Here we go again! Streamwood High alumna headlines ‘Mamma Mia!’ for 25th anniversary national tour

Christine Sherrill is having many full-circle moments with the 25th anniversary tour of “Mamma Mia!” Sherrill stars as leading lady Donna Sheridan in the global smash jukebox musical featuring the hit pop songs of ABBA. “Mamma Mia!” returns to Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theatre for a three-week engagement beginning Tuesday, April 30.

“It's invigorating for me,” said Sherrill, a longtime Chicago-area actress who is an alumna of both Streamwood High School and Northern Illinois University.

“I think any actor coming off of COVID and finding a show that's so joyful and has this much energy right now feels really good,” Sherrill said. “It's not easy to tour, of course, but I'm so grateful.”

April 2024 commemorates significant golden and silver anniversaries for ABBA. The Swedish quartet launched to international stardom when ABBA’s hit “Waterloo” won the Eurovision Song Competition on April 6, 1974. Then, on the same date in 1999, “Mamma Mia!” opened in London's West End, where it is still running.

Sherrill is honored to be belting out ABBA pop hits onstage, even though this isn't her first go-round with “Mamma Mia!” Sherrill previously played the supporting friend Tanya on tour with the musical, and then as Donna in a 2014 return engagement of “Mamma Mia!” at the soon-to-be demolished Tropicana Las Vegas.

For this new “Mamma Mia!” tour, Sherrill once again plays Donna, a Greek taverna owner and mother of bride-to-be Sophie. Shenanigans ensue when three of Donna's ex-lovers (one of whom could be Sophie’s father) are each invited to the wedding.

Despite her past “Mamma Mia!” history, Sherrill said she faced a huge audition pool to win the role of Donna for the tour (which launched in upstate New York in October 2023). And since Academy Award-winner Meryl Streep played the same role in the hit 2008 film adaptation, Sherrill knows that she needs to hit it out of the park for each performance.

“I've had a lot of messages from audiences comparing me to Meryl, which is funny to me,” Sherrill said. “Because it is live theater and live music, the two don't really compare, so I get an edge in that.”

Sherrill honed her musical theater skills for many years on suburban Chicago stages such as Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Northlight Theatre in Skokie and more. Sherrill cites her 2013 Jeff Award-winning turn as Norma Desmond in “Sunset Blvd.” at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace as “one of my most proud accomplishments.”

“When I was cast, it was considered a risk,” said Sherrill, noting that she and director William Osetek took a lot of heat because many people felt she appeared too young for the role. “It meant a lot to me that William trusted me and then it paid off.”

The fact that “Mamma Mia!” is playing Chicago's Nederlander Theatre (formerly known as the Oriental) is also significant to Sherrill. It's the same Loop theater where she starred in a 2015 Broadway-aimed musical adaptation of the 1996 film “The First Wives Club” (Sherrill played the Goldie Hawn role).

Sherrill and her family then relocated to New York for more job opportunities, and with the hopes that “First Wives Club” would continue on Broadway. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Then the extended pandemic shutdown prodded Sherrill and her family to return to the Midwest.

Sherrill finds it odd timing that the Chicago run of “Mamma Mia!” overlaps with “Death Becomes Her.” It’s another Broadway-aimed musical adapted from another Goldie Hawn film that will be playing just down the street at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.

“We’ve all bought our tickets,” Sherrill said. “There is literally only one show when we can see ‘Death Becomes Her’ where it doesn’t overlap with our schedule.”

Sherrill is glad to share the joy of “Mamma Mia!” with family and friends when she’s close to home.

“I'm really excited to bring it to Chicago because of how well it's been received in other cities,” said Sherrill, noting how often “Mamma Mia!” is greeted by sold-out houses and standing ovations. “Being a part of something that is so successful, I don't really have the words for how lucky I feel.”

• • •

“Mamma Mia!”

Location: James M. Nederlander Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago, broadwayinchicago.com/

Showtimes: 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 1 p.m. Sunday (also Wednesdays, May 8 and 15); and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, May 5; runs Tuesday, April 30, through May 19

Tickets: $79-$244

Parking: Nearby pay parking garages and metered street parking