The Mamas & the Papas their original roles, Mackenzie Phillips taking Michelle Phillips' part and Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane of Spanky and Our Gang taking the part of Cass Elliot. Little progress was made until after Phillips had been sentenced and served his time in jail. The quartet began rehearsing in earnest and recording demos in the summer of 1981. Their first performances were in March 1982, when they were praised for their "verve and expertise", the "impressive precision" of the harmonies, and the "feeling ... of genuine celebration" on stage. The group toured the United States, including residencies in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, but
Casey Donovan (singer) 2011 movie version, Donovan was not cast. 2011 saw Donovan reprise her role of Cynthia Macrae in another tour of the hit show "The Sapphires". The tour ran during February in ACT and NSW, and was followed by two weeks in the UK in March. In August/September 2011, Donovan created the role of Mama Cass in the world premiere of new musical "Flowerchildren – The Mamas & the Papas Story" written by Peter Fitzpatrick and produced by Australian company Magnormos. She was joined by Matt Hetherington as John Phillips, Laura Fitzpatrick as Michelle Phillips, and Dan Humphris as Denny Doherty.