Can 'Man Who Laughs' smile in theater?
Set design for the upcoming musical "The Man Who Laughs" by Oh Pil-young / Courtesy of EMK Musical Company
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Eum Hong-hyun, producer of "The Man Who Laughs" / Courtesy of EMK Musical Company
Victor Hugo's novel “The Man Who Laughs” will gain a new life on stage this summer in Seoul, bringing forth the tale of a man who is deformed to have a perpetual grin and the clash between social classes.
The musical interpretation of the story is one of Korea's biggest theatrical spectacles this year, premiering amid a slump in the industry when producers are unwilling to take risks with new pieces.
Usually in Korea, most promotions or press events of theatrical productions feature actors, who basically sell all the tickets. But "The Man Who Laughs" decided to introduce its creative team first.
"We wanted to talk about how we prepared for this show before the spotlight directs to actors," producer Eum Hong-hyun said.
The budget for the show is 17.5 billion won ($16.4 million), which is one of the largest put into a theatrical show in Korea. EMK's previous project, "Mata Hari," was a 12.5 billion won production.
"We began this project about five years ago and this is by far the largest and most expensive project by EMK Musical Company. Director Robert Johanson and composer Frank Wildhorn told me I had to invest if I was looking for overseas markets and I agreed," Eum said.
Eum clarified his dream is to sell the show in full-license, which means it could be staged overseas with the same direction, orchestration, sets and costumes.
"I don't expect the musical to recoup in its first run but am thinking from a long-term perspective. First we will stage it in two separate theaters in Seoul -- Seoul Arts Center from July 10 to Aug. 26 and Blue Square from Sept. 4 to Oct. 28. We will invite theatrical personnel from around the world on opening night to promote the show," Eum said.
Initiated in air travel
Robert Johanson, director of "The Man Who Laughs" / Courtesy EMK Musical Company
The beginning of the project was quite dramatic. Johanson, on his way back to the U.S. after working in Korea, watched the 2012 French film "The Man Who Laughs" on the plane.
"I just watched the movie on the plane, but I was blown away by the story. I was crying and a musical was emerging before my eyes while watching the movie," Johanson said.
As soon as he got off the plane, he called composer Frank Wildhorn to watch the in-flight film on his flight to the U.S. Wildhorn watched the movie three times and wrote one-third of the songs before landing.
Johanson and Wildhorn brought the idea to Eum, who was also excited by the idea and the musical started to take shape.
A quote that represents the show's theme is "The paradise of the rich is made out of the hell of the poor."
Johanson, the director who also wrote the draft for the musical, said, "The highest 1 percent of the people controls the rest and the principal hasn't changed yet until now. Our musical is about a person who wants to change the world with a tragic and beautiful love story. The twists and turns are remarkable."
Though he was first inspired by the film, Johanson soon shifted to the original novel. The director said the novel has fewer main characters compared to another Hugo novel-turned-musical -- and one of the most successful in the history of theater -- "Les Miserables."
“When you adapt a novel into a stage piece, it becomes a creature of its own once you pay homage to the original novel,” he said. "It is a very tight story for a Hugo novel. There are only six main characters and luckily, Hugo helped with these distinctive characters. Protagonist orphan boy Gwynplaine and carnival vendor Ursus who brings up Gwynplaine make mistakes as well as accomplishing heroic acts. They are very human.”
The two female lead characters are also unique -- Duchess Josiana, who is amazingly smart and powerful, and Dea, who has a pure heart, but is blind. “When we did the workshop, people were enthralled by this blind heroine and started to see the world as she sees it,” Johanson said.
Johanson also twisted the romantic liaisons between the characters, which would better suit the tastes of Korean audiences.
"I've done over 250 shows all over the world. What I think is the key for a show to work internationally is that you have to give audiences grand entertainment with heart, something they can take away with them. If they are just entertained, they won't come back. But if you are touched and moved, you want to visit again," he said.
Composer Wildhorn could not attend the press event, but said he remembers the moment he first watched the film.
"I fell in love with it and thought can I make a musical out of it. Then I started to write scores. There are specific roles for the characters and that specificity led me to build a musical vocabulary for each of them," Wildhorn said in a video interview.
Lyricist Jack Murphy, a longtime creative partner of Wildhorn, said, "Frank was very enthusiastic and his passion is contagious."
In their collaborations, music comes first and Wildhorn's melody inspires lyrics, according to Murphy. For "The Man Who Laughs," Murphy also took inspirations from Hugo's novel as well.
Music director Kim Moon-jung said a violinist will perform on stage with the cast, delivering the emotions of the characters and pushing the story forward.
“It will make our orchestra differentiate from other ones. Wildhorn's lyrical and popular music style has been loved in Korea, including Jekyll and Hyde,” Kim said. "For this show, Wildhorn also made some inventive attempts, writing exotic, gypsy-inspired music featuring violin, folk guitar and mandolin. Meanwhile, the solemnness of the royal court is performed through a full orchestra sound."
Costume design for the upcoming musical "The Man Who Laughs" by Gregory Poplyk / Courtesy of EMK Musical Company
'Paradise of rich is hell of poor'
The deformed physicality of the "Comprachicos" from the Hugo novel leaves powerful imagery and the creative team for the musical spared no effort in this.
"The deformed character from The Man Who Laughs stuck in my mind, along with the Hunchback of Notre Dame, when I read classic illustrated novels as a child. It is known for being an inspiration for the Batman villain the Joker," Johanson said.
The show's protagonist Gwynplaine has a mutilated mouth, displaying a permanent malicious grin. This is a signature of the character and it became a major responsibility for hair, wig and makeup designer Kim Yu-sun.
“After I was asked to do the special effect makeup for Gwynplaine, I was literally looking at all people's mouths while walking in the street to determine how to rip the character's mouth in the cruelest way.”
He presented a few pictures from his experiments on the scars around Gwynplaine mouth and said he wants to make the deformed mouth visible from the back of the house.
Set designer Oh Pil-young, who did a lavishing job in "Mata Hari," also took inspiration from the quote "The paradise of the rich is made out of the hell of the poor" and the deformed mouth and scars of the protagonist.
"Before I even read the script, the quote became a major principal for the set design. I approached with the idea of how the world of the rich and that of the poor coexist on the stage," Oh said. "The world of the poor is full of scars, while the rich try to hide their scars and weaknesses with heavy makeup and costume."
The iconic red scar is featured in the opening scene's set and other sets are also comprised of scar-like structures.
"The major difference is that the rich try to hide the scars exaggeratedly, while the poor reveal the scars as is," Oh explained.
Costume designer Gregory Poplyk said when director Johanson told him about the project, he was already drawing sketches of costumes in his head.
"We didn't want to set the show strictly in the late 17th-century England, so we brought in all sorts of periods and influences. For example, a red dress of Lady Josiana is similar to the period costume, but her jacket was influenced by Balenciaga style," Poplyk said. "Her servants' costumes are designed as human accessories for this affluent woman, dressed to complement her colors."
The costumes of the Comprachicos are in stark contrast to the luxurious ones of the aristocrats.
"They are the lowest of the low and we brought in all sorts of ethnicities as well as different times for the Comprachicos," Poplyk said. "Doctor Conquest is the group leader and his sly nature is portrayed in his top hat."
The cast of “The Man Who Laughs” will be announced in April.