LOVE AND FASHION

The Opera and Theatre MADLENIANUM is, in cooperation with the production AS YOU LIKE IT, working on the preparation of the musical LOVE AND FASHION, beginning on 20th February. This romantic comedy, whose realization relies on young artistic forces, will be a great joy for the audience. The fluttering and enchanting love story from 1960, with the music typical of that time, will have its premiere on 27th April.

The musical "Love and Fashion", created by the motives of the same blockbuster movie from   '60s, is not just a colourful spectacle with cheerful retro songs. This is the story of enthusiasm and optimism, a reminder of some basic ethical and emotional values that are now mostly in the second plan.  

At the head of the two rival fashion houses of postwar Belgrade, Jugochic and Jugofashion, are ex-spouses – Mr. Director and Ms. Director. Their rivalry incents these two young and bold companies to advance and at the same time all employees to suffer immensely because of their conflict, battles and chicaneries. What no one knows is that at the core of that conflict stands the Cousin, a cunning con man willing to do anything in order to destroy both companies and set up his own unique Jugoteks.    

What, on the other hand, the cousin does not know, is that love is beginning to appear between Sonja, Mr. and Ms. Director’s daughter and Bora, a chief designer of Jugochic. That moment of unplanned outpouring of emotions will disrupt all plans of the two fashion houses and of all who work there, it will significantly change the plans for the competitive fashion shows and above all it will additionally hamper the Cousin to carry out his heinous plan.  

The play "Love and Fashion", all in soft tones and pastel shades, also offers, apart from nostalgia for some simpler times, the hope that even the most valuable pieces of those times can still be touched.

In front of the production AS YOU LIKE IT stands a producer who is at the same time the holder of one of the main roles, Andrija Dančić. The Team of Authors of the project consists of the text writer-Stasa Koprivica, director Aleksandar Nikolic, choreographers Anka Gaćeša and Mirela Božić Jovanović, a Set Designer Milica Stanković, Costume Designers Vladan Veljković, Maja Živković and Marija Nikolić.  Musical arrangements are done by Pavle Popov, but the vocal arrangements are the creation of Srđan Marković, while a music producer is Marko Perić.A singing instructor of the project is Branislava Podrumac. A lector of the play is a professor Radovan Knežević. Directing Assistants are Filipa Daničić and Jovana Ikonić, while a Set Designer Assistant is Anja Radović. The prompter of the play is Filipa Daničić and the organizer Vukašin Tomić. The photographs for the project will be done by Suzana Sarić and Lidija Antonović and the video production by the Creative Studio Zepter and Jelena Petković.     

In the musical LOVE AND FAHION, the audience will see on the stage: Nina Janković, Katarina Gojković, Branislav Tomašević, Nebojša Milovanović, Tamara Aleksić, Stevan Piale, Andrija Daničić, Iva Stefanović, Ana Stojanović and Tatjana Dimitrijević. Besides the above mentioned actors, the singers Dušan Šarenac, Tijana Ranđelović and Maja Živković will also be on the stage, as well as the ballet dancers Nemanja Pražić, Miloš Jadžić, Goran Vidaić, Vukan Belojević, Dunja Stanković, Helena Petrović, Neda Popović and Tara Tomašić. The musicians engaged in the project are Luka Jovičić and Miloš Branisavljević (bdrum), Milovan Paunović (piano), Pavle Popov (guitar and contrabass), Nikola Mirosavić (trumpet), Saška Veljković (trombone), Ivan Teofilović (tenor saxophone) and Andrija Daničić (alto saxophone).

Due to the sole thematic play, a special emphasis is placed on fashion, or costumes, hairstyles and make up. Besides makeup artists of Madlenianum, Mirjana Rakić and Jevrosima Petković, the students of the “Purity” Academy will also be involved into the projectand make up brand Golden Rose is the sponsor of the play. The fashion houses which help the project LOVE AND FASHION are the fashion house MONA, the fashion line of swimwear PIN UP ART of Dušanka Savić, MARTINI VESTO, AFRODITE MODE COLLECTION, footwear RISH and footwear SIMIĆ.

The Production AS YOU LIKE IT would like to express the special gratitude to Ljubomir Radičević, director and playwrights of the movie LOVE AND FASHION. We also thank the preliminary idea creators of the project Smilja Bojković and Jasmina Cosic. Vesna Šouc, Branka Saturday and Slobodan Varsaković have specially helped the project. 

The Project LOVE AND FASHION has also been helped by the copyright holders of music: Ivana Kraljić Jovanović, Alenka Adamič, Veno Taufer, Đorđe Marjanović, Tijana Jakšić Marković, Lada Timotijević, Tijana Timotijević, Milica Ilić Ivanović, Mirko Šouc, Marija Stanković and Iva Gruden Zdunić.

The play, done since its first rehearsals with enormous love and dedication, has already awoken great expectations, which certainly will not be unfulfilled and the audience will enjoy in numerous surprises of this new musical.