Ivy says chose "Kiss Me, Kate" because of Choi, Nam

"Kiss Me, Kate" will be a musical where one will be able to view the harmony between the old and new -- the former through Nam Kyung-joo and Choi Jung-won who debuted when nobody was quite sure what musical actors do yet are now already more than 20 years into those very careers, and the latter through Ivy who is taking her first attempt at musicals. A revamped version of the production, first shown in Korea in 2001 based on Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew," is back in town for the first time in nine years. And it has been garnering much attention with Ivy playing the role of Lois who dreams of climbing up the social ladder with her looks and talent. "Kiss Me, Kate" aims to be a romantic comedy which revolves around a pair of divorced actors who appear on play "The Taming of the Shrew" within the musical. The numbers which are performed during the show's two-hour run are cheerful and merry, and the love story between Fred (played by Nam) and Lily (played by Choi) elaborately moves between the past and present emotions the two feel within the format of 'play within a play.' Below are excerpts from the press conference with the cast members of "Kiss Me, Kate" set to run from July 9 to August 14 at The National Theater of Korea.

Q: Ivy, you are making your musical debut through "Kiss Me, Kate." How has it been?
Ivy: I have been wanting to give a shot at musicals so much that it has been a dream that I have so earnestly hoped to see come true. That's why I had continuously watched a lot of musicals and studied them in my own way. I actually feel like crying just for the fact that I get to stand on the same stage as Nam Kyung-joo and Choi Jung-won.

Q: Many singers say delivering lyrics is the most difficult thing about musicals.
Ivy: It really was the most difficult to do. In musicals, the lyrics are your lines but I don't have experience in this field so I had a very hard time with it. It has been the same with the singing and dancing too but I've been paying the most attention to delivering the lyrics. Of my acquaintances, Ok Joo-hyun and Park Kyung-rim gave me a lot of advice.
Choi Jung-won: Singers are definitely good with the singing when they do musicals although they do have problems with the diction. But Ivy was surprisingly good with the diction and the singing. She's playing the role that I took on nine years ago when this musical first showed in the country so I was very interested, but since I have managed to have fallen in love with her, I think the audience won't be able to help but like her. (Iaugh)

Q: In the short preview you showed us just now, the characters Lois and and Bianca that Ivy takes on seems more cheerful and comical than sexy. So the choreography must've also been different from what she's used to.
Ivy: I've been doing choreography that suits songs but I had never professionally learned to dance. That's why I think it took quite a while for me to adjust to the choreography in musicals. I'm sure the producer had a hard time because of me. (laugh)
Nam: I think there's a reason why Ivy is talked about so much. She probably put in a lot of effort and practice into her singing career even when it's not for the stage. And she was the same when rehearsing for musicals too. It seemed like she had a tough time adjusting in the beginning but she caught up soon because she's a quick learner.
David Swan: I met Ivy for the first time through "Kiss Me, Kate." And I heard she had no experience with musicals but I knew she was someone who had put on great performances on other stages. She has been a singer so her stage acting is natural. And she has been making a lot of brave attempts. She is natural playing both Lois and Bianca.

Q: I'm sure you would have been offered many musicals till now. Why did you decide to take on "Kiss Me, Kate"?
Ivy: The main reason is these two people sitting next to me -- Choi Jung-won and Nam Kyung-joo. I decided that I must take on the musical no matter what after hearing they would be the main cast. I also saw the video from the premiere show and I knew I just had to do it. I reached the decision in particular because I would be playing the role that Choi played in the past so I told myself I would be able to learn a lot from this experience.

Q: Nam Kyung-joo and Choi Jung-won, you were both in the premiere show for this musical.
Nam: We're taking on "Kiss Me, Kate" for the first time in nine years. Back then, Choi played Lois, the role Ivy took on this time, and Chun Soo-kyung had played the role of Kate. The Lois that Choi played nine years ago was so full of passion that she practically bounced around on stage like a spring. I would describe her as having been refreshing nine years ago, and now, having a matured beauty. The character Kate that she plays within the musical is supposed to be very famous too so I'm happy that I got to do this musical again, this time with a mature Choi.
Choi: Like he just said, I'm happy that I'm able to play the role of Kate after gaining experience. I think it's even more fun because I've played Lois before and I remember the atmosphere and everything from back then. And the acting, singing and even working with the ensemble has been fun after gaining more knowledge about the musical. I've been in many musicals with Nam and he always does a great job of taking the lead so I think I always feel comfortable when working with him. "Kiss Me, Kate" in particular is a production where timing is very important so I think the chemistry we have shown you so far through other productions will shine even more in this musical. And I personally am happy to get to be doing a comedy with him for the first time in a while -- our last one was "I Love You" in 2004. We're a match made in heaven (laugh) so I hope we'll get to show the audience a good performance through good teamwork.

Q: It may be because this musical is in the romantic comedy genre but the atmosphere that the stage and music give off all seem very romantic.
David Swan: I guess it could seem like that. But "Kiss Me, Kate" is a production which is full of passion as well as romance. The story is about passion, anger and betrayal. It is based on Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" and the music by Cole Porter who is considered the father of 20th century pop music. The orchestra directed by Kim Moon-jung does a good job of conveying that passion onto stage through its great sound.

Q: How is musical "Kiss Me, Kate" different from other musicals?
David Swan: While musicals have usually focused on finding new love or the process of how the main character finds love, "Kiss Me, Kate" is about people who are already in love. It tells about how lovers make their love work by ridding themselves of what they had not been able to do or approach because of their selfishness despite loving each other. Incidents surrounding people who love each other yet don't quite know how to, will unfold concurrently with stories which occur backstage and on stage within the musical.

Reporter : Jang Kyung-Jin three@
Photographer : Lee Jin-hyuk eleven@
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@