By Kwon Mee-yoo
“Tears of Heaven,” a musical of love and loss, betrayal and forgiveness with music composed by Frank Wildhorn, raised its curtain in Seoul last month, aiming to reach Broadway. However, the much-anticipated musical seems to be lost somewhere between “Miss Saigon” and “The Joy Luck Club,” although the music hauntingly resonates through the extravagant set.
The musical starts from where Tianna, a Vietnamese-American singer visiting Korea, meets Joon, a middle-aged Korean novelist who fought in the Vietnam War.
Joon tells her how he met Linh, a night club singer in Vietnam, and how they fell in love, wandering around the beautiful city of Saigon.
As a writer-to-be, he tells the story of a tiger and a dove to Linh, reflecting his love for her. In the scene, Joon grabs a paper tiger and performs a shadow play which soon moves on to projections on a backdrop.
The number "The Tiger and the Dove" is repeated throughout the show, portraying the tragic love of Joon and Linh. Still, their love lacks persuasive power and the audience has to imagine why they fell for each other so rapidly and deeply.
American Colonel Grayson, Linh’s fiance, finds out about their affair and sends Joon to fight where the chances of survival are low.
“Can You Hear Me?” the big number at the end of the first act, shows Joon leaving for battle, expressed as a dark vortex on the backdrop.
The narrative loses its way in the second act, as the center of the conflict moves from the two lovers to their daughter Tianna and Quyen, a friend of Linh who told the colonel of her secret.
Joon survives the battle, but Linh leaves for the States believing he is dead. The bombing of Saigon is transformed to a park in San Francisco where hippies sing for women’s rights.
Linh is abandoned by the Colonel when he finds out she is pregnant and dies during delivery. Quyen takes the baby as way of an apology and raises the child to be a singer.
Three actors alternate the role of Joon. Jung Sang-yoon's Joon is romantic, while Jeon Dong-seok portrays the confusion of a young soldier in the battlefield. Kim Jun-sun from JYJ sings Joon’s sorrows well, but has problems in conveying the lines clearly.
Yoon Gong-joo plays both the strong yet fragile Linh and her daughter Tianna. Yoon’s powerful singing instills life into the show and Linh’s character. Singer Lee Hae-ri from Davichi shares the role with Yoon.
Brad Little from Broadway's "The Phantom of the Opera," plays the dignified Colonel. He overwhelmed the audience when he sang "Rules of Engagement" and "Without Her" with his impressive voice.
The music of Frank Wildhorn, who composed “Jekyll and Hyde” and “Monte Cristo,” combines classical music and jazz with an Oriental twist.
The set is another chief protagonist. The 48 LED (Light-Emitting Diode) panels covering the floor are kaleidoscopic. Combined with instantaneously changing projections and lighting, the stage changes from a floating market in Saigon to dense forest where battles take place and secret passages lead to the underground bases of the Viet Cong.
During “Raining Fires,” the stage turns into a city being bombed, combined with Lee Ran-young’s choreography. The floor LEDs turn from green to red and then white, while ensembles collapse on stage phase by phase, symbolizing the brutality of war.
The current production of "Tears of Heaven" is not an end product yet. The Korean premiere was more of a tryout before the musical goes to Broadway.
The ending of the show was changed after opening. At first, Tianna reconciles with Quyen, but it was changed to a scene where Tianna asks Quyen to give her some time to think about what she just heard.
Though the story yet needs to be developed, the beautiful music and innovative set of “Tears of Heaven” has the possibility to knock on the doors of Broadway theaters.
The musical runs through March 19 at Haeoreum Theater of the National Theater of Korea in central Seoul. Call (02) 501-7888 for more information.