Who Does This Kid Take After?

The musical Who Does This Kid Take After? first came to life in the early 1980s when Zvjezdana Ladika, Ladislav Tulač, and Slavica Jukić – people who shaped our careers – adapted Eva Janikovsky’s illustrated storybook into a vibrant rock musical. Mario Mirković performed in the original production as a secondary school student, while Grozdana Lajić Horvat, then a primary school pupil, was an avid audience member who religiously played the soundtrack record at home.

Forty-one years after its iconic premiere at Kulušić, the three of us have staged a new production of this beloved musical at the Zagreb Youth Theatre (ZKM) in return for the joy it brought us during our formative years.

The musical explores a timeless theme that resonates with teenagers across all countries and cultures: conflict with parents. Just like the original 1983 cast – including present-day stars Filip Nola, Duško Ćurlić, Boris Mirković, Barbara Nola, and Rene Bitorajac – today’s students of the ZeKaeM Drama Studio have found their own experiences reflected in the text. You can see this in their dedication during and after rehearsals, in their creative ideas and suggestions and even impromptu singing over coffee.

This musical appeals to everyone: teenagers navigating a world vastly different from that of their parents, parents who may have forgotten what it feels like to be young, and adults of all ages who will be transported back to the formative years of their own lives – when they thought they knew everything but still had so much to learn.

Who Does This Kid Take After? is one of the most often performed productions in ZKM’s history. Quite appropriately, the ZeKaeM Drama Studio now bears the name of Zvjezdana Ladika. For us, the responsibility of staging something so central to our personal and professional development is both a great honour and a daunting challenge. This production is a time capsule of cherished memories, and we invite you to join us as we open it; you’re bound to discover something that resonates with you.

Ivan Đuričić, Mario Mirković, and Grozdana Lajić Horvat