Two versions of a woman in a swinging musical about quantum physics
Aftonbladet 190303
By: JENS PETERSON
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Hugh and Nancy’s many worlds
Director and lyrics Lars Rudolfsson, with Helen Sjöholm, Vanna Rosenberg, Magnus Roosmann, Emma Broomé, Jennie Silfverhjelm, Peter Engman, IngaLill Andersson, Pierre Wilkner, Johan Holmberg, Ruben Granditsky.
An American family. Dull self-absorbed dad. Anxious self-effacing mother. Teenage daughter rebelling. Little brother playing drums. Well-known. But still screwed. Helen Sjöholm and Vanna Rosenberg play different versions of a woman under influence (…)
First of all it is Stranger in paradise. A Russian opera song by Borodin from the 19th century which became a musical song in Kismet and a hit for Tony Bennett. It´s Nancy’s favorite melody and Helen Sjöholm starts the show with a thoughtful version of the ever-green song.
(…) Nancy’s husband Hugh Everett is a prominent scientist who in 1957 presented his theory of the many worlds of quantum mechanics. That there are an infinite number of parallel worlds like ours where versions of us can do other things.
Wonderfully incomprehensible
This gets Nancy to experience when she meets her double. The performance is at its best in the scenes with Helen Sjöholm and Vanna Rosenberg as copies. Their family life has small significant differences, even though husband and children are the same.
Magnus Roosmann plays the husband Hugh, who is not only a regular boring professor but boring on a wonderfully incomprehensible level. It´s brave to do musical about quantum physics. Roosmann has a few songs where his character is bitter to critical colleagues. “People foretell, but Bohr prevails” sounds a refrain in a song that contains all rhymes that exist on “year” (…)
Grilling and infidelity
That, and a few more pieces, get you thinking of Tom Wait’s theatrical sides, and the small orchestra has an interesting set with lots of bass tuba, trumpet and drums.
Nancy remembers their live together, and we meet the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Grilling and card games with friends. Partner exchanges. Infidelity (…)
Brains and numbers
There are staggering oscillations. Skilled actors keep the interest alive, and Emma Broomé who plays Nancy’s daughter Liz impresses in both singing and acting. Much about brains, facts, numbers, science. But it´s the unpredictable wave movements in our emotions that give pulse to the performance.
(The entire review is not reproduced for copyright reasons)