Meryl Streep to Star in Mamma Mia! Film

Oscar winner Meryl Streep has signed on to play Donna Sheridan in the film version of the hit musical Mamma Mia!, according to Variety. Filming is expected to begin this summer, with Phyllida Lloyd, the musical’s director, at the helm. No other casting has been announced.

Mamma Mia! features a book by Catherine Johnson — who will write the screenplay — and the songs of the pop group ABBA to tell the story of a young woman getting married on a Greek island who tries to find out who her father is — a secret long-held by her mother, Donna.

The show opened in London in 1999, and on Broadway in 2001. It has played in over 100 cities around the world, including a popular Las Vegas production, which is now scheduled to close in summer 2008.

Streep’s stage credits include the Shakespeare in the Park productions of Mother Courage and Her Children and The Seagull, both opposite Kevin Kline, and the Broadway production of Happy End. Last year, she also participated in The Public Sings, where she performed a number from Hair and the song “Some Other Time” with Mike Nichols.

She received Oscars for Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie’s Choice (also opposite Kline), and is expected to receive another nomination this year for The Devil Wears Prada. While she has never filmed a musical, per se, she has sung on screen in such films as Postcards from the Edge and A Prairie Home Companion.