#Gunilla Backman

[hobgoblinns]

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (sweden, 2014)

"'heaven is within us,' that is what you said!"

[cryptidvoidwritings]

A cheeky backstage photo dump from Kayleigh Thadani.

Instagram stories: November 27, 2022

[white-cat-of-doom]

Electra has many friends!

Kayleigh Thadani performed on Saturday (26 November 2022) as Electra in Stockholm in the UK/International Tour 2022.

With Gunilla Backman as Grizabella, Hal Fowler as Asparagus, Russell Dickson as Munkustrap, Liam Mower as Mistoffelees, Harry Robinson as Mungojerrie, Harrison Wilde as Rum Tum Tugger, and Joel Cooper as Carbucketty.

[godnattakatta]

sevencatcalls week 1: Grizabella

[Betty Buckley, Laurie Beechman, Elaine Paige]

[goldshirtleia]

Hello yes it is that time of year again, I am listening to the 1970 OG recording of JCS on vinyl and have decided to finally make a list my rankings for every role and aspect of this show. For the record I am a pagan whose only real knowledge of the Jesus story is from this show so forgive my unhinged takes.

Characters:

Jesus:

Ian Gillan (OG album/broadway)

Ted Neeley (1973)

Ola Sålo (Swedish 2014)

Jack Hopewell (North American Tour 2022)

Morgan James (all female cast 2022)

Judas:

Carl Anderson (1973)

Brandon Victor Dixon (2018)

Murray Head (OG album)

Shoshana Bean (all female cast 2022)

Peter Johannson (Swedish 2014)

Honourable mention to Colm Wilkinson (it is a CRIME that there isn't a full recording of the Irish cast)

Mary Magdalene:

Yvonne Elliman (OG album/broadway/1973)

That's it, no one else even comes close

(Maybe an honourable mention for Gunilla Backman)

Pontius Pilate:

Barry Dennen (OG album/1973)

Filippo Strocchi (Vienna 2018)

Orfeh (all female cast 2022)

Caiaphas:

Bob Bingham (OG broadway/1973)

Norm Lewis (NBC 2018) I will ALWAYS stan Norm

Victor Brox (OG album)

Simon Zealotes:

TIE - Larry Marshall (1971)

TIE - Eric Grönwall (NBC 2018)

John Gustafson (OG album)

Tony Vincent (2000)

Herod:

Alice Cooper (NBC 2018)

Mike D'Abo (OG album)

Chris Moyles (Arena Tour 2012)

Overall - staging/set design/costumes:

1973 Movie

NBC 2018

North American Tour 2022

Arena Tour 2012

Honourable mention to the OG broadway production -- I haven't seen enough footage to accurately rank it but I LOVE Jesus's cape in Superstar.

Best overall rendition of Superstar (incl. staging, costumes, etc)

1973 Movie

NBC 2018

Arena Tour 2012

Swedish 2014

Best facial expressions:

Carl Anderson during Simon Zealotes

Carl Anderson right before he engages in respectability politics to slut shame Mary

Tim Minchin when the priests take his joint lmao

Best Superstar costume:

Carl Anderson's white maxi fringe jumpsuit (come ON)

Peter Johannson's shirtless #lewk (I have a whole thing about how Judas should not look like a demon but the sparkly red pants and the Legolas hair are too fantastic)

Brandon Victor Dixon in the full silver fit

Best WTF moments:

That bit in the 1973 film where they all form The Last Supper for a quick second and no one comments on it

When the 1973 crowd says "won't you die for me?" in Hosanna and it just FREEZES on Jesus's face

The Swedish cast pushing Jesus into Jerusalem in a shopping cart

The fighter pilots swooping at Judas after Blood Money in 1973. What WAS that. How did they get that.

That is all lol. Every time we watch even a clip of a new production my mother and I spend 2-3 hours discussing how it fits into our rankings, so this could change.

[raivokasmagma]

Italoconnection - When the Night is Cold (Army of Lovers cover)

Italoconnection sure comes around, when I'm browsing modern italo disco. So I decided to check their material and found Nordisko album. It has covers of Nordic electro hits of the past, with help of modern Nordic electro artists.

When the Night is Cold really stood out for me. Dramatic feel, badass sound?

So how the original by Army of Lovers was? I thought it would be bit silly by the thumbnail. Moustache, never get tired of them XD

To my surprise, it was actually similar. Dramatic feel, actually quite badass sound. Vocals may not be as good, but the monotonic delivery works here?

Of course the Italoconnection has that italo disco oomph I love, but Army of Lovers original still holds up.

[jcs-study]

Hi again! I have a few questions to ask, but firstly, I’d like to thank you for introducing me to the 1992 Australian Cast! While some of the orchestrations haven’t aged well, I still think that their takes on the Temple and King Herod’s song are the best ones I’ve heard, and the cast is all around fantastic. I think Kate Ceberano’s interpretation of Mary Magdalene is now one of my favorites. Now, on to the questions:

1.) What’s your favorite interpretation/staging of Superstar (the song)? I’ve always loved the 1973 film version, with Judas and the Angels in the amphitheater. I think it made clear that the whole event was a hallucination, and I love how the exuberance of the Angels was contrasted by Judas’ frustration and general desperation.

2.) Are there any foreign language stagings/recordings of the musical that you like in particular? I’ve always really liked Camilo Sesto’s version. There’s also the Swedish version with Ola Salo, which a lot of people here like for its dynamic between Jesus and Judas (speaking of, have you seen the Swedish production yet)?

3.) You’ve talked in some posts about a hypothetical production of the musical, with a preference to more minimalistic staging. How would the staging and set/costume designs for that be like?

