Super Junior members Heechul and Kangin are taking the lead roles in the camp musical classic Xanadu (“We are in Xanaduuu~!”) in their musical-theater debuts. They put on a performance at the press rehearsal (i.e., dress rehearsal open to press) on September 8 with the rest of their castmates.

However, audiences won’t be seeing both Suju-ers onstage at the same time, because they’ve been cast in the same lead role playing artist “Sonny” who falls for the beautiful roller-skating “Kira” (they’ll alternate performances). They’ve been rehearsing their singing, dancing, and roller-skating (natch!) skills for the past two months.

Xanadu marks the first musical production put on by SM Art Company (expanding its brand?), and was first produced as a musical film starring Olivia Newton-John in the ’80s. (Now known as a prime exercise in faux-futuristic camp, the film was initially a bomb before it became a cult classic.)

For the curious, check out a number from the original 1980 film starring Olivia Newton-John:

The musical opens on September 9 at the Doosan Art Center.

 
Both pop idols expressed feeling some pressure in their first performance.

Kangin: “In order to break down the bias that I was cast just because I was an idol star, I worked harder. I want to gain approval from not just Super Junior fans, but the general public as well.”

Heechul: “No matter how much I practice behind the scenes, what is judged is what’s on the stage. I stopped my television activities and put everything into this musical.”

Kangin: “Although this generation isn’t into roller-skating, I practiced a lot under the coaching of an expert. I’ll continue to work hard during the musical’s run, in order to hear people say, ‘The last performance was much better than the first performance.’”

Via Yonhap News

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