Pittsburgh CLO’s “Mamma Mia!” saves the best for last. With performers draped or shrink-wrapped in silver and white, lit by disco balls reflecting prisms of color, the company delivers a mini-concert of ABBA’s megahits, including “Dancing Queen” and “Waterloo.”

It’s a celebratory conclusion to a wild ride, and on opening night Friday, it was hard to tell who was having more fun, the cast or the audience.

“Mamma Mia!” — the matriarch of all jukebox musicals — uses the catalog of Swedish supergroup ABBA in a tale fit for 1970s-era comedy. This is Pittsburgh CLO’s first crack at the musical that for many was love at first song -—it was on Broadway for 14 years and has toured through Pittsburgh several times.

The fast-paced production now at the Benedum Center is silly, sexy and heartfelt, and it has those familiar songs to help navigate through troubled waters. The show was uneven in spots during Friday’s opening-night performance, particularly in the first act, but throughout it featured visual delights — a Greek island set fit for a picture postcard and costumes that took the cast from the beach to a wedding to disco glory. 

The setting is the taverna of Donna Sheridan, a single mother whose 20-year-old daughter is about to be married. Someone says of the proceedings, “It’s all very Greek,” but it’s more "My Big Fat Greek wedding" then anything by Sophocles. The ancient writer does, however, get a shoutout when Donna’s friend protests that she’s old enough to be a younger man’s mother. “Then I’m Oedipus,” he answers.

Playing Donna is Sally Ann Triplett, reprising her role from London’s West End. Some 21 years earlier, Donna was a brokenhearted pop singer who went on a sexual binge, became pregnant and never found out which of three men fathered her daughter. Now a bride-to-be, Sophie reads mom’s diary, discovers the candidates, and secretly invites them all to her wedding. She’s sure she will know dad when she sees him and doesn’t seem too concerned that her mother is bound to “freak out.”

Ms. Triplett has played a range of characters from Beatrice in “Much Ado About Nothing” to Judy Garland, and she has everything from a growl to a full-on belt in her repertoire. She uses the full range as Donna predictably has a meltdown when she is confronted by her three former lovers. The actress sings “Mamma Mia!” with a nail gun in her hand, and you believe she’s not afraid to use it.

At the heart of the show is Erika Hennigsen’s Sophie, the actress who was a delight as “South Pacific’s” Nellie Forbush for Pittsburgh CLO last summer. She brings innocence and hopefulness to a girl with a sweet voice to match her disposition. Sophie thinks she can only move forward if she knows her father, but in the process she gains insights into her devoted mother.

As the divorced Sam, Matt Bogart (“Jersey Boys”; PCLO’s “Oklahoma!”) returns to the island where he fell in love with Donna, still pining for her. The three men, including writer Bill (Christian Whelan) and banker Harry (Rick Negron), have arrived thinking to recapture a bit of their youth, but each begins to suspect that Sophie may be his.

Sam comes with more emotional baggage than the rest, and Mr. Bogart’s stirring solo “Knowing Me, Knowing You” is a highlight of the second act.

The first act of the production, directed and choreographed by Barry Ivan, suffered from distracting scene changes that pulled the punches of several numbers. The music at times overwhelmed vocals and the lyrics, particularly when the three Dynamos — Donna and gal pals Rosie (Lori Hammel) and Tanya (Michelle Dawson) — were rediscovering their groove. Rosie represents the independent woman, while thrice-married Tanya arrives in stilettos and falls in with the groom’s young friends.

The vibe among the ensemble is frisky, to say the least. Sophie’s fiance, Sky (Ryan Vona), has settled in Greece after burning out on Wall Street and surrounded himself with frat-boy buddies. Fresh from the dance-heavy “Newsies,” the guys in the PCLO ensemble are put through their paces again, including a comedic number with flippers and inflatable tubes. The company pulls together with the disco-tinged “Voulez-Vous,” the “Saturday Night Fever”-ish end to act one, that was a sigh of smooth sailing ahead.

Act two sailed by, with Ms. Triplett upping the emotional ante on the regret-filled “The Winner Takes It All,” and Ms. Hammel and Mr. Whelan mining laughs with “Take a Chance on Me.”

Although “Mamma Mia!” has been a movie starring Meryl Streep, inspiring an upcoming sequel, there were still a few gasps in the audience when the dust cleared on Friday. However, it seemed that everyone knew to stay in their seats — or get up and dance — for the grand finale. The ruffles alone are worth the wait.

Sharon Eberson: seberson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1960. Twitter: @SEberson_pg.

First Published: July 29, 2017, 11:20 p.m.
Updated: July 30, 2017, 12:15 a.m.