Holy crap, we can fit more in the ask box than we used to! Nice! Okay, so let's go through this point by point.

The Australian revival cast is easily a "best of the Nineties' Top 40" smorgasbord, musically speaking, for good or for ill. You've got an opening of "Everything's Alright" that calls to mind "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" from The Lion King, a "Simon Zealotes" that veers uneasily between C+C Music Factory and Right Said Fred, a "Pilate's Dream" that might as well be "Sadness" by Enigma, an "I Don't Know How to Love Him" that sounds like a softer version of what Luther Vandross was doing on "Power of Love," and a "Superstar" that stops just short of EMF's "Unbelievable." (If any reader doesn't recognize these references, a) man, do I feel old, and b) look 'em up; as cheesy as I make them sound, they are enjoyable, for the most part.) But for every moment like those, there's something like the imaginative use of percussion and sitar in "The Temple," which quite effectively conjures up the desired "sleazy Indiana Jones-esque bazaar" effect, and of course, the brilliant "arena rock" Herod. I especially like the chorus of "Oi"s toward the end when Herod gets fed up with Jesus' non-compliance. (That said, I do wish someone other than Angry Anderson had sung it.) Plus, when so many other productions of JCS were treading safe ground, the '92 Oz cast took risks, and that's what I tend to like in a JCS.

That's a question I've never been asked before, not that I haven't given the number some deep thought. (I've gone through times when I debated whether or not it made dramatic sense for Judas to be the one singing the song, never mind how it was staged.) On balance, I like the '73 film version the best of what we have, but I don't have a favorite staging of that song.

I have a ready answer to the foreign translation question as I work on the book's recommended listening/reading/viewing chapter. As recordings go, I'm fond of the original French, Spanish (here meaning Camilo Sesto), and 2001 Hungarian revival casts. Viewing-wise, I rank the 2014 Swedish arena tour highly. It's a bit dreary and dystopian-looking, but especially noteworthy for a) being fully staged (which can't be said for other popular arena versions of the show), b) offering a Mary in Gunilla Backman that proves older women can do the part justice, and c) exploring the Jesus/Judas/Mary triangle in-depth, with loving, gentle chemistry that makes what happens to them feel all the more personal. The acting is so clear and direct that the language barrier shouldn't be an issue, and the singing is impressive.

I have talked about that quite a bit; I've written about it at length before on my main non-Tumblr blog. I think I'll post those thoughts over here sometime and put them in the same place as all my other JCS scribbles. Thanks for planting the seed!

[cawamedia]

Company - The Musical

En av världens mest älskade musikaler kommer äntligen till Sverige. I Stephen Sondheims “Company” följer vi Bobbies sökande efter kärlek och mening, omgiven av vänner i parrelationer och mitt i den pulserande storstaden. I rollerna ser vi Sveriges allra bästa musikalartister som bland andra Frida Modén Treichl, Helen Sjöholm och Gunilla Backman, i regi av Maria Sid. Premiär 30 augusti 2024 på…

[munkustance]

I'd love to know what you thought about seeing the show on stage after seeing the 98 film!

It was amazing! The show had some obvious changes but they were all great (maybe not the macavity prelude right before the ball but eh). I especially like the new tap number during the Gumbie cat song.

Seeing the real stage and costumes was wild! And (as I've said many times before) having Milan as Tantomile next to me so many times introduced me to my love for her.

The green eyes part in the begining was amazing! The Ball was beautiful! The dancing all around was mesmerising! And I loved being able to see the whole Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer preformance without having to watch a bootleg. While we're on the topic of the twins- THAT DUBBLE-CARTWHEEL WAS AMAZING!

We had Gunilla Backman (a famous swedish actress) play Grizabella and she was fine, my friend who is a bit more music intressted than I am said she used to much vibrato (I think that was what it was atleast) and I guess that's why I wasn't really blown away by her preformance.

But someone I was blown away by was Frances Dee's performance as Demeter. I can't even explain it. She was just so so so extremely good! She didn't overplay Demeter's anxiety and her voice fit her so well. I remember her whispering "Macavity's not there" and how I got chills. She was just that good!

I wish I had chosen better seats though but now I know that for the next time!

[illrutt]

Thank you for the music på Oscarsteatern

[framblebee]

Jesus Christ Superstar (Swedish Arena Tour 2014)

Åh Maria, vad skönt...

[hobgoblinns]

i have published my tomfoolery

[proto-language]

MUSICAL APPRECIATION WEEK - DAY 1 : FAVOURITE STAGE PRODUCTION

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR - SWEDISH ARENA TOUR (2014)

OLA SALO AS JESUS CHRIST PETER JOHANSSON AS JUDAS ISCARIOT GUNILLA BACKMAN AS MARY MAGDALENE

[white-cat-of-doom]

A small round up of photos from the UK/International Tour 2022 in Gothenburg, Sweden, 17-19 November 2022.

Gunilla Backman made her Grizabella debut. Like Ina Wroldson before her, she is a temporary performer, specifically for shows in Sweden.

Anna Campkin is still performing as 'Autumn' which makes me happy.

Kayleigh Thadani is still Electra! With Aimee Hodnett as Jellylorum.

Harrison Wilde is ready to have a good time on stage.

[godnattakatta]

right - should have shared this weeks ago probably, lol 

recordings from when cats was in Stockholm 24/11-22 - so Gunilla Backman as Grizabella. not the best audio since this was recorded on a phone, but i’d say it’s decent enough. 

https://mega.nz/folder/yQNCxK4A#_35dm5kRIiz9DDIsyMN7Ag

kindly don’t repost the link anywhere. 

[strawberry-judas]