Men of `Mamma Mia' feel your pain, ladies (They do, they do, they do, they do, they do)

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BY MOLLY WOULFE
mwoulfe@nwitimes.com
219.852.4329 | Friday, September 12, 2008 | (No comments posted.)

It takes a real man to star in a chick musical.

Ask the men of "Mamma Mia," Broadway's long-running ABBA musical that has spawned a hit soundtrack, a 30-city foreign tour and the Meryl Streep chick flick.

The ladies get star billing. They get the best songs: the title track, "Chiquitita" and "Dancing Queen." They get to man-bash like "Sex and the City" refugees.

And the guys get to take it.

John Hemphill deserves a Purple Heart. The Los Angeles-based actor faces feminine wrath nightly all the way to the balcony seats. He plays Sam Carmichael in the national tour of the songfest, back for a two-week run (Wednesday through Sept. 28) at the Auditorium Theatre.

His character (the Pierce Brosnan role in the film) loved and lost feisty Donna (Streep) in the carefree '70s. Now he wants to reconnect 20 years later. Does he get sympathy? Nooooooooooo.

In one scene, Donna (Chicago actress Susie McMonagle) "goes off" on him, Hemphill reports. And the heavily female audience has her back. Hell hath no fury. Oh, the catcalls.

"They're usually from women who are single or divorced, and they let me have it," he says. "They're not bashful about raising their voices."

Ladies, please. Sam's a good guy, just a little confused. "Yet the script calls him 'a bastard, a typical man,' " he points out. "It's easy to do broad strokes and come off as a jerk (on stage). But men are a little more complicated than that."

Directed by Phyllida Lloyd, the fluffy-not-stuffy show begins with single mom Donna toiling to host her super-romantic daughter's wedding. The hardworking rocker-turned-innkeeper is stunned with three ex-flames -- any one which could be Sophie's biological father -- arrive for the event.

It turns out Sophie (Rose Zezniak) read mum's diary and invited the trio, hoping to recognize her sire so she can ask him to walk her down the aisle. Alas, feminine instinct fails, and their tiny Greek island lacks a DNA lab. Donna, her nerves already wedding-frayed, is forced to confront her past.

Her three one-night stands have their own issues. Sam's in love with Donna. Meanwhile, adventurer Bill Austin (Martin Kildare) would rather risk headhunters than fatherhood, and stuffy banker Harry Bright (Michael Aaron Lindner) longs for spontaneity. Donna's best girlfriends rush to her aid, but the best-laid plans unravel.

Happily, true love prevails in the who's-your-daddy musical. The salute to mothers and daughters and second chances features more than 20 ABBA ditties.

To the menfolks' credit, they take the grrlpower storyline in stride. With the Donna-Sophie relationship in the spotlight, "every night is ladies night. The actresses are terrific" Broadway vet Kildare ("The Lion King," "Raisin in the Sun") said in a phone chat. "At the best, we're holding our own. That's our goal, to keep up with the ladies."

Yet testosterone is thicker than water.

No surprise, the "three dads" bonded swiftly during rehearsals.

Kildare and Lindner clicked first when they discovered they were both new fathers and planning to tour with their families. Kildare and wife Mary have a 2-year-old daughter and 8-week-old son, and Lindner and wife Bethany have a baby boy.

The duo became a trio when Hemphill (who has a girlfriend back home) joined them for rehearsals. None are born dancers, and misery beget hilarity. The burly Kildare was promptly nicknamed "T rex" for his limp-armed, heavy-footed moves. "We make fun of him mercilessly," admits Lindner, whose local credits include Porchlight Music Theatre and Chicago Shakespeare.

He, in turn, was tagged "Brown Loaf" -- the origins are obscure -- and Hemphill was christened "Big Time," a tip of the hat to his TV work on "Monk," "Las Vegas" and "Scrubs." It's strictly tongue-in-cheek, Hemphill insists. That's how guys are. "It doesn't have to make sense, how you get your nickname. It just has to be fairly goofy, and the person who gets the nickname can't necessarily like the nickname," he explains.

If You Go
"Mamma Mia!" (national tour), by Catherine Johnson, with the music of Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, directed by Phyllida Lloyd, starring Susie McMonagle (Donna), Rose Sezniak (Sophie), Sam (John Hemphill), Bill (Martin Kildare), Harry (Michael Aaron Lindner).
When: Wednesday through Sept. 28
Where: Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Parkway, Chicago
Cost: $30-$85
FYI: Available at Ticketmaster outlets, the Broadway in Chicago ticket line at (312) 901-1400 and ticketmaster.com.

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