South Korean Theatre Hopes to Make a Comeback This Summer With JAMIE, ROTTEN!, and More

The theatre industry in South Korea is hoping to make a comeback this summer, with the production of well-known musicals, like Everybody's Talking About Jamie and Something Rotten!, with all-star casts.

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the production of The Phantom of the Opera in Seoul is continuing to run amidst the pandemic. Last month, the production extended through August 8, having originally been set to close on June 27.

Concerts are being planned for this summer from various musicians and orchestras, and theatre is hoping to make a full comeback as well.

According to the Korea Times, the production of Everybody's Talking About Jamie is set to star 2AM's Jo Kwon, NU'EST's Ren, ASTRO's MJ and musical actor Shin Joo-hyup alternating in the lead role of Jamie. Choi Jung-won and Kim Sun-young will play Jamie's mother Margaret, and Yoon Hee-seok and Choi Ho-joong will take on the role of Jamie's mentor Hugo.

Something Rotten!'s first Korean-language production is set to premiere at Chungmu Art Center in August. It will star Kang Pil-suk, Lee Ji-hoon and Seo Eun-kwang of BtoB as Nick Bottom, and Lim Kyu-hyung, Noh Yun and Yeo One of Pentagon as Nigel. Korean-American actor Michael K. Lee will play Nostradamus.

Other upcoming productions include Rent, 42nd Street, and Mozart!

One show that has been postpone indefinitely is Return: The Promise of the Day, which was set to be led by K-pop stars including D.O. and Xiumin of EXO and former Wanna One member Yoon Ji-sung. The production was originally set to premiere on June 4.

Read more on Korea Times.

Last month, a video was released detailing the safety measures that are being taken at the theatre where The Phantom of the Opera is being performed, to ensure the safety of the cast, crew, and audiences. The video can be viewed here.

Claire Lyon, who plays Christine Daae in the production, told the Sydney Morning Herald that, "Everyone backstage is wearing masks unless you're obviously in costume and about to go on stage. There's hand sanitizer everywhere. Everything is a well-oiled machine. It has just functioned so efficiently."

According to the Korea Herald, all theaters require temperature checks for all patrons, and they must also fill out a questionnaire regarding any symptoms or visits where COVID-19 is in abundance. Audience members must also wear masks, and hand sanitizer is placed throughout.