Former ABBA members face new episode in musical script dispute

Stockholm - Writer Carl-Johan Seth on Friday appealed a court ruling that said a script he penned was not used in a popular musical by former ABBA members Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. The Stockholm district court ruled March 23 that Seth's script was not used when the musical Kristina from Duvemala premiered in 1995. The musical was about Swedes who emigrated to the United States in the 1800s, and was based on a series of books by writer Vilhelm Moberg. The court further ruled that the former ABBA duo did not have to pay royalties to Seth. In his appeal, Seth maintained that he has right to credits and future royalty payments. With a planned launch on Broadway a good run there could generate sizeable earnings. Previous efforts to solve the matter out of court have failed. Seth was contracted in 1991 but Andersson and Ulvaeus said in early 1995 the script was not good enough and had to reworked, hiring director Lars Rudfolfsson and dramaturgist Jan Mark to do that. The court said Mark and Rudolfsson wrote the version used on stage. Seth has received some 5 million kronor (700,000 dollars) from productions in Sweden. In 2005, Ulvaeus told a hearing that the payments to Seth were made to get peace and quiet around the musical. The musical has been translated into English and has the title Kristina. After ABBA stopped recording and touring, Andersson and Ulvaeus continued to collaborate. They composed the popular musical Chess and have recently scored success with the musical Mamma Mia. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur