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Camarata offers mix of 23 musicals in 'Page to Stage' showcase
The cast of "Page to Stage" rehearse at The Studio HBC, Sept. 22. Courtesy of Kat Rosner
By Jon Dunbar
The members of Camarata Music had so many musicals to choose from for their next production, that they decided to choose a couple dozen of them.
For "Page to Stage," the cast of 19 performers will present 29 songs from 23 musicals.
"One of the constant feedbacks we had been receiving was that people were interested in performing and wanting to do a musical, but the choices of musicals that were being offered were not ones that fit their interests or shows that they thought that they would be good fits for," said Tarryn Hood, the director and stage manager. "So with that in mind, we wanted to kind of find a way to get more people involved, and so we decided to, instead of doing a specific show, make it more like a genre of shows and let people be able to kind of pick and choose songs."
The Broadway cabaret-style performance features songs from "Seussical," "Death Note: The Musical," "Phantom of the Opera," "Cats," "Porgy and Bess" and many more. All the selected musicals are based on books, hence "Page to Stage."
"We started with a couple of different genres we were looking at, like musicals that had to do with magic or musicals about school or school life, and we came across the musicals based on books," Hood said. "Musicals that came from books was one of the longer list of shows that we could think of, and so we felt that it would give people more opportunities and more choices to be able to pick what they wanted to sing."
Hood said that her favorite among the selections is "In" from "Carrie: The Musical," based on Stephen King's 1974 horror novel that was also adapted into a 1976 movie starring Sissy Spacek, which is definitely not a musical. This one will feature half the cast, including herself.
"It's a lesser-known musical but well-known book, so I was excited to introduce the show/song to more people," Hood said.
Under the musical direction of Leslie Laney, every cast member will appear in five songs — with each person appearing in two full-cast numbers, one of two half-cast songs, a duo or trio and a solo. The full-cast songs are "One Day More" from "Les Miserables" and "In a Place of Miracles" from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."
Hood added that there are no costumes, just a dress code color to stick to, and the performers are allowed to use props or accessories for their solos.
Hood has been part of Camarata Music, a nonprofit music organization, since shortly after she arrived in Korea in 2019.
"When I came to Korea in 2019, I immediately started looking for ways to perform, as I knew I needed that to make Korea a lasting option for me," she said. "(I) found Camarata, and they responded immediately with auditions coming up. I went, got cast and have been stuck with them ever since. It feels amazing having my theatre family, even in a country across the world. It's such a great community and it makes being in a new country so much more comfortable."
She started piano lessons with her grandmother at age 5, but they quickly switched to singing when Hood's talent shone through. At age 8, the theater teacher noticed her talent, and she's been doing musicals ever since.
Camarata's previous musical productions have included “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Into the Woods,” “The Pirates of Penzance” and most recently “You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.”
Three performances of "Page to Stage" will be staged at The Studio HBC in central Seoul's Haebangchon neighborhood. The curtain will open on Saturday at 1 p.m. and again at 6 p.m. and on Sunday at 4 p.m. Tickets cost 20,000 won.
Visit camaratamusic.org for more information and to book tickets.