Success formula for movie-turned-musicals

Singer-turned-actress Bada plays Scarlett O’Hara in the French musical “Gone with the Wind,” based on the film of the same name. / Courtesy of Show Media Group

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Popular movies have been a good source for stage musicals in the past. However, not all hit movies guarantee success in stage adaptations. A handful of musicals are based on films

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from romance to B-list horror

but not all of them are successful. The key in adapting a movie into a musical lies in keeping the atmosphere of the original film while rearranging the sequences to better suit a two-act stage version.

Love Letter

The musical "Love Letter" is based on a 1995 Japanese film written and directed by Shunji Iwai. The film was one of the first Japanese movies to be introduced to Korea in the 1990s and the most memorable scene is when the female lead Hiroko Watanabe shouts "How are you? I'm fine," on a snowy mountain.

When PAC Korea, a co-company of Japan and Korea, announced that it will adapt the popular movie into a musical, many wondered how it would re-create the famous scene. There are no snow-clad peaks on stage, but the creators of the musical achieved success in conveying the delicate feelings of the film.

The musical revolves around two women

Hiroko Watanabe living in Kobe and Itsuki Fujii in Otaru. Hiroko lost her fiance Itsuki Fujii during a mountain climbing accident and wrote a letter to his old address, which is delivered to a female Itsuki, a classmate of the late Itsuki who had the same name.

Jo Sang-woong plays Itsuki Fujii in the Korean musical “Love Letter,” based on the Japanese film of the same name. / Courtesy of PAC Korea

The musical changed the order of the scenes to intersect past and present as well as Hiroko of Kobe and the female Itsuki of Otaru. An actress doubles as both Hiroko and the female Itsuki. In the movie, editing allowed the actress to play the dual role, but it becomes trickier on stage. Instead, the stage adaptation juxtaposes the young female Itsuki and the grown-up female Itsuki to portray how she brings back memories of her school days.

Instead of reenacting the famous scenes in the movie, the stage version keeps it minimal and delivers an atmosphere that stirs up the audiences' imagination. Snow and cherry blossoms falling from the sky liven up the heartrending love story.

Chamber music-style songs composed by Kim Ah-ram helps compare the male Itsuki's short life to cherry blossoms

the flowers are a sign of spring but they have a short blossoming period

through a song titled "Cherry Blossom."

Love Letter runs through Feb. 15 at Dongsoong Art Center in Daehangno. Tickets cost from 66,000 to 80,000 won. For more information, call 1566-1823.

Gone with the Wind

French musical “Gone with the Wind,” based on the world-famous 1939 film, arrived in Korea in January, but failed to live up to expectations. This 2003 French adaptation of the film composed by Gerard Presgurvic faithfully re-created the famous scenes of the movie, but without much clarity.

The musical parades scenes like Scarlett O'Hara singing in the signature green dress, dancing with Rhett Butler and falling from the staircase, but the audience is left rather confused as they try to follow the emotions of the characters, a difficult task considering the musical condensed the epic story, encompassing the American Civil War, into two hours.

In the Korean production, movie star Joo Jin-mo plays Rhett Butler with musical actors Im Tae-kyung and Kim Pub-lae, while singer-turned-actress Bada plays Scarlett O'Hara with Seohyun from Girls’ Generation. However, their great performances lose shine in the feebly connected tale.

Gone with the Wind runs through Feb. 15 at the Opera Theater of Seoul Arts Center. Tickets cost from 50,000 to 120,000 won. For more information, call 070-4489-9550.