Period dramas, key to reviving homegrown musicals?

It is obviously not easy to rent major theaters in Seoul for local productions that wish to stage creative homegrown musicals. But there is an answer. Historical musicals produced on a grand-scale might work.

Following footsteps of smash hit musical "The Last Empress", another historical and homegrown musical "Royal Dream of the Moon" hits the stage on March 15 through 22 at the Opera House of the Seoul Arts Center, southern Seoul. It is the first time in three and a half years for a homegrown musical has had its premier at the venue, one of the biggest and most prestigious performing arts theaters in Korea.

"We were lucky to have the opportunity to greet the audience at the SAC. But it was possible because the musical won a number of prizes and gained critics' recognition last year", said Christine Cho, publicist of the Gyeonggi Arts Center which produces the musical. The center poured 1.3 billion won ($1.6 million) into the musical production over the past two years.

Taking their theme from the life and achievements of King Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty, the musical portrays the personal agony of the king who lost his father "Sadoseja", at the hands of his own grandfather, King Youngjo, who was facing political opposition at that time. Sadoseja, a crown prince and the son of King Youngjo, was condemned to die inside a rice chest by his own father. The musical, of course, portrays Jeongjo's role as king, scholar and leader. But it tries to look deeper inside and show how he suffered from the death of his own father and tried to console his broken heart through a fictional figure, Jangdeok.

Another historical musical "The Great Jangguem" is waiting to raise its curtain at the Seoul Arts Center from May 26 to June 16.

The musical production, a remake of the smash hit TV drama "Dae Jang Geum", portrays a woman who serves at a palace cooking for the royal family during the Joseon Dynasty.

MBC and PMC Production, creator of the nonverbal performance "Nanta", poured 6 billion won ($6.5 million) into the homegrown musical production and plan to perform it on international stages after its premier in Seoul.

There are a number of other plans for the production of homegrown musicals through heavy investment in historical pieces. But there still remains a question about how much attention it would draw from a local audience.

The problems historical musicals have in common are that they are not so much different in terms of story structure and style in general.

Remember the Hwangjin-i boom that hit the country last year? The story of a talented "gisaeng" or female entertainer during the Joseon Dynasty went on stage after two years of preparation at the 1,200-seat Universal Arts Center in Seoul late last year. But the result was quite disappointing.

It was not the only one.

Hoping to revive the huge popularity the movie "The King and the Clown" gained in early 2006, a musical version was also staged last November at the ArKo Arts Center in Daehangno, downtown Seoul. But again, it failed to draw much attention from theatergoers.

Why did this happen?

Critics urge local productions to come up with fresh ideas and a new approach to make conventional historical musicals more interesting and attractive.

"It has a little to do with how much money it was spent on the musical production. It matters how much the production can recreate history, how to beautify each scene, and to be more creative than the same old style", said a critic.