Daily Gossip
by Jennifer Pinner
Meryl Streep to star in 'Mamma Mia'
nuts4chic can reveal that Meryl Streep is to star in the Hollywood version of the hit stage musical "Mamma Mia".
The Oscar winning actress beat off competition from other A-list stars, including Nicole Kidman and Michelle Pfeiffer, to win the coveted role of feisty single mum Donna.
Mamma Mia has become one of the most successful musicals of all time and is based on the songs of 1980's Swedish super group Abba.
Since its opening in London's West End seven years ago, it has been
performed in over 130 cities worldwide and taken almost £1bn at the box office.
Filming of the Hollywood version will begin later this year in London and Greece and is being produced by actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita.
Streep, 57, who is an accomplished singer, was always at the top of the wish list of stars for British co-producer Judith Craymer. But Pfeiffer, Kidman and even Kim Basinger were also reported to be in the running for the role.
Mamma Mia will be versatile Streep's first full musical, although she has sung in Postcards from The Edge and appeared in last year's A Prairie Home Companion.
Streep is tipped for Oscar glory for The Devil Wears Prada in which she played a bitchy fashion magazine editor.
'Mamma Mia' tells the story of bride-to-be, Sophie, who has never met her father and invites three possible candidates to her wedding on a Greek island.
The stage show, which opened in London's West End to critical and audience acclaim in 1999, features 22 songs from Abba, including 'Dancing Queen' and 'Thank You for the Music.'
Seven years after opening it is still one of the most popular shows in
London and in New York is the 24th longest running stage show on Broadway.
The film's co-producer Judy Craymer devised the stage version and persuaded the Abba duo Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus to take part.
Announcing the deal with Streep, 57, Craymer told Variety: “She was always at the top of our wish list, and she encapsulates the spirit and energy and has the powerhouse qualities that character requires.”
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