Korean Musical Maria Maria Begins at NYMF, Sept. 22

The U.S. premiere of the award-winning Korean musical Maria Maria, with book and lyrics by Hye Jung Yu and Music by Gyung Chan Cha, will be presented at the New York Musical Theatre Festival.   Performances begin Friday evening, September 22, 2006 for a limited engagement through Sunday evening, October 15, 2006.  Opening night is Sunday evening, October 1, 2006 at 7:00PM.

"Chosen as an official entry to the New York Musical Theatre Festival, Maria Maria, based on a biblical tale, tells the story of Mary Magdalene with an intriguing plot twist," state press notes.  Under the direction of Cheon Mo Seong with choreography by In Sook Choi, Maria Maria received its world premiere in Seoul, South Korea in 2003 and will be performed by an all-Korean cast in Korean (with supertitles).  It is presented by Joa Musical Company, Chris Yongseok Choi and Jack M. Dalgleish in association with NYMF.

Recreating their roles will be original Korean cast members Hyo Seong Kang, who
received the 2004 Korean Musical Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of
Maria, legendary Korean pop-star Bok Hee Yoon as The Blind Woman and Sang
Woo Park as Jesus.  The 25-member cast features Korean pop-star Sonya and
Gain Choi who share the pivotal title role and Seung Chul Lee as The Pharisee.

"In this award-winning musical, Maria is a prostitute who leads a miserable life serving Roman soldiers.  Wanting to escape her fate she makes a deal that will change her life.  With the rising popularity of Jesus, his opponents make her an offer to seduce him. If successful, her reward is a chance to go to Rome to redeem her life."

The creative team for Maria Maria includes Sook Jin Seo and Eui Yeon Lee
(sets), Su Dong Lee (costumes), Tae Hwan Koo (lighting) and Kook Hyun Kang
(sound).  The musical director is Moo Youl Choi with music arrangements by
Chul Min Kim.

The performance schedule for Maria Maria at the Gerald W. Lynch Theatre at John Jay College is Tuesday - Friday at 8:00PM,  Saturday at 2:00PM & 8:00PM and Sunday at 3PM & 7PM.  Tickets are $65 and available online at
www.theatermania.com or by visiting www.nymf.org.