| From left, Kim Ho-young, Lee Ji-hoon, Chung Sung-hwa and Kang Hong-seok in "Kinky Boots" / Courtesy of CJ E&M |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The red-heeled sensation is back. The Tony-winning musical "Kinky Boots" will raise its curtain at Blue Square in Seoul next month with a new cast.
Penned by Harvey Fierstein with music from pop music icon Cyndi Lauper, the musical revolves around struggling shoe factory heir Charlie and drag queen Lola and the unexpected friendship that blooms between the two.
According to CJ E&M's theater division producer Park Min-sun, the musical returns to the Korean stage after 20 months and the new production will have fresh energy coming from the mix of the Korean original cast and new actors joining this year.
"The message of the show will remain the same, but we will engage the audiences more with the show, not just watching it," Park said at a showcase at SJ Kunsthalle in southern Seoul, Tuesday.
For the 2016 production, Kang Hong-seok and Chung Sung-hwa alternate the role of Lola, while Lee Ji-hoon and Kim Ho-young take turns playing Charlie.
Among the leads from the Korean premiere in 2014, Kang, who left a strong impression as Lola, returns this year.
"I am really excited to return to play Lola again. I was full of enthusiasm when I first played Lola two years ago," Kang said. "Chung Sung-hwa is a role model for many musical actors and I am honored to share this role with Chung. In the premiere, Lola was hot and exciting and I think she will be more graceful this time."
Chung's casting as Lola comes as a surprise, as his previous roles were more serious such as Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables" and Don Quixote in "Man of La Mancha." However, this is not the first time for Chung to don women's clothes since he played drag queen Zaza in the Korean production of "La Cage aux Folles."
"At first, I thought of turning down the role of Lola because she seemed too similar to Zaza. Then my wife pointed out that Zaza was a mother of a 20-something son, while Lola is much younger. So I interpreted Lola as young Zaza," Chung said.
He added that Lola is a character with such a clear life objective. "That is why he influences Charlie's life so deeply. It is interesting to play such a role as an actor," Chung said. "I also realized why I was not so popular ― it was not because I was ugly and pot-bellied, but I did not know how to sympathize with people."
Lee and Kim have played opposite each other a few times, but this is the first time for them to alternate in the same character.
"Charlie has the most lines of all the characters I've played. It means this has the deepest drama I've ever played and I'm trying hard to convey the emotions," Lee said.
"Kinky Boots" will run from Sept. 2 to Nov. 13. Tickets cost from 60,000 to 140,000 won. For more information, visit interpark.com or call 1544-1555.