The Broadway smash Mamma Mia! is an example of the phenomenon of "jukebox musicals" — stage productions whose song score is comprised primarily of pre-existing music (in this case, ABBA) — which aren't to be confused with stage musicals based on non-musical movies. Personally, I'm not a fan of the phenomenon, as it feels primarily like a way of attracting tourists to spend hundreds of dollars on a Broadway show by giving them the impression of attending honest-to-goodness theatre while wrapping them in a musical comfort blanket. But while I'm not exactly excited for Mamma Mia!, I must admit that the cast intrigues me. After A Prairie Home Companion, I'm curious to see what Meryl Streep can do in an honest-to-goodness musical, especially now that she's gotten to the stage of her career where she's loosened up and is free to do whatever the hell she wants. Likewise, the rest of the ensemble, from the actors playing the would-be dads (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård) on down — is classier than one would expect from a movie like this. My enthusiasm for this project remains guarded, but I'm certainly more curious about than I'd anticipated.