Halford, Aaron Miko, Christina Sutrov, Rache Sapla, Will Thomson; ensemble members, Alika Bright, Lauren Cabrera, Timothy Cagadas, Fiona Chin, Cristyn Dang, Elliot Dimacali, Korynn Grenert, Susan Hawes, Chance Ingalls, Chris Jackson, Alison B. Maldonado, Michelle Matias, Rebecca Lea McCarthy, Thomas Olson, Chloe Alexandra Saracco, Treston Silva, Lauren Teruya; swing, Aiko Schick; orchestra, Linda Asahina, Darcie Yoshinaga, Judy Yoshioka, John LeBlanc, Kevin Hirasa, Matthew Love, Wayne Yabiku