The film "Once" captured the hearts of millions and the musical followed the trend.
Now, it′s on stage in Korea, and our Yim Yoonhee joins us with a preview.
Everyone fell in love with the movie, then the Grammy-nominated soundtrack... and then
the Tony award-winning musical. Well, they have finally brought the love story
to Seoul, and it′s something you′re not gonna wanna miss.
Take a look at the musical "Once." Guy meets girl,... quite literally.
The Irish street performer frequents the local pub to play his guitar, and just when he thinks
he′s through with music, a young woman who goes by the name "Girl" enters his life.
The multiple award-winning musical "Once" has been staged around the world, with over
1,000 performances on Broadway alone,... And while live music is nothing new,... the
actors here take the musicality of the affair to a whole new level.
INTERVIEW "There are 12 actors, and over 16 different
instruments. So other than the main actors, everyone plays 3 to 4 instruments. And of
course, mistakes and accidents are inevitable, for example, a guitar string can pop while
on stage, but we have a system to cover for that, which involves constant communication
between us and the actors. So, the team catches each other′s mistakes, and is able to cover
for them on stage." It′s a tough gig,... singing and dancing
on stage, so these actors know a good warm-up is key to a strong start anything to get their
bodies going. But this isn′t your run-of-the-mill musical.
Of course there′s singing,... and dancing,... but this is "Once," which means doing all
of the above plus playing live music. And as this is the first translated adaptation,
expectations are high. But the Korean "Once" team is willing to practice,
practice, practice,.... especially since there′s no musical conductor on stage to give them
the cue. So cooperation between each and every musical
actor is absolutely essential. That way, when it comes to the curtain call,
the show can go on. INTERVIEW
"The biggest difference between this and other musicals is that we′re all playing instruments
live throughout the show. So we′re responsible for the music as well."
INTERVIEW "And since there′s no director on stage
to give us the cue, we designate a leader amongst us, and that person will give us the
cue. They may use their eyes to signal or they may make some big dramatic motion for
us to pick up on. Through this, we can follow their lead, and play the song together."
Are they musicians, actors or dancers? It′s hard to put these characters into one
category. But that′s just what you can expect from this unique love story / musical,...
as this is something you only come across "Once" in a lifetime.
I′ve heard that this
is
a landmark production for the musical,... and that the original director
even came to help launch the performance. This is the first time thi