Lead Actors' Average Age 20.5... Young Original Musical 'Daniel'

Due to COVID-19, the production presentation was delayed... Running until the 15th at Daehangno Yes24 Stage 3 Hall

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The original musical 'Daniel' is a young musical.

Among the two actors playing the protagonist Daniel, Seok Hyun-jun was born in 2000. The other Daniel, Lee Seok-jun, was born in 1999. Lee Seok-jun received the Musical Star Award at the Daegu International Musical Festival (DIMF) in 2017 when he was a senior at Anyang Arts High School. Recognized at DIMF, Lee Seok-jun debuted last year in the musical 'Grease' as 'Doody,' and this is his second musical stage. Seok Hyun-jun is making his debut with Daniel.

As the actors are young, the press call held on the 10th at Yes24 Stage 3 in Daehangno featured a series of energetic scene demonstrations. Powerful high-pitched numbers followed one another, and many actors continuously filled the stage, showing dynamic choreography.

A demonstration scene from the production presentation of the original musical 'Daniel'.

The spatial setting of Daniel is Sailro Mental Hospital. At Sailro Mental Hospital, a series of patient suicides occur. Newspaper reporter Eden infiltrates the hospital disguised as a patient to find out the cause. However, Eden is also found as a cold corpse. Daniel, Eden’s colleague and friend, heads to Sailro Mental Hospital to uncover the truth.

Daniel was developed in 2018 through a creative musical project at Baekseok Arts University. Producer Choi Mu-yeol, who won the Best Work Award at the 10th Korean Musical Awards for the musical 'Maria Maria,' created the work together with students from Baekseok University. Producer Choi has been involved as the artistic director from the premiere of Daniel, leading the overall production including acting guidance and planning. Producer Choi Mu-yeol said, "Young actors from Baekseok Arts University are the core," adding, "The oldest actor on stage is only twenty-eight." Daniel also advanced to the finals of the '2019 Hyundai Motor Group University Theater and Musical Festival' last August.

There is a similar case. 'Jeokbyeok' at Jeongdong Theater, currently suspended due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), was developed by the Department of Traditional Arts at Chung-Ang University. Jeokbyeok was recognized for its artistic value by winning the Excellence Award in the university musical category at the 2016 DIMF and the Gold Prize at the 'H-Star Festival' hosted by the Korea Performance Producers Association and Hyundai Motor Group. Jeokbyeok has been performed on the Jeongdong Theater stage for four consecutive years since 2017 through the theater’s 'Creative ing' program. Professor Jeong Ho-bung of Chung-Ang University’s Department of Traditional Arts still leads the performances centered on his students, and the average age of the twenty actors in last year’s performance was only 25.3 years.

A demonstration scene from the production presentation of the original musical 'Daniel'.

The press call stage of 'Daniel,' where the dreams of young actors gathered, also conveyed a sense of earnestness. Despite the press call being held in a small theater, ensemble performances that could be seen on a large theater stage continued to fill the stage as if to show as many actors as possible. The performance brochure densely included photos, names, and roles of all twenty-five actors on stage, even those with minor parts.

Daniel faced difficulties due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The press call for Daniel, which opened on the 21st of last month, was originally scheduled for the 26th of last month. However, the press call was canceled due to the spread of COVID-19, and a production presentation was held belatedly five days before the performance’s closing on the 15th.

Jang Jun-ho, CEO of Theater Company Bau, which produced Daniel, said the reason for holding the production presentation with less than a week left before the performance was because it is not the end. "Daniel is still in the development process, and we wanted to promote Daniel a lot to stage a more complete performance in the future. So we decided not to give up and proceed with the production presentation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.