Chicago ABBA tribute Dancing Queen comes to Western Springs
The only ABBA tribute act which resides in the Midwest is coming to the Theatre of Western Springs for the third time. Dancing Queen — An ABBA Salute will share the ABBA magic at 7:30 p.m. March 1. It’s part of the TWS Performance Series of Fundraisers.
“We love having them here,” executive artistic director Eddie Sugarman said. “We sold out twice and we’re on the road to selling out for the third time. People absolutely love them. People are standing up and dancing the whole time.”
Sugarman said he is among the ranks of ABBA fans. “I’m a nerd,” he said. “It’s like every song they wrote is a megahit.”
The proceeds of the fundraiser series help finance the theater company’s programming but the ABBA concerts have an extra benefit. “It’s a wonderful way to get people who have never been here in our doors and then welcome them back,” Sugarman said.
He reported that routinely one-third to one-half of the audience members at the Dancing Queen concerts are attending the theater for the first time.
Amanda Horvath-Adair, a lead singer who takes the role of Agnetha, said the group is particularly proud of the fact that the entire band lives and works in Chicago. That includes lead singer Cheryl Jennison Daproza as Frida, Justin Horvath-Adair as guitarist and vocalist Bjorn, Micky York as pianist Benny, drummer Keith Daproza, and bassist and band manager Davide Pezzini.
“This band has been around since 2004,” spokesperson Amanda Horvath-Adair said. The only remaining original member is bass player Pezzini. Horvath-Adair joined around 2013.
“I joined because I love this music and it was a really fun way to get to perform consistently,” said Horvath-Adair, who has a long musical theater resume. “This is one of the most rewarding performance experiences I’ve ever experienced.”
The March 1 audience will hear and see a two-hour concert, with the group performing songs from their repertoire of about 50 ABBA songs. “There’s an iconic genius to the way they wrote these tunes,” Horvath-Adair said.
The concert will include all of the favorite ABBA songs everyone loves, the singer said. “We have done some reworking of some of the classic top 10 hits,” she said. The singer added that they will also perform some songs that they haven’t previously performed at the Theatre of Western Springs. That includes numbers from the 2021 album that ABBA recorded when the band reunited.
“We are very well known for our costumes,” Horvath-Adair said. “We will be debuting some new costumes.” All the costumes are handmade.
Horvath-Adair said her group loves performing at the Theatre of Western Springs. “The actual theater and the production staff and the administration of the theater are absolutely fantastic,” she said. “They take such good care of the artists. Even more than that, the audiences at the Theatre of Western Springs are so in tune with you. The first performance we had there, we were hooked.”
Horvath-Adair said with a tribute band such as theirs, “You’re not trying to replicate and mimic. You’re trying to really pay homage to the original artists — the way they perform the music.
“ABBA just makes people happy,” Horvath-Adair said. “You cannot remain in a bad mood when ABBA music is happening all around you.”
DANCING QUEEN-AN ABBA SALUTE
When: 7:30 p.m. March 1
Where: Theatre of Western Springs,
4384 Hampton Ave., Western Springs
Tickets: $42.50
Information: 708-246-4043; theatreofwesternsprings.com