'Mama Mia!' Broadway to End Historic Run at Broadhurst Theater in September

Say it isn't so! Is Broadway's Mama Mia! really going to call it quits in the fall? Sadly, the rumors we began hearing late last year appear to have come true. Alas, the record-breaking musical, so inspired by the music and songs of ABBA, is set to end its run in September.

According to The Examiner, the Benny Andersson/Björn Ulvaeus "smash musical hit" will go dark at the Broadhurst Theater come Saturday, September 5, 2015--after 5,765 performances.

Mamma Mia! has become one of the most successful musicals of all time, anywhere in the world. The eighth-longest running show in Broadway history (and one of only five current musicals to have played for more than 10 years), the production recently eclipsed the stretches of Rent, Miss Saigon, 42nd Street, Grease and Fiddler on the Roof.

Broadway's Mamma Mia! opened at the Winter Garden Theater on October 18, 2001, following the wild success of the London premiere, which debuted in 1999 at the Novello Theatre and continues to sell out to this day. Even conservative estimates suggest it's been by over 50 million people in various languages and productions in hundreds of cities.

Inspired by the classic pop anthems of that successful Swedish quartet that formed in Stockholm in 1972, Mama Mia! is a representation of writer Catherine Johnson's witty, uplifting story about family, love and frienship succeeding on a small, Greek island. Specifically, it is the tale of a girl, on the eve of her wedding, inviting three older men from her mother's past to the island, in a desperate effort to reveal the identity of her father. Naturally, craziness ensues as the daughter attempts to bring her life and those she loves closer together.

Critically, the 2008 film adaptation that starred big names like Pierce Brosnan, Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried was a bit lackluster. Despite their less-than-stellar performances (not to mention the singing, Meryl), the film did well at the box office--cashing in more than $600 million worldwide on its way to becoming the most successful movie musical of all time, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

So, if you want to hear "Fernando" and "Dancing Queen" live on Broadway one last time, don't "take a chance"...get your tickets here.