Germans will no longer need to flock South in search of sun, sand and sea - now they can take the train North to Hamburg, which is to stage a production of Mamma Mia!, the hit musical set on a Greek island.

Already a box office phenomenon in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia, Mamma Mia! will soon conquer Germany with a November 2002 premiere at Hamburg Operettenhaus Theatre in Hamburg. This will be the first ever non-English production of the musical.

There is no doubt that the ABBA-loving-Germans will be thrilled with the arrival of a show that employs 22 of the best-loved songs of the past three decades. Favorite ABBA numbers like "Dancing Queen" and "Take a Chance on Me," are set to the story of a single mother and her young daughter's marriage on an idyll Aegean island. Coming to the wedding are three men - any one of which might be the bride's father.

Mamma Mia! has been a huge box office success in London for over two years and has broken box office records across the globe.

The musical is directed by Phyllida Lloyd and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast. Mamma Mia! has music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, with a book by Catherine Johnson. The show is designed by Mark Thompson, with lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Andrew Bruce & Bobby Aitken and musical supervision by Martin Koch.