Dramabeans » Theater/Musicals

Song Chang-eui returns as Hedwig

javabeans — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:11:36 +0000

After a few years of film and drama projects, actor Song Chang-eui (Cinderella Man, Boys Don’t Cry, Scale of Providence) is keeping his promise to fans in returning to the title role of the musical Hedwig (aka Hedwig and the Angry Inch). He had originally taken the role of the transgender rocker back in 2006 to much praise, and out of the many actors who played the part (Jo Seung-woo included), Song Chang-eui has generally been called by fans the Hedwig they’d most like to see back.

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Hwarang warriors get their own musical

javabeans — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:20:42 +0000

Queen Seon-deok’s incredible success has raised the popularity of the group of men who play the Hwarang, or elite Silla warriors, within the drama. Now they’ can be seen onstage, as they are featured in a musical of their own called Hwarang, which follows their growth in a “lively, touching” story.

In contrast to their roles in the drama, in which the Hwarang are involved in politically motivated storylines, the musical takes a look at each of the five Hwarang members’ respective origins and dreams as they mature into their warrior roles.

To be accurate, the musical is not a direct spinoff from the drama — it had been preparing quietly over the past year under the name “H” — but no doubt its production is aided by the raised profile from Seon-deok’s success. Interest is also high because the musical comes from producer Choi Mu-yeol, who produced Maria Maria, which was the first small-theater production to win a musical Daesang.

Hwarang opened this weekend with its first performance on October 30, and will run through January 3.

Via TV Report

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Hwang Jung-min takes the lead in Wedding Singer

javabeans — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:48:00 +0000

Aw, this is one project I wish I could see in person. (Often I read about theater productions and feel left out by being halfway around the world.)

The always-wonderful film and theater actor Hwang Jung-min (Accidental Couple, Happiness) is taking on the lead role in the musical version of Wedding Singer, which is based on the Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore comedy of the same name. The musical was first produced on Broadway in 2006 and is now being adapted for its first time on the Korean stage.

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Hwang Jung-min, musicals, Park Gun-hyung

Scenes from Kim Joon’s Youth March

javabeans — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:26:25 +0000

We’ve already seen the power of actor Kim Joon’s name in selling musical tickets (when Kim Joon began appearing two weeks into the musical’s run, ticket sales shot up 30%). Here are more scenes from his theater debut in Youth March [젊음의 행진]. These photos come from a press call on August 12, held at the Coex Artium theater in Seoul where the musical is currently running.

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Kim Joon’s name sells musical tickets

javabeans — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:14:56 +0000

T-Max rapper and Boys Before Flowers actor Kim Joon isn’t the lead role in his musical debut, but no matter: his name still drew flocks of fans to the Coex Artium on his first night onstage.

The musical Youth March [aka March of Youth, 젊음의 행진] began running on July 18, but the 29th marked Kim Joon’s first performance (which is double-cast between him and another actor). Lest you doubt the pull of his name, the audience fill rate rose 30% on that night from previous nights, nearly selling out the theater completely. According to Kim’s management, this is due not only to the attendance of his domestic fans, but even that of fans who’d come from other parts of Asia, such as Taiwan.

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Read the rest of Kim Joon’s name sells musical tickets (89 words)

Plans announced for Friend, the musical

javabeans — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:37:51 +0000

Before the drama Friend, Our Legend even gets off the ground, announcements have been made for a musical version in the works. There’s even a new word to describe the trend of movie-turned-musicals (e.g., 200 Pound Beauty, On Air): the somewhat ungainly term “moviecal.”

A representative from Friend’s production company said, “We haven’t made concrete plans yet, but it’s true we are in talks to produce the musical.” Although technically this adaptation would be based on the original film, considering that the movie was released in 2001 and the drama version is set to come out this month, they must be riding on the anticipated popularity of the Hyun Bin-led miniseries. (What happens if it flops?)

Meanwhile 20-episode television drama has been produced in its entirety prior to its first broadcast, which will be this weekend, June 27.

Via Sports Khan

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Kim Joon’s musical debut

javabeans — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:08:06 +0000

T-Max rapper and Boys Before Flowers actor Kim Joon is making his theater debut: He’s taking on a role in the musical Youthful March [젊음의 행진]

He doesn’t have the lead role, but I’m curious about this nonetheless. Kim Joon’s got experience in the pop-music world but he’s a rapper, not a singer, so perhaps the transition is more of a leap than when other pop vocalists make the jump to musical theater. (Such as: Ok Joo-hyun, Lee Ji-hoon.)

The lead role will alternate between actor-singers Lee Ji-hoon (You’re My Destiny) and Lee Sung-jin (from the musical version of Singles), while the female lead role is double-cast between musical actresses Kim Ji-woo and Lee Jung-mi. Kim Joon plays a student teacher.

The musical Youthful March debuted in 2007 and is described as a “jukebox musical” that mixes the popular 1990s manhwa “Yongshimi” with the ’80s music variety program “Youthful March.” (I’m not familiar with either program so I can only speculate, but it seems like the musical is meant to evoke a pleasant sense of nostalgia while updating itself for the modern watcher.)

The plot features the now-33-year-old Yongshimi preparing for a concert, when she runs into her old schoolmate and flashes back to 1991 — and the musical therefore features such old pop hits as Lee Seung-chul’s “Last Concert” (Love this song! Listen below), Kim Gun-mo’s “Excuse” (핑계) , and others.

The musical runs from July 18 through October 25 at Seoul’s Coex Artium.

Via Break News

SONG OF THE DAY

Lee Seung-chul – “마지막 콘서트” (Last Concert). If the musical is supposed to evoke the sort of fond nostalgia I get when listening to songs like this from those good ol’ days of yore, I TOTALLY GET IT. Ahh, I remember first hearing this song and falling for it way back when. [ Download ]

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 17 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Kim Joon, Lee Ji-hoon, musicals