The Mamas & the Papas played something closer to folk rock, with bass and drums. Their rehearsals in the Virgin Islands were "the first time that we tried playing electric". The band then traveled from New York to Los Angeles for an audition with Lou Adler, co-owner of Dunhill Records. The audition was arranged by Barry McGuire, who had befriended Cass Elliot and John Phillips independently over the previous two years, and who had recently signed with Dunhill himself. It led to "a deal in which they would record two albums a year for the next five years", with a royalty of 5 percent on
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.