SMASH hit musical Mamma Mia is coming to Bradford, The Guide exclusively reveals today.

The much-loved show, featuring the timeless, feelgood songs of Abba, will be at the Alhambra for a four-week run as part of its 20th anniversary tour.

It is the first Alhambra run for Mamma Mia which, since it premiered in London in 1999, has become a global phenomenon and inspired two hit movies.

Creator and producer Judy Craymer’s vision - staging the story-telling of Abba songs with the sunny, funny tale of a mother, her daughter and three possible dads unfolding on an idyllic Greek island - caught audience’s imaginations and, to date, it has been seen by more than 60 million people in 50 productions in 16 different languages.

It became the eighth longest-running show in Broadway history, playing a record-breaking New York run for 14 years. And in 2011 it was the first Western musical ever to be staged in the Mandarin language, in China.

Mamma Mia continues to thrill audiences at the Novello Theatre in London’s West End, where it will celebrate its 20th anniversary on April 6, 2019.

Produced by Judy Craymer, Mamma Mia! The Movie - starring Meryl Streep, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Amanda Seyfried - became the highest-grossing live action musical film of all time upon its release in 2008.

A second film, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again opened in July this year. Reuniting the original cast with Lily James and Cher, it is now the most successful live musical movie sequel of all time.

Judy Craymer said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing Mamma Mia! to the Alhambra Theatre for the first time as we celebrate

20 years since the musical first opened in London’s West End.

"It’s a very special year. We can’t wait to have Bradford audiences dancing in the aisles.”

With music and lyrics by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus, Mamma Mia! is written by Catherine Johnson,

directed by Phyllida Lloyd and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast.

The show is set on a Greek island, where Donna runs a ramshackle hotel. When her daughter, Sophie, gets engaged she decides to invite three men from Donna's past to the wedding, in the hope that one of them is her father.

Meanwhile, Donna is reunited with her two best friends on the island, and they decide to perform for one last time as the pop trio they started as young women.

The warmhearted musical includes such hits as Super Trouper, Lay All Your Love on Me, Dancing Queen, Take a Chance on Me, Money, Money, Money and The Winner Takes It All.

* Mamma Mia! runs at the Alhambra from October 30 to November 23, 2019.

* Priority booking for Bradford Theatres Friends is from Monday, December 3 at 9am and tickets go on general sale on Monday, December 10. Call (01274) 432000 or visit bradford-theatres.co.uk