“Aren’t you the director? Nice to meet you. The next time you perform again, I’d love to be a part of it.”
On the day before the final performance of the musical “Let Me Fly,” which ran for six months until last June, director Lee Dae-woong was surprised when he entered the cramped dressing room after the curtain fell. Actor Park Bo-gum, who had become a star through dramas and movies, approached and politely greeted him. The actor, who called Lee Dae-woong a “director” instead of a “producer,” smiled so brightly that Lee remembered Park’s face as being “a little unrealistic.”
And Park has kept his promise: He will take the stage as Nam Won, the main character, in the musical revival, which opens next month on the 26th. It’s his first public appearance since discharged from the military, and he chose the live stage over the more familiar dramas and movies. With over 40 days left until the opening, the preview tickets for the first six days, which were opened last week, were completely sold out within 2 minutes of online reservation. Director Lee Dae-woong said, “Bo-gum’s sincere dedication to practice becomes a great motivator for other actors and staff members as well,” adding, “We jokingly say among ourselves, ‘We should have chosen a larger theater instead of a 350-seat small theater if we had known this was going to happen.’”
Let Me Fly tells the story of a young tailor who travels to Seoul in 1969, the year humanity has set foot on the moon, to study fashion, but ends up being transported to the future in 2020. With its premiere last year, the musical was nominated in six categories at the Korean Musical Awards, winning awards in categories such as Best Work, Best Composition, and Best New Actor, achieving significant success both critically and commercially. Park Bo-gum, who graduated from the Department of Film and Musical Studies at Myongji University, has already spread the word about his love for musicals at Daehangno (Korea’s theater district). A production company representative said, “There are quite a few sightings where people were surprised to see him sitting in the audience after buying a ticket without asking for any special invitation.”
In the world of theater and film, it’s a familiar sight in places like New York’s Broadway and London’s West End to see the most successful actors of the time stepping onto the stage. Now, this scene is not unfamiliar on our own stages either. Park Hae-soo, who played the role of the devil Mephistopheles in the play “Faust” directed by Yang Jeong-woong, and Son Suk-ku, who played the role of a ‘recruit’ hiding in a tree without knowing that World War II had ended in the play “Soldiers on the Tree” directed by Min Sae-rom, can be prime examples. Why are these star actors returning to the stage?
◇① Unforgettable Stage Experience
Above all, actors who have experienced the stage once are thirsty for more. Actor Park Geun-hyung, who appeared in the play “The Death of a Salesman,” said, “For an actor, returning to the stage is like a salmon returning home.” Before becoming a global star through “Squid Game” and “Prison Playbook,” actor Park Hae-soo was already a “Daehangno star.” Director Yang Jung-woong said of Park Hae-soo, “He said he had a strong thirst for the stage as he hadn’t performed in live theater for over five years. For a total of three months, including two months of practice and one month of performance, he went to the rehearsal hall every day without any personal schedule, and was ‘all in’ on the play,” adding, “He was satisfied without a single expression of difficulty even though he had to run around on stage and lead the play throughout the running time as a devil instead of a human.”
◇② Guaranteed Success... Welcomed by Production Companies
Star actors not only satisfy the thirst of the stage, but also reduce box office risks for production companies. Not only Park Bo-gum, but also Park Hae-soo and Son Seok-gu proved their box office power by selling out their plays early. Son Suk-ku is an actor who loved the stage so much that as a poor young man, he put on his own play in a small theater at Daehangno. Park Yong-ho, the CEO of MP&Company that produced “Soldiers on the Tree,” said, “The actor himself really wanted to be on the stage. To help him do the kind of work he wanted, we brought in a variety of two-person play scripts for him to read, and ‘Soldiers on the Tree’ was the one he chose himself.”
◇③ Expanding the Audience Base for Theater and Musicals
In theaters with star actors, cell phones ring more often during performances compared to traditional productions, and there are more “rustlings” and “thumpings” than ever. This is impossible in a conventional theater filled with enthusiasts as the audience. While it’s not the desired situation, it’s also paradoxically welcomed in that the influx of these new, less-experienced theatergoers can have a positive impact in terms of expanding the audience base. A theater producer mentioned, “If audiences who come to see star actors experience the thrill of live performances and start exploring other productions, it could greatly contribute to expanding the overall audience base.” They also suggested considering various means, such as marketing tie-ins and discounts with other productions, to further facilitate this audience expansion.
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