Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| Poster for 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie,' featuring Jo Kwon as Jamie / Courtesy of Shownote |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Despite the theater industry being hit hard by the spread of COVID-19, as people have avoided gathering in indoor places, Korean performers and theatergoers are striving to revive the industry, becoming the only country where "The Phantom of the Opera" continues to show every night.
For the summer peak season, a few new and returning musical productions will open with extra safety measures. Large-scale musical productions will still go on despite the pandemic, as canceling or postponing them would cause billions of won in damages.
The two most highly anticipated musicals this summer are Korean premieres of hit musicals from the West End and Broadway ― "Everybody's Talking About Jamie" and "Something Rotten!"
"Jamie," based on the 2011 documentary "Jamie: Drag Queen at 16," is a West End musical that revolves around a 16-year-old schoolboy Jamie who dreams of becoming a drag queen.
In the Korean production, 2AM's Jo Kwon, NU'EST's Ren, ASTRO's MJ and musical actor Shin Joo-hyup will alternate in the lead role of Jamie.
Veteran actresses Choi Jung-won and Kim Sun-young will play Jamie's supportive mother Margaret, while Yoon Hee-seok and Choi Ho-joong will take on the role of Jamie's mentor Hugo, also known as the drag queen "Loco Chanelle."
"Something Rotten!" which visited Korea as the final destination of the show's U.S. tour, will premiere its Korean-language production at Chungmu Art Center in August.
The musical imagines the origin of the genre in a witty way, set in the time of William Shakespeare. The Bottom Brothers, who run a troupe in the era when Shakespeare is a superstar, consult a soothsayer in desperation to make a hit that will beat Shakespeare.
Thomas Nostradamus, nephew of the famous soothsayer Nostradamus, sees the future and claims that people are going to go wild for a musical performance combining acting, singing and dancing, which leads the brothers to invent the first musical in history.
Kang Pil-suk, Lee Ji-hoon and Seo Eun-kwang of BtoB will play the older brother Nick Bottom, while Lim Kyu-hyung, Noh Yun and Yeo One of Pentagon will perform as younger brother Nigel. Korean-American actor Michael K. Lee will play the prophet Nostradamus.
 |
| Poster for 'Something Rotten' |
Returning big productions include "Rent," "Mozart!" and "42nd Street."
Rock musical "Rent" opened at D-Cube Arts Center last week, marking its return to Korea after nine years. The 1990s award-winning musical has become a pop cultural phenomenon, featuring life, love, passion and friendship of artists in New York.
In this production, Oh Jong-hyuk and Jang Ji-hoo play Roger, while Bae Doo-hoon and Jung Won-young star as Mark. Singer Ivy will alternate in the role of Mimi with Kim Soo-ha, who played Kim in the U.K. touring production of "Miss Saigon."
"Mozart!" is an Austrian musical, originally slated for a June 11 opening, the musical will raise its curtain Tuesday. Kim Jun-su of JYJ, who has paved a successful career in musical theater after debuting in "Mozart!" 10 years ago, will return for his acclaimed role alongside Park Eun-tae and Park Kang-hyun at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts through Aug. 9.
All musicals require audience members to have their temperature checked upon arrival and to wear a mask throughout the performance.
Meanwhile, state-run theaters in the Seoul metropolitan area are being kept closed due to the city's strengthened social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
"Return: The Promise of the Day," a musical produced by the Korean Army starring A-list K-pop stars including D.O. and Xiumin of EXO and former Wanna One member Yoon Ji-sung, postponed its run indefinitely Monday, after a delay.
"Return" was originally scheduled to open on June 4, but postponed its opening date to June 16 when the government extended social distancing measures till June 14. However, Insight Entertainment, co-producer of the musical with the Korean Army, announced Monday that the opening has been delayed until further notice.
According to the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS), the total sales of the performing arts industry dropped sharply from 40 billion won in January to 3.6 billion won in April.
