Deborah Lew, Paolo Montalban, and John Cudia cast as leads in Frank Wildhorn's TEARS OF HEAVEN.
TEARS OF HEAVEN, the first original American commission for South Korea, will have its industry reading on Friday, September 11th. This original musical is produced by Creative Production and Seol & Company, and will debut in Seoul in 2010, with an original book by Phoebe Hwang, lyrics by Robin Lerner (An Officer & Gentleman, Grammy-nominated songwriter and CMA winner), music by Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Civil War, and the upcoming Bonnie & Clyde, Havana, and Wonderland), and directed by Gabriel Barre (Andrew Lippa's Wild Party, Camille Claudel, and Wildhorn's international Carmen in Prague), with musical direction by Adrian Werum (Steinman's Dance of the Vampires and Wildhorn's Carmen). Chris Choi (Broadway Overseas Management) is the general manager.
The cast also includes MaryAnn Hu, Marcus Choi, Albert Guerzon, Chad Fornwalt, Devin Ilaw, Raymond Lee, Mark Ludden, Andrew Smith, Rene Albulario, April Berry, Cheryl Daro, Rona Figueroa, Ann Sanders, and Anne Fraser Thomas.
Press notes describe the show as "the original story takes place in Vietnam in 1968 and is a love triangle between a beautiful Vietnamese singer, a Korean private, and an American Colonel set against the backdrop of the days leading up to and during the Tet Offensive. The action follows our characters to Seoul, Korea, and the shores of America in San Francisco's Chinatown."
The full production in Korea will eventually feature dance, mask work, and other unique forms of far eastern puppetry, dance, and combat choreography. The score represents a combination of Asian, French, and pop genres and even takes us into the world of opera. This reading is the second (following another one held earlier on May 1st of this year) and will be followed soon by a recording session of many of the songs from the show to be released in Korea to forecast the show there.
