Judy Cramer created the stage show Mama Mia after meeting Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, of ABBA while she was working in production in the London Theatre scene.
Originally pitching the idea as a movie screen play she had a breakthrough in 1995 when she realised that it would be better to create a stage show.
By 1997 she had invested over £20,000, 2 years of her time and had sold her flat to finance the growing costs of her obsession. With virtually no encouragement from her friends she persisted on.
Finally in late 1997 Judy successfully secured the rights to the ABBA songs, persuaded Polygram to finance half the £3M set up costs and advance her £300,000 to begin the show.
With the support of Polygram, Bjorn and Benny she went on to get a Swedish Bank to finance the rest of the money she needed to open the show.
In April 1999, four years after she was struck with the idea, Mama Mia opened to sell-out crowds and the show was an instant success. It has since grossed more than $2 billion at the box office, opened in more than 170 cities all over the world, been seen by 30 million people.
Craymer’s has a 50% share in her company “Littlestar”, that has monthly turnover of £16M+. All the creative team involved in the show have become millionaires, and Craymer earns an estimated £4m a year from the show, amassing a personal fortune of tens of millions of pounds.
Not to rest on her laurels, Judy Craymer recently announced that her Stage Show will finally become the movie she originally envisaged over a decade ago. With Universal Pictures behind it, Colin Firth, Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan Staring in it and a $65M Budget it is sure to be the feel good “chick-flick” of the summer.
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