Werther marks 10th anniversary

Park Geon-hyeong, left, and Song Chang-ui will perform in the musical “The Sorrows of Young Werther,” which will go on stage from Oct. 22 to Nov. 30 at the Universal Art Center. / Courtesy of CJ Entertainment

By Chung Ah-young

The musical “The Sorrows of Young Werther” will return to the stage with a cast featuring renowned actors Park Geon-hyeong and Song Chang-ui.

First produced 10 years ago by a Korean team, and based on the time-honored classic novel by Goethe, the musical is gaining sensational popularity among musical buffs.

This year’s production is drawing more attention as it stars top actors. The story is about a tragic love triangle among Werther, Lotte and Albert.

The musical score will be rearranged for the 11-member band with some 30 musical numbers selected from the 70 songs in the many previous versions.

For the balanced portrayal of both the characters and stage backdrop, the upcoming production will revise the scenes that focused only on the characters.

Song and Park will alternate playing Werther, showing different aspects of the hero. Song who has played diverse characters from a transgender rocker in “Hedwig and Angry Inch” to a homosexual in the television drama “Life Is Beautiful” will act a role that matches his real image, according to CJ Entertainment.

Park who usually plays muscular roles in musicals such as “The Beautiful Game,” ”Fool For Love,” and “The Three Musketeers,” will appear as a romantic protagonist this time. Park rose to stardom after performing in “Saturday Night Fever” and has starred in numerous films and television dramas.

Rising musical actress Lim Hye-young will perform the role of Lotte while Min Young-ki will play Albert, who will be reinterpreted as an emotional character rather than the intelligent and cold-blooded figure from renditions in the past.

The musical will be staged from Oct. 22 to Nov. 30 at the Universal Art Center. For more information, visit www.werther.co.kr.