About the work
“Wie im Himmel” (original title “Så som i himmelen”) is a Swedish musical with a book by Kay Pollak and Carin Pollak, lyrics by Carin Pollak and Fredrik Kempe and music by Fredrik Kempe; Edward af Sillén contributed to the script. It is based on Kay Pollak's 2004 film of the same name, known in English as “As It Is in Heaven”. The musical premiered on 13 September 2018 at the Oscarsteatern in Stockholm, directed by Markus Virta; the German version by Roman Hinze, based on Gabriele Haefs's translation, was first staged on 11 September 2021 at the Landestheater Linz.
Plot
The internationally acclaimed conductor Daniel Daréus abandons his career after collapsing in the middle of a concert and buys the old school in Ljusåker, the remote northern Swedish village where he was bullied as a child; under his stage name nobody recognises him there. Only reluctantly does he take over the church choir, and with unconventional methods he gives the amateur singers courage and joy in singing together. Along the way he grows close to the young Lena and encourages Gabriella, who suffers under her violent husband Conny, while Conny and Pastor Stig resist the change in the village.
Cultural significance
The film was a major box-office success in Sweden and abroad and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film; its well-known song “Gabriellas sång” (Stefan Nilsson, Py Bäckman) is also part of the musical. After enthusiastic reviews, the Stockholm production was extended several times until 2020, followed by stagings in Oslo, Helsinki, Linz, Malmö, Reykjavík and Copenhagen, among others; since autumn 2021 the musical has also been performed in Germany.