Marco Zunino razzle-dazzles in 'Chicago'

Marco Zunino performs in the musical “Chicago.” / Courtesy of Seensee Company

Marco Zunino

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Two murderesses in black, sexy costumes sing vaudeville-style music written by John Kander and Fred Ebb and dance to slick routines choreographed by Ann Reinking in the smash-hit musical "Chicago."

The second-longest-running Broadway show is also a hit in Korea, enjoying sold-out runs since its premiere here in 2000. A touring production of the musical is now on at the Haeoreum Hall of the National Theater of Korea on Namsan Mountain in central Seoul.

Though the two murderesses headline the show with efforts to seek publicity using their infamy, "Chicago" cannot be completed without Billy Flynn -- the "silver-tongued prince of the courtroom" who gets the showgirls acquitted -- played by Marco Zunino from Peru in this production.

The show features a stellar cast from the Broadway production, including Terra C. MacLeod playing the strong-willed Velma Kelly and Dylis Croman as the murderous and ingenious Roxie Hart, along with Zunino.

Zunino was the first Latin American actor to play the role on Broadway, in 2012. He reprised it in his home country and returned to the Great White Way last month, starring opposite Brandy as Roxie and MacLeod as Velma. Then he came across the Pacific to become the first Peruvian actor to take part in a musical in Korea.

The actor steals the limelight in the show when he feeds the press with rearranged, sugar-coated testimony revolving around a murder committed by Roxie in the song "We Both Reached for the Gun." While singing the show-stopping number, Flynn doubles as a ventriloquist, using Roxie as his marionette. At the end of the song, Zunino sustains a long note -- an extremely long one -- drawing roaring applause from the audience.

"I have the record for holding the note for 33 seconds,” the actor, 38, said. “The applause I received after the long note was fantastic. I love being on the stage with this talented cast. Working with them makes me come alive on stage and makes the show come alive."

Passion for theater

Zunino started acting early. "I started working at 14 and have not stopped since," he said. He starred in children's television shows and many soap operas that were broadcast across Latin America.

Despite stardom and fame in Latin America, Zunino headed to New York City, the creative capital of the theater industry, when he was 22. "I was popular but missing something,” the Peruvian heartthrob said. “I never studied because I was always working. So that was when I decided to go to New York to study."

During his seven-year stay in the U.S., Zunino studied, worked, did a few commercials and played small roles in soap operas, dividing his time between New York and Los Angeles. He said he became a better actor and when he returned to Peru he was able to act on stage and in front of the camera. His theater credits include Jesus in "Jesus Christ Superstar," Tony in "West Side Story" and Roger in "Rent."

Zunino's breakthrough came when he played Emcee in another Kander and Ebb musical, "Cabaret," in Peru. His stupendous, award-winning interpretation caught the attention of the producers of "Chicago" in New York and he was asked to audition for it.

The actor had seen "Chicago" in the 1990s when the show opened, but confessed that he did not fully understand it then. "I never thought I was going to be in the show, ever," he said.

"When they first offered me the audition, I thought it was going to be for a dancer position, but I am not a dancer. When I went to the meeting, they gave me the script for Billy Flynn, the lead character, and I couldn't believe it."

When he got the role, Zunino was rather cautious. "I have worked since I was 14 and I am a very well-known actor in my country,” he said. “I was very happy already. At that point, my expectations on life were different from what I dreamed as a teenager. So I was happy to do musical theater in my country because I thought I would never be able to do it on Broadway. All of a sudden the proposal came and I was very careful because big responsibilities came with the opportunity."

Resonating with audience

To become the silver-tongued attorney on Broadway was not easy for Zunino. "I was a foreigner in the show who has to deal with the accent," he said.

However, the actor believes in the chemistry of the actor-audience relationship. "For me, the stage is magical -- as soon as you put a foot on stage, you have to deliver,” Zunino said. “It doesn't matter how sick you feel or depressed you are. You have to deliver and there is nothing else you can do."

When he went to the Ambassador Theatre to rehearse, he had a special request.

"I asked for permission to rehearse on stage by myself,” he said. “As soon as I stepped on the stage, I was like 'I'm home.' I love the feeling of being on an empty stage, by myself, walking on the wood floor and looking at the ceiling -- it makes me feel secure for some reason."

Zunino's critically acclaimed portrayal of the smooth-talking attorney, who declares "all he cares about is love" with a horde of fan dancers, began from that moment.

"Chicago," set in the 1920s Prohibition-era, premiered in 1975 and was revived in 1996. But the show still resonates well with modern audiences from all over the world because it touches something that can be found everywhere -- corruption.

"The first impression I have from Seoul was a 'perfect city,'” said Zunino. “It is modern, but old things are well maintained. It has parks and big buildings at the same time and there is a lot of culture. For me, it is the ideal of a city. But then it sprang to me that corruption is a thing here too. 'Chicago' is all about lies and being cynical, so we can relate to the show very well here and now."

While spending every night at the theater amusing the audience, the actor loves to roam around the city during the day and guidance comes from the opposite side of the world. Zunino is a household name in Peru, with more than 457,000 people following his Twitter account, which made him a living witness of cultural exchange between the Latin American country and Korea.

"Some of the Korean soap operas are popular in Peru, though I haven't seen any of them,” he said. “I've been working so much that I don't even have time to watch my soap operas. But my Peruvian followers are telling me what to do in Korea from what they have seen from Korean soap operas."

The actor would also love to contribute to more cultural interchanges between the two countries. "I am going to shoot a musical movie with Peruvian music next year,” Zunino said. “I would love to have that movie shown here because I am interested in sharing culture and social differences."

The touring production of "Chicago" runs through Aug. 8. Tickets cost from 40,000 to 140,000 won. For more information, visit www.iseensee.com or call (02) 577-1987.