Photo & © Mats Bäcker
2023-09-11 Borås Tidning
By: ELIN THORNBERG
Colorful, fun with fantastic songs and a star-studded ensemble with Helen Sjöholm as the obvious driving force. The musical Änglagård (House of Angels) succeeds in bringing the classic movie into the present (…)
Colin Nutleys House of Angels – musikalen
Where: Oscar Theater, Stockholm
Director: Edward af Sillén
Composer and lyrics: Fredrik Kempe
Screenplay: Edward af Sillén and Daniel Réhn
Orchestral arrangement: Karl-Johan Ankarblom
Choreography: Per Magnus Andersson
Scenography: Lars Östbergh
Conductor: Johan Siberg
Producer: Vicky von der Lancken and Johan von der Lancken
Cast: Helen Sjöholm (Rut), Tommy Körberg (Gottfrid), Tuva B Larsen (Fanny), Lindy Larsson (Zac), Fredrik Lycke (Axel), Gustav Levin (Ivar), Sofia Pekkari (Eva), Per Svensson (the priest ), Martin Stokke Mathiesen (Mårten) and Denny Lekström (lawyer Ragnar) + ensemble.
(…)
Becoming a musical in 2023 is the best thing that could happen to House of Angels. Here, the story has been collected, refined, peeled and re-baked, with strong vocal numbers as the main ingredient. And there is a lot of it here. The songwriter Fredrik Kempe has obviously been inspired by great musicals such as Chess and Kristina from Duvemåla and delivers several strong songs that let the artists’ voices take center stage.
(…) The story, as many of us know, revolves around the House of Angels, which after Erik’s death is taken over by the show artist Fanny – the heir no one thought existed. Fanny and her friend Zac shake up the small community from the ground up. However, the plot has been rearranged, and in the musical it is actually Rut Flogfält – the deceived wife, played by an absolutely fantastic Helen Sjöholm – who is the nerve and driving force of the story. She knows right from the start who Fanny is, and also that her husband has cheated on her 30 years earlier with the woman she thought was her best friend – Alice, Fanny’s mother. When Fanny appears, of course Rut’s world collapses.
It´s Rut – not Fanny – who takes the biggest place in the musical. An unexpected but welcome change. Helen Sjöholm gives her all in her magnificent solo numbers such as Min plats i solen (My place in the sun), as well as the strong duet Moln av vita lögner (Clouds of white lies) with Fredrik Lycke, but is also funny in ensemble numbers such as Sticka, sticka (Knit, knit). Her clear, natural voice and strong empathy show once again that she is natural on the musical throne. Tommy Körberg is the musical’s second exclamation point as the cute old man Gottfrid. Initially, Gottfrid and his brother Ivar (played by a charming Gustav Levin) are mainly comical as in the incredibly choreographed En enkel gubbe (A simple old man), but above all Gottfrid deepens into a serious and moving character, as in the beautifully stripped-down ballad Ljusa minnen (Bright memories) of a love story that never happened (…)
The musical also offers a series of delightful performances with the super duo Tuva B Larsen and Lindy Larsson in the lead as Fanny and Zac, whose interaction, attitude and charisma are in obvious focus every time they are on stage. The idyllic countryside aesthetic is mixed with German cabaret and fantastic costumes. In the stylish ensemble number Kött och blod (Flesh and blood), where the countrymen challenge the German cabaret artists, I let a “wow” escape my lips.
House of Angels is made for the musical stage. Despite the movie’s somewhat dated theme of rural people’s narrowness, the musical succeeds not only to entertain, but also to say something about our own contemporary times and how rewarding it can be when we accept and try to understand each other, no matter how different we may seem.
Hats off to House of Angels. I can hardly save myself until the studio album comes.
(The entire review is not reproduced for copyright reasons)