By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
American actor Brad Little became a household name among Korean musical buffs with his performance in the hit musical ``The Phantom of The Opera.''
This time, the 44-year-old musical star is coming to Korea to perform in ``Jekyll and Hyde.''
``The reason why I really wanted to do `Jekyll and Hyde' in Korea is because it is a show and a role I have great passion for. I love Frank Wildhorn's work, and while I was in Korea with `Phantom,' I thought how I'd like to do Frank's work in Korea. J&H is just another stepping stone for what I hope will turn into many more shows in Korea,'' Little said in an email interview with The Korea Times.
The Broadway musical will hit the stage with its star-studded cast at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts from Aug. 28 to Sept. 20. It is based on the novel, "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,'' by Robert Louis Stevenson, with music composed by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics written by Leslie Bricusse.
The show was first staged in Seoul as a licensed version in 2004 and has since drawn more than 300,000 viewers, with the lead role played by the enormously popular Cho Seung-woo.
``I always learn by watching wonderful actors do their work. I've known Cho Seung-woo was the best. I probably would implement things into my J&H that I saw him do in his, if I saw him. I find it flattering when I hear or see other actors take from what I do on stage and implement it into their own work. I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't steal from the best,'' he said.
Little has appeared in a number of Broadway and touring productions. In 1994, he joined the cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber's ``The Phantom of the Opera'' as Raoul. In 1996 he joined Phantom's national tour as the title role.
He has a wide fan base in Korea after his Seoul performance of The Phantom of the Opera in 2004. He held a concert in 2006 in response to his fierce popularity among Korean fans.
Concerning his huge popularity in Korea, he said that Korean fans ``know how to do it right.''
``First of all, I get asked this question everywhere I go now. I get the question `What do you think of our audience?' This is all over America, Asia and Europe. I always start with 'There are just no better fans than Korean fans.' And then I continue to tell them how great, or not so great, their audiences and fans are. I say Koreans are true professional fans,'' he said.
Little believes that a lot of his success is thanks to his turn as the Phantom. ``I hope that I will forever be remembered as the Phantom in Korea. For it is the Phantom that has given me the opportunity to come back and play J&H for all my fans in Korea,'' he said.
But he said that he hopes the Korean audience will not be coming to ``Jekyll and Hyde'' expecting to see the Phantom.
``The difficulty with Dr.Jekyll is to make the audience sympathize with him. Because he is so self-centered, self-righteous, nobody will listen to that kind of person. That will be the most challenging part of the show _ to create true passion and heart so that people will empathize with him. I hope that people will see the sensitive side of Dr. Jekyll. And that it will make the audience cheer for him at the end,'' he said.
The upcoming Seoul performance is the first stop in a tour of seven countries, including China, Singapore and Australia. He said that Korea is becoming an international launching pad for new musicals.
``This is already happening with original Korean musicals that are hugely successful there. It's only a matter of time for one of these musicals to hit the international scene. Also, I am involved in a project that could possibly bring a new Frank Wildhorn musical to Korea and it will be the Korean audience who will see it before anyone else in the world,'' said Little.
Despite his success, the actor still has one role he hopes to play: Billy Bigalow in ``Carousel.'' As for new works, he hopes that he will be able to bring the Wildhorn musical, ``Tears From Heaven,'' to Korea.
Little said that the most important thing about being a musical actor is simply: ``You have to do it."
"It's not just that you want to do it," he explained. "It's that your passion is so strong that you have to do it. Otherwise you will be miserable attempting to, because the lifestyle is so difficult."