Georgia Kate Haege leads cast as ‘Mamma Mia!’ comes to Smith Center

By her own admission, Georgia Kate Haege isn’t your typical, “cookie-cutter” musical theater leading lady. Not with the “short, wild, curly hair” — and the tattoos.

Then again, “Mamma Mia!” isn’t your typical musical.

Powered by ABBA’s ’70s-’80s jukebox pop, “Mamma Mia!” has been setting records since its 1999 debut on London’s West End.

So far, more than 54 million people around the world have cheered its cheery mix of musical memories and musical-comedy complications. The Broadway version racked up its 5,000th performance in November — and the beat shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

And while the Vegas version closed five years ago at Mandalay Bay, the show’s headed back to the Tropicana in May.

Until it returns to the Strip, however, “Mamma Mia!” fanatics can get a temporary ABBA fix next week, when the show’s current U.S. tour makes an eight-performance stop at The Smith Center’s Reynolds Hall.

Haege leads the cast as Donna Sheridan, one-time ’70s “wild child” and former pop diva, who dropped out of the music scene to raise her daughter Sophie while running an inn on an idyllic Greek island.

But now that Sophie (played by Chelsea Williams) is getting married, she’d like her father to walk her down the aisle. Trouble is, Sophie’s not sure who he is — and, in hopes of finding out, invites three of her mom’s old flames to the big event.

Although the show was shaped around existing ABBA hits (including “Dancing Queen,” “Money, Money, Money,” “Take a Chance on Me,” “S.O.S.” — and, of course, the title tune), “Mamma Mia!” is one jukebox musical where the songs, as in a traditional musical, move the plot along.

“That doesn’t happen a lot” in jukebox musicals, Haege contends. “It’s almost as if the songs were written for this, and vice versa.”

As for the show’s blend of Broadway and pop, Haege knows the territories.

Although she trained at the Sydney University Conservatorium of Music in her native Australia, Haege found work as a backup singer for everyone from Meat Loaf to the Crystals’ La La Brooks after coming to New York in 2002.

Her songs turned up on such TV shows as “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” and “Joan of Arcadia.” Her voice turned up on everything from radio commercials to how-to books. And you might have seen Haege on “Celebrity Apprentice,” singing jingles for such participants as Poison’s Bret Michaels.

Haege also sang in bands of her own, including the disco-pop Liquid Diet.

That experience “really helped in casting me,” the performer recalls during a telephone interview. “Number one, I have the pop sound,” along with the kind of microphone technique that comes in handy during the show.

And because Haege’s used to “being onstage in front of a crowd,” she’s more than able to “showboat” as any good pop diva should, she points out. “I think that really helps.”

Despite those qualifications, however, another factor played a major role in Haege’s casting: luck.

Although she planned to audition for “Mamma Mia!” last January, Haege instead wound up back in Australia, touring in the circuslike, off-Broadway show “Empire.”

As a result, her “Mamma Mia!” audition was pushed back to March. And while Haege recorded “The Winner Takes It All,” she never got around to sending it to “Mamma Mia!” casting officials.

Then, months later, Haege was auditioning for the Broadway show “Soul Doctor” (which opened in August — and closed in October). “Soul Doctor’s” casting official also happened to be casting the “Mamma Mia!” tour — and reminded Haege that she hadn’t submitted her ABBA audition tape.

Because it was “a quiet day,” they decided to do the “Mamma Mia!” audition then and there.

So the pianist read music from his iPhone and the casting official “filmed me on her iPhone,” Haege recalls — an audition that was forwarded to the show’s producers, who decided they wanted to see Haege for a callback.

“I only auditioned once in person,” she admits.

But once was enough to win the role of a character who’s “a feisty, independent free spirit,” Haege says. “She’s not afraid to speak her mind.”

Since late October, Haege and her castmates have been on the road, crisscrossing the U.S. by bus on a tour that includes numerous one- and two-night stops — along with weeklong stops like the troupe’s upcoming Vegas visit.

On the day Haege talked with the Review-Journal, for example, the company had just departed Davenport, Iowa, heading for an overnight stop in Dayton, Ohio — en route to Roanoke, Va.

Often, “we have to leave at 6 a.m. — and do a show at 7:30 that night,” she notes. “Touring is not for the faint of heart.” (Especially because this “Mamma Mia!” is scheduled to be on the road through June.)

“We get up really early, travel all day, do a sound check — and then put on a great show,” she says.

“And no one knows” about the grueling schedule.

Which is just as it should be, Haege maintains.

After all, “Mamma Mia!” is a musical that advertises itself with the following tagline: “You know you’re going to love it.”

Audiences already know “the fabulous songs that have stood the test of time,” she notes. As a result, during the show, they’re “up in the aisles with us, dancing and singing along.”

Sometimes audience members “will call things out” during the performance, Haege adds. “It’s such a fun night. No one’s going to come out without a smile on their face.”

Contact reporter Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.