The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
subsequent productions around the world and the 2008 first film “Mamma Mia!,” ABBA-mania was back — and now included the U.S. The band’s 1992 greatest hits album climbed to No. 25 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart this year.
Cher appeared in the movie sequel “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,” and she met lyricist Bjorn Ulvaeus and composer Benny Andersson from ABBA.
Recording the album of covers gave Cher greater ABBA insight. “I was a little cranky with Bjorn because of the way he writes, and then I realized he writes this way because he doesn’t write in English. So, he tells the story in a more interesting way. He has to get to the story.
“And I didn’t realize how intricate the music was,” she continued. “I thought, `Whoa! Benny has really got some stuff going on there: all these lines, and riff over riff over riff. And so I had more respect for them.”
It’s a busy period for Cher, whose latest world tour began Sept. 21 and runs through May, ending in Minneapolis. She’s co-producer of a jukebox musical about her life, “The Cher Show,” with previews set to begin Nov. 1 on Broadway. And the Kennedy Center Honors will be taped Dec. 2 in Washington, D.C.
Through it all, Cher no doubt will be paying attention to other happenings in D.C., keeping her eye on the Trump administration. “We’ve got to watch out,” she noted. “There were signs at other times in world history and some people didn’t watch them.”