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Dressed for success: Malmö launches Roxette jukebox musical Joyride steered by Brits

Based on a Jane Fallon novel and directed by Guy Unsworth, a new show is powered by the Swedish pop duo’s songs. Co-founder Per Gessle reflects on Roxette’s arrival in the opera house

The duo were in their pomp in the late 80s and early 90s when The Look and Listen to Your Heart became No 1 hits in the US and It Must Have Been Love, originally a Christmas single, was rejigged for a scene in Pretty Woman (with Julia Roberts quivering in a limo and Richard Gere brooding on a balcony). If that sounds like a surprising plot for a happy drama it is an undoubtedly good fit for numbers about listening to your heart, spending your time and assessing The Big L, drawing on Gessle’s skill at writing pre- and post-breakup songs. It is full of in-jokes and references: Dressed for Success, which accompanies Joe and Stephanie’s morning preparations, comes with revolve-stage choreography evoking commuting, performed by a trench-coated ensemble who recall the larkily marching dancers in the single’s video.

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