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| ▲ This photo, provided by EMK Entertainment, shows Frank Wildhorn, a musical composer. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by EMK Entertainment, shows Park Hyo-shin from musical "The man who laughs." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, June 26 (Yonhap) – Frank Wildhorn, who composed a lot of popular musical numbers for big stages such as “Jekyll and Hyde,” “The man who laughs,” and “Death Note,” visited South Korea.
Thrilling audiences through stunning musical numbers, Wildhorn, who is also called as a “musical composer who Koreans love most,” showed affection towards Korean musical actors and audiences.
In the press conference held on the 23th, Wildhorn said, “When I did my research on Park Hyo-shin, I thought this is a great voice to write songs.” He revealed, “I wrote for Hyo-shin three songs that are almost like an opera,” saying, “One is ‘I could change the world’ another is ‘Open your eyes’ and the other is ‘The man who laughs’.”
He commented that Park Hyo-shin holds “the beauty of the sound, the power, the passion in interpreting lyrics, and the uniqueness,” adding, “I’m a big fan of him. I would be very honored to write a new show for Hyo-shin.”
Also, he mentioned that “As ‘soulful’ is my favorite word in the world, I feel very lucky that there are so many amazing soulful singers here in Korea,” emphasizing, “The marriage between their performances and my music is a marriage made in heaven.”
In terms of the possibility of Korean musical actors going overseas, Wildhorn expressed a regret saying, “Talent wise, there are plenty of actors here in Korea who can work in Broadway,” adding, “I also told Kim Jun-su (XIA) to learn English, and have talked to Koreans producers many times, about bringing Korean musical stars to New York or London. However, producers don’t really want to take those stars away from their own market.”
He also expected that Asian actors would have a chance to play the main character when Japanese mangas such as “Death Note” are introduced to Western culture and adapted into musical shows.
In addition, he mentioned, “Few months ago, on Instagram, I heard V of BTS singing ‘This is the moment’ to check the mic during the concert rehearsal,” pleading, “I want you, the reporters to reach out to V and say Frank will love you to play ‘Jekyll and Hyde’.”
However, about the question if Korean musicals have the same potential as other Korean contents worldwide, Wildhorn answered with reservations, “When we made a movie or TV show, we don’t have to be on stage to sell it. However, theater is live, which makes it very different from all the other Korean art forms.”
A total of three musicals of Wildhorn are currently being performed at the same time in main musical theaters in Seoul, including “The man who laughs,” “Mata Hari,” and “Death Note.” “Jekyll and Hyde” is also on a local tour.
Wildhorn said, “Somebody told me the other day that right now, somewhere between seven and eight thousand people every single night, are listening to my music,” confessing, “For 18 years, I have enjoyed this beautiful, romantic relationship between my music and Korean audiences. I feel so grateful for them.”
He explained, “The Korean audience is by far the youngest audience in the world. I can’t believe how young the audience is in Korea, which is great because they are growing up loving musical theater, and that is going to keep the industry health for years and years to come.”
On the 7th of next month, a musical concert “Only Love” will also start at concert hall of Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
At the concert, a total of nineteen musical numbers from seven musicals which Wildhorn composed, will be performed including “Jekyll and Hyde,” “The man who laughs,” “Monte Cristo,” “Excalibur,” “Mata Hari,” “The Last Kiss,” and “Scarlet Pimpernel.”
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Kim Jimin.)
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