Piaf
Piaf was a musical theatre production by The Norwegian Theatre, produced in 2004, and based on a script by Pam Gems.
Matthias Davids directed it, and Heidi Gjermundsen Broch acted in the title role.
At the webpage of The Norwegian Theatre the following, among other things, is written about Piaf:
"Edith Gassion was born in a street in Paris December 19 1915. She grew up with her grandmother, who was a cook at a brothel in Normandy. Later her father took hand of her and thought her how to sing in the streets. In 1935 she was discovered by the nightclub owner Louis Leplee. He was the one to give her the name 'La Môme Piaf' - the little sparrow. With a distinct voice and her very own style she soon made her breakthrough."
Information
(Objekt ID 32875)| Object type | Production |
| Premiere | October 16, 2004 |
| Produced by | The Norwegian Theatre |
| Based on | Piaf by Pam Gems |
| Audience | Adults |
| Audience size | 51803 |
| Number of events | 81 |
| Language | Norwegian Nynorsk |
| Keywords | Theatre, Musical theatre |
| Running period | October 16, 2004 |
| Duration | 2 hours, 35 minutes, including an interval |
| Website | Det Norske Teatret |
At the webpage of The Norwegian Theatre the following, among other things, is written about Piaf:
"At the height of her career she was the best paid songstress in the world. She toured a lot in Europe as well as America, and early in her career she also took part in some movies. Still, it was as a recording artist she conquered the world. Milord, Les Trois Cloches, La vie en rose and Non, je ne regrette rien - if her body was small and spare, her voice was grand. But her life was marked by scandal, and she became a myth at an early time.
She loved many men, married twice, but never with her greatest love: the boxer Marcel Cerdan. The French-Algerian died in a flight accident, and Piaf never came over the tragedy.
She led a hard life, and it fluctuated from the highest tops to the deepest humiliation. Alcohol, illness and morphine characterised large parts of her life, but she never lost hold of herself, her roots. Who she was, where she came from, what she represented - all of this she knew, and she was honest towards herself. There has barely been another singer as loved as Piaf.
She only lived until 47. October 14 1963 more than 40 000 people followed her to her grave."
Source:
The Norwegian Theatre, detnorsketeatret.no, 16.10.2012, http://www.detnorsketeatret.no/index.php?option=com_play&view=play&playid=239
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Pam Gems | – Playwright |
| Ola E. Bø | – Adapted by (Tekst) |
| Bjørn Endreson | – Translation |
| Ragnar Hovland | – Translation (Sanger) |
| Matthias Davids | – Direction |
| Svenn Erik Kristoffersen | – Musical direction (Piano) |
| Mathias Fischer-Dieskau | – Stage design |
| Mia Runningen | – Costume design |
| Svenn Erik Kristoffersen | – Musical arrangement |
| Svein Johann Ose | – Musical arrangement |
| Tore Gustavsen | – Sound design |
| Terje Wolmer | – Lighting design |
| Bernhard Arnø | – Actor (Vesle Louis / Theo / Røyst i høgtalar) |
| Yngve Berven | – Actor (Theo m.m. (2. gong)) |
| Heidi Gjermundsen Broch | – Actor (Piaf) |
| Charlotte Frogner | – Actor (Marlene) |
| Henrik Horge | – Actor (Eddie / Georges / Narkoseljaren / Lucien) |
| Erik Wenberg Jacobsen | – Actor (Emil / Paul / Angelo) |
| Paul Åge Johannessen | – Actor (Leplee / Fysioterapeuten) |
| Frank Jørstad | – Actor (Soldaten / Marcel / Jacko / Slaktaren / Agenten) |
| Magne Lindholm | – Actor (Impresario / Inspektøren) |
| Eli Stålhand | – Actor (Madeleine (understudy)) |
| Trond Teigen | – Actor (Jaques / Pierre) |
| Ingunn Beate Øyen | – Actor (Toine) |
| Julie Dahle Aagård | – Actor (Madelaine / Erstattar i rolla som Piaf ) |
| Christine Gullhav | – Musician (Obo, fløyte, klarinett, sopransax, altsax og bassklarinett) |
| Bjørn Kjellemyr | – Musician (Bass) |
| Svein Johann Ose | – Musician (Gitar, banjo, mandolin og flexaton) |
| Lena Rist-Larsen | – Musician (Trekkspill) |
| Even Skatrud Andersen | – Musician (Trombone, trompet, altax og vaskebrett - alternerte med Helge Sunde) |
| Helge Sunde | – Musician (Trombone, trompet, altax og vaskebrett - alternerte med Even Skatrud Andersen) |
| Gunnar Aas | – Musician (Slagverk) |
| Stig Wedvik | – Mask design |
| October 16, 2004 – Hovudscenen, The Norwegian Theatre | Opening night |