[REVIEW] Musical "Tears of Heaven"

Kim Junsu acts out a scene from musical "Tears of Heaven" in Seoul, South Korea on February 1, 2011. [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

JYJ Kim Junsu's second musical, a global project created by human resource in Korea and Broadway, a hybrid of different genres which started from a seven-minute long music video. Like so, a variety of modifiers can be used to describe "Tears of Heaven." The show may have constantly been compared to mega-hit West End musical "Miss Saigon" with it being about the Vietnam War and the love that blooms amidst it. But it finally raised its curtains on February 1, after three long years of preparation.

"Tears of Heaven" was unveiled to the press on its opening day, just a few hours ahead of making an official debut before its audience. And as much as it is now the trend for musicals to be shown on symbolic stages created by video instead of building realistic sets, "Tears of Heaven" too created its space and time through the use of video and lighting. The clip showing the main scenes from the musical, revolving mostly around the cast's solo songs, merely explained the background to the show's story but the ending to the first act where "Can You Hear Me?" is sung, left a long lingering feeling by interveining the scene where the man and woman part with the bitter moment in history where young soldiers head into war. With this, the LED lighting on the floor of the stage effectively gave shape to the emotions felt by each character and the spaces they are in. This is noteworthy in that using the stage symbolically, which has been incorporated in both licensed and original productions, has had difficulty in being received well by the general public.

Kim Junsu and Yoon Gong-joo [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

But where "Tears of Heaven" takes off and revolves around is Frank Wildhorn's music, the reason that most of the show's cast decided to take on the musical. Hence he may work mainly in Europe but he has become popular in Korea with his songs that contain distinct narrative arcs, a factor that is in line with Koreans' tastes. The musical numbers that enhance the emotions the audience feels, are as good as "This is the Moment" from "Jekyll & Hyde" and "I've Never Loved Like This" from "The Count of Monte Cristo" which have already been loved by many fans in Korea. An Oriental melody is added to the spatial background of Vietnam and the variation of tunes suiting each character's personality bring joy to the listener's ears.

Musical "Tears of Heaven" [Chae Ki-won/10Asia]

Kim Junsu, Jung Sang-yoon and Jeon Dong-suk who rotate the role of the Korean soldier, allure the audience with different appeals. Jung, who was called Mr. Romance when working on "Phantom of the Opera," is romantic and Jeon is attractive in how he portrays his character's pureness from how he is confused about his identity on the battlefield. Kim does the best job in delivering the emotion of sadness with a mournful voice but was shaky in singing the low notes, a point he was criticized for in his first musical appearance "Mozart!" Brad Little, playing the role of Colonel Grayson who becomes infinitely weak in front of the woman he loves, is the only member of the cast who sings in English but he drew more attention with his skilled expertise. There are moments you may be reminded of his roles from "The Phantom of the Opera" or "Jekyll & Hyde" but he is likely to settle into his character during the show's run. "Tears of Heaven" will show at the National Theater of Korea until March 19.

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Editor : Jang Kyung-Jin three@
Photographer : Chae ki-won ten@
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@