Tag: Korean Musical Theater

The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 399

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

Three years ago today G.O made his Korean musical stage debut with his first performance as the troubled pansori artist Dong Ho in the haunting musical Seopyeonje. I cannot believe it has been three years. Oh how I would love to see this musical revived again with G.O returning to reprise his role as Dong Ho. For the moment, I will simply hold on to that dream while revisiting G.O’s first curtain call on the Seopyeonje stage on this 399th day of his service.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 376

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

I think it is true that many of G.O’s most playful moments probably happen during fan meetings and fan signs. I know that G.O has shown us playful moments during variety programs, and even in the closing moments on the concert stage where often times a sort of playful chaos and mayhem break out. But the fan signs . . . well, they breed a special kind of playful.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 353

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

Way back on Day 245, I talked about the wonderful spring G.O was enjoying in 2014. With two critically acclaimed musicals and a comeback with MBLAQ, he was riding high and seeing quite a bit of press coverage which included landing on the cover of a couple of magazines. Pretty cool! Day 245 was a G.O One Shot day (like today). At that time, I shared a couple of beautiful shots from Campus Job & Joy and said I would not crowd that one shot post with all of the pictures contained in the article as each deserved its own moment to shine. Today is another One Shot day where I will let another moment from that May 2014 issue of Campus Job & Joy charm you.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 350

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

I suppose it is rather obvious that I have been having deep (and perhaps emotional) longing to travel back in time to the spring of 2014 when everything seemed to be wonderfully in place for both G.O in his independent pursuits on the musical stage, as well as with MBLAQ as they settled into promoting their 6th (and truly brilliant) mini album, Broken. I left Seoul in mid-April of that year after a lengthy stay, and therefore missed the impromptu meet & greet G.O held in the lobby of the Universal Arts Theater on 5 May 2014. I was momentarily disappointed when I learned of that meet & greet, but that dissipated quickly as I reminded myself how fortunate I was in any event to have experienced not only G.O’s amazing fan service, but his incredible performance in 서편제 [Seopyeonje]. It is Day 350 and seems like a great day to celebrate G.O’s Fabled Fan Service as he met with fans back on that sunny day in early May.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 344

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

There were many intense scenes played out on the musical stage during 서편제 [Seopyeonje]. The combative battle between stepfather and son during the argumentative 철없는 혈기 [Immature Passion] was particularly explosive. Imagine living day to day under the suffocating control of an abusive father, devastated by the loss of an adoring mother, and longing for the freedom to pursue a happier life. Watching G.O interpret the pain, confusion, and desperation of the tormented Dong Ho was simultaneously harrowing and magnificent; particularly so in the violent argument with an equally angered and volatile Yoo Bong.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 343

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

I cannot seem to let go. I cannot move the memory of G.O’s tender and brilliant performance of Prince Ho Dong in the musical 바람의나라 [The Kingdom of the Winds] during those wonderful warm days of May 2014 from my heart or mind. A little bit of a musical-inspired few days here for this Countdown series. Even as another year is set to begin (the Lunar New Year, that is) and we continue to move further and further from those amazing performances, I am unable to forget and am compelled to also have you remember. The early rehearsal moments captured of G.O effortlessly falling into the fragile psyche of Kingdom’s child prince were exciting and breathtaking. And yes, it may have only been his third musical over a three year span, it was nevertheless clear that a musical theater star was gently but with great passion, being born.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 342

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

Perhaps one of the reasons why Gwanghwamun Sonata and G.O were such a perfect fit on the musical stage was because the story of the musical was built around ballads. I think it was brilliant of composer Lee Young Hoon to choose songs from his songbook and create a musical around them. Using the songs, the beautiful ballads he wrote, to tell a story. Along with the title song of the musical, 해바라기 [Sunflower] is one of my favorite numbers from the show. As always, G.O’s voice captures the heartfelt sorrow and regret of a man whose choices leave him alone reflecting on a love lost.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 327

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

Although hours, days, months and years may pass and the spring of 2014 become more and more of a memory, the one constant that will always bring me back to those amazing days will be G.O’s voice. Yes, the voice that captured my heart and imprinted itself upon my soul. Because the first time I was introduced to G.O’s voice live upon any stage was through Seopyeonje, I find myself revisiting the music and the moments of the musical over and over. Today, the sweet and achingly beautiful 연가 [Sonata].

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 305

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

Maybe the holidays are making me a bit more sensitive and sentimental but lately I have been thinking a lot about Prince Ho Dong, his story and more importantly, how wonderfully G.O portrayed the young tender prince in the 2014 production of 바람의나라 [The Kingdom of the Winds]. The One Shot today is a delightful capture (and memory) from rehearsals.

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The Soulful Countdown to G.O’s Discharge ~ Day 297

~ Michele ~ Leave a comment

When G.O was cast as one of three actors to portray the tragic and emotionally fragile Dong Ho in 서편제 [Seopyeonje], I was still clearing my own path towards him so I missed all of the excitement of hearing the news of his involvement in the musical. I can only imagine what it must have felt like when news of G.O returning to the musical stage broke. As I have mentioned before, Seopyeonje was my introduction to G.O so it holds special importance for me personally, but it was also a game-changer for him as a musical actor (whether he wants to believe that or not)! For today then, something simple. A look back at the moment when he introduced himself as one of the musical actors cast in the show.

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