In November, the musical Children of Paradise 2 will return to the stage. Did you get it for your 60th birthday?
I don’t want to talk about my sixtieth birthday at all. I don’t celebrate birthdays, I’ve generally cut back on parties a lot. I turn it off every birthday, it’s been like that since I was little. I like to be the center of attention on stage, but then I can hide in a corner in the bar and pretend I’m not there. The musical is certainly not a gift for me, but it is a gift for all our viewers who have come to see us in the past. It is such a reward for the fact that they have given us their favor for fifteen years. And that they were blessed.
Photogallery: Transformations of Sagvan Tofi over the years: From a rebel to an entrepreneur
How will Children of Paradise number two differ from number one?
There will be no difference in terms of the story, there will be some stars who were already in the number one, but there will be new ones because there will also be new adventures. And for the sake of the new stars, I’m incredibly happy that I managed to talk them into it. I am very proud of that. There is a new need in the musical Lucka VondráčkováVojta Drahokoupil, Blessed John… It is a complete fantasy.
Why?
Because some of them didn’t want to act in musicals at all and I convinced them. This means that I have their trust and I hope that I will not disappoint them and that the audience will be excited. We are moving the musical a little further. The songs that will be played are mostly from the producers František Janeček and Michal David, who created the whole thing in the beginning, and now there will be other hits as well, it will be something special.
You mentioned Michael David. How long have you known each other?
Since the age of seventeen. At that time I was shooting the film Wind in the Pocket and he sang the song Nonstop for it. That’s where we met for the first time and I think it was a fateful meeting. To this day, it works for us both personally and professionally. I think we’re doing well and that’s great.
Your biggest hit is the song Dávej ber. Will the audience hear it in the musical?
Yes, that’s the only thing I’ll tell you. Dávej ber will also be there, but it will be sung in a very special position, I think the audience has something to look forward to. But it will be just one of many hits, there are also a lot of surprises waiting for them, which the audience will definitely appreciate.
Sagvan Tofi sang in Children of Paradise the song Everyone envies my love:
| Video: Youtube
Will Dávej ber be heard in your performance or in someone else’s performance?
That’s the secret. (laughs) But I’ll tell you. I snuck one of my songs into the number one spot – Večírek (Desires are fleeting…) and I didn’t sing it. That’s what I’m telling you.
Your daughter Satine is musically gifted. Have you considered including her in the musical as well?
He didn’t think. Saťa played at the Broadway Theater in the musical Puss in Boots and then with me in the musical with songs by Václav Neckár, The Soap Prince. But I don’t force her to go to the theater. He also plays tennis, learns languages… I’m glad he’s finding his own way.
By the way, what did she say when she first saw you in Children of Paradise?
Satine was born at the time when Children of Paradise was playing in Prague for the very first time. She was literally in the theater from birth. She treated everyone there as aunts and uncles. Then when she got a little older, she started humming those songs. I also used to take her to the final hits series and thanksgiving as a kid. At that time, she thought that everyone applauded only her, so she has been used to being the main star since she was little. (laughs) Not only she, but also the other children usually like the show. They can identify with the story of the friendship between the little boy Čusbus and the main character Michal, and they also like the notorious hits and colorful lights.
