Trust is key to Seol’s success in musical

This is the fourth in a series of interviews with the heads of Korea's top theatrical companies. — ED.

By Kwon Mee-yoo

“The Phantom of the Opera” and “Cats” enchanted many and led people to step into the world of musicals either as audience members, actors, directors or producers. They dreamt of watching, performing in or producing the shows.

That dream has come true for Seol Do-yun, the producer of Seol & Company, who has brought the masterpiece musicals to Korea, against worries that a Korean producer is not capable of staging them.

Produced by Seol, “Cats” is currently staged at the Charlotte Theater in southern Seoul, celebrating its 30th anniversary and “Evita” is waiting for its second production in Korea at the LG Arts Center in December.

Seol majored in music at university, but he took another path and jumped into the world of theater. He trained in singing and acting in Hyundai Theater, the first commercial troupe in Korea, and later studied dance under Yuk Wan-sun, then professor at Ewha Womans University.

“I was literally the first male to attend the female-only university,” he said laughing.

Learning dance opened another door for Seol and he became a choreographer, leading the choreography of the 1988 Seoul Olympics’ opening ceremony and later serving as the head of SBS Art Troupe in 1991.

“Choreography is not just about designing movements. A choreographer should see

the whole stage and coordinate like a director. Those experiences led me to the position of producer.”

He first staged the French musical “Jazz” by Jerome Savary in 1991, but it was not successful. “I sold my house to pay for the production costs, but it failed.”

Seol quit broadcasting and entered the musical business in 1995, producing original Korean work “Singing in the Rain,” one of the longest-running homegrown musicals here.

Musicals as an industry

Seol approaches musicals from an industrial viewpoint. “A musical is commercial art and I thought it should be

considered in an industrial way,” the producer said. Reflecting his ideas, Seol & Company defines itself as a theatrical investment and production group.

"Singing in the Rain” was quite successful, but the production didn’t make a profit. “I realized the importance of financing and fundraising and decided to raise money from conglomerates,” he said. “I visited Broadway in the 1990s and clarified the concept of the musical as an industry.”

He brought Samsung into the theater business and contributed to the establishment of the now-disbanded Samsung Entertainment Group. “I was blamed for only seeking investment and bringing Samsung to the business with the logic of capital. However, I insisted that it is all about business and industry,” Seol said.

Another crisis came when Korea was bailed out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1997. “I was staging ‘Grease’ then and it was another failure.”

However, Seol turned the crisis into an opportunity to understand the international market. “The crisis swept not only Korea but over the globe. I thought it was necessary to understand the world, especially when we have to make contracts to bring Broadway and West End musicals,” he said. “Yes, they were tough times, but I was able to think about a broader market beyond Korea.”

He had a breakthrough in staging “42nd Street” in 1999. “I was sure that the cultural industry would explode in the 2000s and set up plans for the next five years — bringing ‘The Phantom of the Opera,’ ‘Cats’ and a Disney family musical to Korea, investing overseas and producing a Korean musical aimed at the international market. Though they weren’t completed in five years, I am achieving them one by one.”

‘Trust is everything’

“A producer is a person who takes overall responsibility of a theatrical work from selecting which one to stage and booking a venue to producing and marketing,” Seol said. “A producer should be responsible for all these processes and the accountability leads to intensive preparation to minimize risk.”

Seol & Company is also known for being the exclusive partner for the Really Useful Company Asia Pacific (RUC), the subsidiary of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-owned the Really Useful Group based in London. Seol has staged many of Lloyd Webber’s hits such as “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Cats” in Korea under license with the RUC.

“I first met Tim McFarlane of the RUC in 1995 and have maintained friendly relations with him since then,” Seol said. “It took six years to sign a contract for a licensed production of ‘Phantom’ in 2001.”

He explained that the companies’ relationships are based on strong trust with each other. “I gained his trust and confidence and it helped me through difficulties such as the typhoon that destroyed the travelling theater playing ‘Cats’ in 2003.”

In September 2003, Typhoon Maemi hit Busan and the Big Top Theater there, causing some 700 million won in damages to the company in just one night. Seol decided to resume the show and restored the movable theater in six weeks.

“Without trust I had built with the RUC, it was impossible to make such a decision and ask for the actors and staff members to wait and return,” he said.

‘Wicked’ in Korea

The company will stage two tour productions — “Wicked” and “The Phantom of the Opera” — and a licensed production — Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” — next year.

“Wicked” is one of the biggest hits on Broadway with high expectations from local audiences. “Every producer in Korea wanted to bring ‘Wicked,’ but since RUC has the rights for touring in Asia, we automatically have the rights for Korea. Again, it is all about trust,” he said.

“We decided to invite more touring productions next year because the personnel cost of hiring Korean actors has skyrocketed. It is rather cheaper to bring overseas productions than staging shows with Korean actors and staff,” he said. “It is impossible to make profits with such a high pay roll of top-notch actors. So I will stage tour productions next year and hope the market will adjust to the bubbles in the performance fee.”

Seol & Company staged “Tears of Heaven,” a big production aiming to reach Broadway with music by Frank Wildhorn, earlier this year with Core Contents Media. However, the musical received rather harsh reviews despite the fact it was a tryout.

“We originally planned to perform in Japan, but the earthquake and tsunami that hit the country earlier this year forced us to scrap the scheme,” he said. “Reviews were not good, but I learned something from that as well.”

Instead, he considers writing the script from scratch again. “It was about the Vietnam War, but we might change it to the Korean War or even take the concept of war out,” he said. “We will keep Wildhorn’s music, but the story will be different.”

Seol added that he wants the Korean audience to “enjoy” the shows. “They tend to review the show as if they were critics than being absorbed in the musical,” he said. “The audiences can comment on the show, either in a positive or critical way, but I think it is better for them to come to the theater with an attitude of an audience.”