No one has inquired about my scenario, so I decided to put it here for anyone interested. It isn't a sequel to Mamma Mia, but a completely new story. Here it is:
Love Isn’t Easy
A musical based on songs of ABBA
Scenario by Edwin A. Enstrom
Version 4
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Author’s Note:
In January 2016 I read an article about Björn Ulvaeus opening a restaurant in Stockholm that was themed after “Mamma Mia” the musical. This started me thinking. “Mamma Mia” is a brilliant tour-de-force that strings together over 20 of ABBA’s hit songs into a believable plot. It is bringing ABBA’s music to new generations. However, I did not feel that it did true justice to the full range of ABBA’s work. It struck me as a “greatest hits” concert stuffed into a musical format. I wanted to see if another musical could be made using ABBA’s lesser-known but high-quality songs. The result is shown below. This scenario is not at all a finished product, but I think it is a good starting point.
The seed for this scenario was the ABBA mini-musical “The Girl With The Golden Hair”. A young woman singer starts on the road to stardom. I did not continue to the “marionette” stage but went in another direction. One woman finds true love and another one loses love and then finds it again. Along the way, there is wonder, joy, anger and sorrow but “love conquers all” in the end.
Björn has said (or was it Benny?) that “Mamma Mia” is the musical that they did not know that they had written. This is the second one that they did not know about. (See Afterword for more detail.)
If you are not familiar with these lesser-known songs, open this document while connected to the Internet. You can then copy the hyperlink and paste it into your browser’s address bar.
Enjoy!
Edwin A. Enstrom
eenstrom@optonline.net
Cast of Characters:
Anna – Unmarried. In early twenties. Blonde. A little bit shy. Lives in a garden apartment in the suburbs. Works in a music store. Writes her own songs. When the store is not busy she sits at the piano and composes and sings. Currently has no boyfriend. Mezzo-soprano.
Cecily – Unmarried. In early twenties. Brunette. Lives next-door to Anna and is her best friend. In love with Nick. Soprano.
Steve – Ambitious record producer. Lives in the suburbs and works in the city.
Nick – Cecily’s boyfriend. Junior executive at an office in the city. Tenor.
Bobby – Mid-twenties. Guitarist who plays backup in Steve’s recording sessions. Free spirit. Baritone.
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Scenario
Opening title and credits are superimposed and intermixed with the following montage:
Anna is shown getting ready for work. Finishing breakfast. Walking to the bus stop. Riding to work. Entering music shop, then through door marked “Employees Only”. Puts on uniform jacket with store logo on pocket. This sets the scene. No words are spoken during this. “Arrival” plays in the background.
Scene – Music shop
Anna puts the “Open” sign in the shop’s door. She moves around the shop making adjustments here and there to instrument displays. The shop is empty so she goes to the piano and sings “I Let The Music Speak”.
Unbeknownst to Anna, Steve enters the shop. He is bowled over by her singing and asks about the song. She tells him that she wrote it herself. He tells her who he is and that he wants her to come to the city and make a record. He says he can make her a star if she leaves her job and comes to the city. Anna is thrilled but hesitant. It is her big chance. She says she needs to think it over.
Scene – Anna on her way home
As Anna walks on her way home, she thinks about Steve’s proposal and looks around at her little town and the old familiar places. She sings “I Wonder”.
Scene – Cecily’s apartment
Anna tells Cecily about her chance to make a record. Cecily is all for it. Then Cecily tells Anna that she is breaking up with her boyfriend Nick because he is unfaithful. (Of course, she still loves him.) She sings “Angel Eyes”.
Scene – Anna goes to the city
She arrives at the train station and as she walks to Steve’s office she looks around at the buildings, the traffic, the people, the bright lights, the noise. This is a montage of fast cuts. In the background is playing “I Am The City”. The music fades out when Anna goes through the door to Steve’s office building.
Scene – Steve’s office waiting room
While waiting to see Steve, Anna meets Bobby and they get to talking. Bobby is unattached, full of life, restless and footloose. They take a liking to each other and arrange to meet for dinner later.
Scene – Steve’s recording studio
Anna is at the microphone and she sings “Gonna Sing You My Love Song”. Bobby is playing backup guitar during the session and Anna gives the impression that she is singing to him.
Scene – Anna and Bobby having dinner.
They are at a table on the terrace of a restaurant situated at the water’s edge. There are many customers at the other tables. Bobby explains that his philosophy of life is to experience it to the full. He sings “Move On”. Bobby sings the first verse and chorus. Thereafter, he sings the verse and all the customers join in the chorus joyously.
Anna tells Bobby that she sometimes feels as if she were two different people in one body. She sings “Me and I”. During the choruses she dances around the terrace striking poses and making faces to show the two facets.
They decide to go dancing.
