Andersson and Ulvaeus Win Court Case; Kristina Bway-Bound?

The BBC reports that the Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus musical Kristina från Duvemåla may be headed to Broadway.

The musical's Broadway future had previously been jeopardized by a court case involving script rights.  The dispute was between Andersson and Ulvaeus and Carl-Johan Seth, who wrote the musical's original libretto.  Seth had claimed he was entitled to royalties for the early draft.  However, the ABBA legends made the case that a new script was written by director Lars Rudolfsson and dramatist Jan Mark before the premiere in Malmö, Sweden - under a year from being asked to.

In the March 23rd hearing, the court ruled in favor of Andersson and Ulvaeus, who will not have to pay Seth any royalties for past and future stagings of Kristina.

The Andersson-Ulvaeus fan website www.icethesite.com had previously reported that (should the court case go well) the songwriting team hopes to try the show out in Minneapolis this fall with a Spring 2008 Broadway opening.

Kristina Från Duvemåla, an epic musical about Swedish immigrants and their new life in North America, based on a series of novels by Vilhelm Moberg, premiered in Malmö, Sweden on October 7th, 1995.  "In all, it is reported than in a country of just over 9 million inhabitants, more than 1 million saw Kristina during its performances in Malmö, Göteborg and Stockholm," according to the Anderssen and Ulvaeus fan website.  In 1996, the show was presented in concert form in Minnesota.

Known worldwide for their hits with the pop group ABBA, Anderssen and Ulvaeus also co-wrote the musical Chess.  Their songs for ABBA can be heard in the hit Broadway musical Mamma Mia!.

Photo - Helen Sjöholm and Åsa Bergh in Kristina från Duvemåla