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Michael K. Lee will play in the role of Jesus in the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" staged in Seoul, later this month. / Courtesy of Lee Soo-jin |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Whenever Andrew Lloyd Webber's ground–breaking rock musical ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is performed in Korea, there is buzzing anticipation over who will be cast in the two main roles ― Jesus and Judas Iscariot.
Usually, it's the latter that gets the most attention. There have already been a slew of articles on how Yoon Do-hyun, perhaps the country's most popular rocker, will make his second appearance as Judas at the Charlotte Theater in southern Seoul later this month, a role he last played 16 years ago.
Comparatively, the excitement generated by Michael K. Lee, the Korean-American actor cast in the role of Jesus, who is an established Broadway talent but a relative new name here, seems close to non-existent. The 39-year-old is fine with that, expressing confidence that his performance on the stage will speak loudly enough.
Lee says he always had a strong emotional attachment to Superstar, ever since he played the role of Pontius Pilate in high school more than 20 years ago. When he first landed a part in ''Miss Saigon,'' his Broadway debut, it was his singing of the Superstar tune ''Heaven on Their Minds'' that won him the role.
Lee first appeared in a Broadway production of Superstar in 2000 in the role of Simon. He then played both Jesus and Judas in an experimental version of the musical at the Village Theatre in Seattle in 2011.
Lee estimates that he has appeared in about 400 Superstar-related performances throughout his career. This will be his first in Korea, although he performed in Korean productions of Miss Saigon in 2011.
Lee says his maturity, both as an actor and as a person, will allow him to play the role of Jesus with more depth than he was able to a decade ago.
''I understand the extent of emotion now. I know how deeply one can love, how deeply one can hurt and how deeply one can feel connected to another person. When you are 16, you don't know what love is, what sacrifice is," he said in an interview scheduled tightly between his grueling rehearsal commitments.
"It is difficult for a young 16-year-old to play a 40-year-old character, but it's just as difficult for a 40-year-old to play someone younger, because there is certain ground you gain with experience. It's the challenge and that's what's fascinating about being an actor."
Lee's family emigrated to the United States in 1971, two years before he was born. His father, a physician, had wanted him and his brother to follow in his footsteps as doctors. Lee was accepted at Stanford University's pre-med school, but unable to suppress his passion for music, he decided to pursue a different career after landing the role of Vietnamese officer Thuy in Miss Saigon.
"My father was disappointed that I chose to be an actor and didn't speak to me for about a year and a half. Now that I am a father of two sons, I can understand where he came from. He came from a world where he is a doctor, and my older brother is a doctor, so it was a field he was familiar with. If I went into medicine, it was something we could share for the rest of our lives," he said.
"But when I went into the entertainment industry, it was something entirely different from him. I'm sure that part of his disappointment was that he wasn't going to be able to share things with me."
Adding depth to the role
Lee says his involvement in Brian Yorkey's experimental production of Superstar at Village Theater irrevocably changed the way he approaches the piece. Yorkey, famous as the creator of the show ''Next to Normal," rewrote Superstar in the background of Seattle in 1999, where Jesus and his followers represented protestors rallying against that year's World Trade Organization conference.
Also in Yorkey's version, Jesus and Judas were portrayed as similar in many ways, driven by the same desire to change the world for the better, as if they were representing opposite aspects of one mind. To make this more convincing, Yorkey had Lee and Aaron Finley alternating in the roles of Jesus and Judas every other night.
"Brian wanted to make it as accessible as possible to a modern audience. It was quite provoking,'' Lee said.
Of course, the Superstar at Charlotte Theater will be the traditional version, but Lee believes that his work with Yorkey has improved his understanding of the characters.
Of course, Superstar is a dual test of acting skills and vocal cords, and Lee is confident that he can be electric.
"My voice lends itself well to the rock music,'' he said. He is excited about the influence of music director Jung Jae-il, a veteran in funk and percussion music.
"The score Webber wrote is all rock and has a deep 1970s punk aspect. Our musical director has taken them, kept the very essence of it, but has made the music a little more up-to-date. He has found a way to orchestrate the emotional aspects of the music with strings and slight changes to chord progressions which make the emotional content of the music come out stronger," Lee said.
"He made the music brand new to me. When I hear it, I think it is not the song I know, but it is the song I know. He just found a way to make it new.''
After finishing the six-week run of the Korean Supertar, Lee will fly back to the U.S. to join "Allegiance," a new musical, in which he plays opposite Lea Salonga, heading to Broadway 2013-2014 season.
The Korean production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" will be staged at Charlotte Theater in southern Seoul from April 26 to June 9. Musical actor Park Eun-tae will alternate the role of Jesus with Lee and Yoon Do-hyun, Han Ji-sang and Kim Sini will play Judas. Jo Kwon from 2AM will take the role of King Herod. Tickets cost from 50,000 to 130,000 won. For more information, visit www.musicalsuperstar.co.kr or call 1577-3363.
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