Mania bringing ABBA’s music to Cedar Rapids stage

Alison Ward is portraying pop music royalty when she belts out ABBA tunes with Mania.

“I get it, since ABBA is absolutely iconic and one of the greatest groups in the world,” Ward said. “ABBA was always on in our household. I remember playing Barbie while ‘Waterloo’ and ‘Dancing Queen’ were on in the background.”

However, Ward, 37, grew up in the city best known for another iconic group. The charismatic singer was born and raised in Liverpool, the Beatles’ hometown.

“My nursery school was actually on Penny Lane,” she said while calling from her Los Angeles home. “My sister and I would walk home everyday on Penny Lane. My family still lives down the road from the house where Paul McCartney grew up. We were obviously Beatles fans, and we still are.”

Ward was born after the Beatles and ABBA broke up.

“I missed it when the amazing albums from those two groups came out, but the music has to be kept alive,” she said. “That’s what we do in Mania. We are all about keeping the music alive.”

Ward portrays Agnetha Faltskog, which requires the brunette to sport a wig.

“They say blondes have more fun and I think they’re right,” Ward said with a laugh. “I get way into character. It’s had a huge impact on me. I have the blonde wig and now I have a pink convertible VW bug. I drive around West Hollywood like I’m a British Barbie. Maybe I’m having a midlife crisis!”

That’s no such crisis when Ward steps onstage.

“I love it,” she said. “All I ever wanted to really do was sing.”

However, Ward was a math major in college.

“I got my degree in mathematics, but I wanted to sing and perform,” she said. “Once I got started in the business, I never looked back. I couldn’t be happier singing ABBA songs. They’re some of the greatest pop songs in history. No wonder ABBA was so popular.”

ABBA sold more than 150 albums and when the group broke up in 1982, there was an instant demand for cover acts.

“The songs sound great on record, but you have to experience the songs live,” Ward said. “So people come out and see us.”

Mania was created in 1999. The production was on London's West End for 18 weeks in 2000.

“We put the show on in the West End, which is the UK’s Broadway,” ABBA tour manager Todd Littlewood said while calling from his Oxford, England, office. “This was accomplished many years before there were tribute shows playing out on a big scale. We added an amazing production and took the tribute show to another level, and the response has been tremendous.”

The ABBA tunes are just as resonant today as they were during the group’s '1970s hey day.

“It’s about the songs,” Littlewood said. “You need to know what to play.”

ABBA’s hits are endless, so which favorites get played?

“It might sound obvious what to play, but it isn’t,” Littlewood said. “Sure, there is no doubt about it songs like ‘Mamma Mia,’ ‘Dancing Queen’ and ‘Take a Chance on Me.’ ”

However, some ABBA songs that are huge in Europe fail to strike a chord in America, including the UK smash, “Thank you for the Music.”

“That song is absolutely massive in Europe,” Littlewood said. “But when we played it during a key part of the show in America a few years ago, Americans didn’t respond like I imagined they would.”

Littlewood makes the necessary changes and fans are responding to the songs on the set list.

“It’s a smooth show that’s so much fun for any fan of ABBA,” Ward said.