The Beat Goes On: Carly Sakolove and Jalynn Steele Find Their Groove in Broadway’s Mamma Mia! Return

After 20 months of touring the country in Mamma Mia!, Carly Sakolove and Jalynn Steele have finally found something they didn’t have on the road: rhythm. Now a few months into the Broadway return of the ABBA-filled juggernaut, the two performers are back in New York and living out their Dynamos dreams—eight shows a week at the Winter Garden Theatre.

“When we started the tour, I didn’t have Broadway in the stars,” Steele recalled. “But I thought, hey, how amazing would it be to go back to the Winter Garden and do this—and get to go to work where I live?”

“For me,” added Sakolove, “it’s about finally getting to breathe. On the road, you’re in a new city every week. Now we’re home, we have our apartments, our people. We can just breathe our own air.”

Their bond onstage as Tanya and Rosie was forged over many miles. Before Broadway, their days were filled with travel—new cities each week, quick tech rehearsals, eight-show weeks, then packing it all up to do it again. “It can be exhausting,” Sakolove admitted. “But it’s also so exciting. You get to know the country, try new coffee shops, meet new audiences.”

“You get into a rhythm with the cast,” Steele added. “We could just look at each other and know exactly what kind of day it was.”

That closeness is central to their chemistry in Mamma Mia!, a show that relies on the joyful dynamic between its leading trio. “The best part of it all is the family we’ve created between us and Christine [Sherrill, who plays Donna],” Sakolove said. “You can feel it onstage. And when you’re living together and traveling together—it’s real.”

In fact, their friendship predates Mamma Mia! by decades. They first met at the Broadway Theatre Project, a summer training intensive for young performers. “I signed her book with my address and everything,” Steele recalled with a laugh. “We reconnected in rehearsals and everything just clicked.”

Sakolove describes herself as “a Rosie through and through—messy, loud, always trying to make someone laugh.” Steele, meanwhile, doesn’t see herself in the role of Tanya at all. “I’m not a Tanya,” she said. “I love sweats, a cozy chair, nothing too fancy. I’m much more of a Donna—backstage, I’m always making sure everyone has what they need. I’m the mama.”

Audiences are still showing up in droves, often bringing along generations of ABBA fans for the ride. “It’s wild to see three generations of women come together—grandmas, moms, little kids—jamming to ‘Dancing Queen,’” said Steele.

And that final megamix might just be the most joyful few minutes on Broadway right now. “It feels like we’re rock stars,” Sakolove said. “It’s a party. It’s joyful. And it’s just what we need right now.”

As Mamma Mia! continues its run at the Winter Garden (scheduled to end February 1, 2026), Sakolove and Steele aren’t just finding rhythm—they’re holding down the beat in one of Broadway’s most beloved musicals.

Watch the full video interview below!

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