'The Power of Veterans' Jeong Dong-hwan and Park Sang-won Challenge Solo Performances

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Veteran actors Jeong Donghwan (71) and Park Sangwon (61) will present one-man shows for the first time since their debuts.

Jeong Donghwan will appear in 'The Grand Inquisitor and Faust,' performed at Dongguk University Lee Hae-rang Art Theater until the 8th. Park Sangwon will star in the one-man show 'Contrabass,' opening on the 7th at the Small Theater of the Seoul Arts Center. Both Jeong Donghwan and Park Sangwon debuted in theater. Jeong Donghwan’s debut work was 'A Stranger' in 1969, and Park Sangwon’s was 'Jesus Christ Superstar' in 1979. However, this is the first time for both to perform in a one-man show.

Jeong Donghwan’s 'The Grand Inquisitor and Faust' is a work that intertwines Fyodor Dostoevsky’s 'The Brothers Karamazov' and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s 'Faust' to address the issue of human salvation. It was adapted and directed by Na Jin-hwan, the representative of the theater company Piak.

In the novel 'The Brothers Karamazov,' three brothers?Dmitri, Ivan, and Alyosha?appear. The Grand Inquisitor is a poem that Ivan tells to Alexei in the novel, known as a scene that encapsulates Dostoevsky’s views on religion and God.

Representative Na Jin-hwan presented the play 'The Brothers Karamazov' at Daehangno Art Theater in 2017. At that time, the play attempted to include the vast content of the original novel, resulting in two parts, each lasting 3 hours and 30 minutes. The performance was a grand production lasting a total of 7 hours. Jeong Donghwan played four roles: the narrator Dostoevsky, the clergyman Elder Zosima, the Grand Inquisitor who interrogates Jesus, and the guest symbolizing the devil.

Jeong Dong-hwan (left) and Park Sang-won

This time, the performance focuses on the Grand Inquisitor and connects it with Goethe’s 'Faust' to convey the messages that Dostoevsky and Goethe intended. Jeong Donghwan will portray the two classics’ main characters?Faust and Mephistopheles, the Grand Inquisitor, and Ivan and Alyosha?over 105 minutes without intermission.

Jeong Donghwan has consistently appeared on the theater stage, including playing Vladimir in the 50th-anniversary performance of the premiere of 'Waiting for Godot' at Myeongdong Art Theater last year.

Park Sangwon’s 'Contrabass' is based on the 1981 play of the same name by German author Patrick S?skind, famous for 'Perfume (1985)' and 'The Story of Mr. Sommer (1991).' 'Contrabass' premiered in 1981 at the Quibilli? Theater in Munich, Germany. It remains one of the most frequently staged plays in the German-speaking world and continues to be loved by theater enthusiasts.

In 'Contrabass,' Park Sangwon plans to depict the story of modern urban people in 2020. Using the life of the contrabass and its player, who are overlooked in a large orchestra, as a metaphor, the play tells the story of the life and love of ordinary citizens marginalized by this era.

Park Sangwon will return to the theater stage for the first time in about six years since 'Gogon’s Gift' in 2014. The performance opens on the 7th and runs until the 29th.

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