Aftonbladet 130328
By: NILS FRANCHELL
After the success with “Torka inga tårar…” (Wipe no tears …) Jonas Gardell is investing in a musical. Today, Aftonbladet can reveal that he and the pop king Fredrik Kempe will set up a musical version of the movie success “Livet är en schlager” (Life is a popular song). In tonight’s television special with Gardell, you can hear the musical’s future star Helen Sjöholm give a first taste.
Jonas Gardell and Susanne Bier’s blockbuster movie “Livet är en schlager” premiered in 2000 and became a great success. Now, Gardell has made the film into a musical with music by pop guru Fredrik Kempe, who has written songs like Eurovision Song Contest winners Hero (Charlotte Perrelli), La voix (Malena Ernman) and Popular (Eric Saade).
– Fredrik Kempe and I have secretly been writing songs for several years to “Livet är en schlager”, reveals Jonas Gardell.
Helen Sjöholm starring
In tonight’s TV special on SVT 1 from the Grand Theatre in Gothenburg; “An evening with Jonas Gardell”, Helen Sjöholm will give a first taste of Gardell and Kempe’s upcoming musical.
– The song “Som skapta för varann” (As though made for each other), was in fact sung for the very first time at my and Mark’s silver wedding in 2011. Helen Sjöholm was the secret guest and sang in our living room! It was magical! Jonas says, and continues:
– And then Helen Sjöholm agreed to play the lead role! This is really a dream project!
Fredrik Kempe is also very proud of the cooperation, and not least of “Som skapta för varann”.
– Remember where you heard it the first time, because damn this song, will be parked on the Swedish charts the next five years! he says with a laugh and emphasizes that all the songs in the musical are newly written.
– So it´s no “Mamma Mia!”, no “singing old hits with a twist” musical.
Sjöholm secretive
In the film version of “Livet är en schlager” Helena Bergström plays the role of the mother of small children, Mona, who submits a song for the Eurovision Song Contest, which was written by handicapped David, a man she is working as a personal assistant for. In the musical version it´s Helen Sjöholm who plays the role of the unbacked pop hit Mona.
– I can not say much more than that we will do this, and it will be great fun, confirms Helen Sjöholm to Aftonbladet.
The role of David is, like in the film, played by Jonas Karlsson. Who will play the role of Mona’s transsexual and AIDS-sick brother Candy Darling, in the film played by Björn Kjellman, is still a secret. The musical will premiere next year.