Scene – Montage of Anna and Bobby partying at the city’s nightspots. “Summer Night City” plays in the background (maybe just instrumental with tenor saxes taking the part of the vocals and trumpet doing “Summer Night City” riffs).
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d5dPYHi17k)
Scene – Cecily’s apartment
Cecily is moping about. Anna enters and immediately knows that something is wrong. Cecily picks up a framed photograph of Nick and sings “Disillusion” to it, but it is obvious she still loves him.
Scene – Anna’s apartment a few days later
Anna is waiting for Bobby to pick her up for their date. She looks out of the window and sees him arrive. She watches him walk up the sidewalk to her door and she sings “I’ve Been Waiting For You”.
Scene – Discotheque
Anna and Bobby are disco dancing. “Hole In Your Soul” plays in background.
Scene – Bobby seeing Anna home
As they walk along to her apartment door, Anna sings “The Name Of The Game”.
Scene – Bobby leaving Anna’s apartment house
As he leaves, Bobby sings “She’s My Kind Of Girl”. He dances around on the sidewalk as he sings.
Scene – Anna’s apartment
Anna is in a reverie thinking about Bobby. She starts by singing to herself in the mirror and then waltzes around the room, singing “I Am Just A Girl”.
Scene – Cecily’s apartment
Anna stops by to check how Cecily is doing. Cecily says that she has realized that she was too dependent and now she is determined to be her own woman. She goes to the painting of eagles that hangs over her fireplace and says that she is now going to be as free as a bird. She sings “Eagle”.
Scene – Anna’s apartment
Anna and Bobby have fallen in love. Bobby’s restless spirit has finally found his true love. He sings “Givin’ A Little Bit More”. (Note: This song was never released and has only one verse. Maybe Björn could write a few more verses to flesh it out a bit.)
Anna and Bobby cuddle up. As Bobby starts to kiss her, Anna stops him and sings “Andante, Andante” Low light, soft focus, very romantic and dream-like.
Scene - Nick’s apartment
Nick is sitting on the couch in his living room staring at a picture of Cecily. One of his buddies is with him. He is feeling his loss. He says that the nights are the worst. He gets up and walks distractedly around the apartment, fiddling with things. He sings “If It Wasn’t For The Nights”.
Scene – Cecily’s apartment
There is a knock on the door. Cecily opens it and Nick is standing there. He says that he did not realize how much he loved her until he lost her. He asks for forgiveness and wants to start over again. He sings “As Good As New”.
(Note: The first verse needs to be reworked or dropped.)
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They embrace and sing the duet “The Way Old Friends Do”.
Scene – Town park
Anna, Bobby, Cecily and Nick are walking through the park. There are many other people about. The four of them start to sing “People Need Love” and all the other people join in singing and dancing. End on a joyous note.
Note: “Bang-A-Boomerang” is another possibility here.
Closing credits – “One Man, One Woman”. All four characters joining in. (Maybe rework the lyrics a bit? If the audience doesn’t stay around until the last verse, they will miss the message of the song.)
Afterword:
In a very real sense, this musical was written by ABBA, in particular by Björn Ulvaeus, who wrote most of the lyrics. As I was going through the ABBA catalog and listening to and reading all the lyrics, I became aware that without any changes they could be grouped together as belonging to distinct personalities. All I had to do was match the songs and lyrics with specific characters and string them together in a scenario that made sense. Truly, “I Let The Music Speak”.
Here is a list of the characters and how the music spoke to me:
Bobby –
“Move On” – He is fully open to all life’s experiences. He is restless and a bit selfish and doesn’t want to be tied down.
“She’s My Kind Of Girl” – He realizes that he has met his soulmate.
“Givin’ A Little Bit More” – This relationship is entirely new to him.
Cecily –
“Angel Eyes” – She feels betrayed by Nick.
“Disillusion” – She feels heartbreak at her broken relationship.
“Eagle” – She has realized that her relationship was unwholesome and she has found inner strength.
“The Way Old Friends Do” – She sees a new relationship with Nick on an equal footing.
Nick –
“If It Wasn’t For The Nights” – He really does love Cecily and is distraught over his broken relationship.
“As Good As New” – He wants to make a new start and vows to work harder on making it work.
“The Way Old Friends Do” – Same as Cecily.
Anna –
“I Let The Music Speak” – Shows that she is a sensitive, talented songwriter.
“I Wonder” – She is frightened at leaving everything familiar, but shows her courage by deciding to try.
“Gonna Sing You My Love Song” – She is attracted to Bobby.
“I’ve Been Waiting For You” – She has fallen for Bobby.
“The Name Of The Game” – She shyly confides to Bobby that she cares for him.
“I Am Just A Girl” – She is modest and can hardly believe that Bobby cares for her too.
“Andante, Andante” – Her love song to Bobby.
