Review: BARE THE MUSICAL at Baekam Art Hall-A Truly Soul Touching Show

"Hear my voice, did you really hear me, hear my voice, and you think you know me?" the lyrics of the last song spread throughout the theater, as the audience applauded while the actors took their bow. The theater doors opened and as the audience made their way toward the exit, I could see some people wipe tears from their face, while others were murmuring about how the music was moving. It came to me that once again, BARE: THE MUSICAL has managed to not only 'touch my soul' but the audience's heart.

BARE: THE MUSICAL is a story about two gay high school students, Jason and Peter who go to a private Catholic boarding school. The musical mainly elaborates on their struggles and deals with issues such as coming out, college, pregnancy, drugs and basically anything a teen can go through. One thing to be aware of before seeing this show is that, though the title is BARE: THE MUSICAL, it is not the 2012 version of BARE which was performed in the U.S. The show is based on the original version, BARE: A POP OPERA which was first performed in 2000.

This is the third performance of BARE: THE MUSICAL in South Korea. The show was highly known for casting rookie actors for each performance, and this year's cast had the most rookie actors. Noh Yoon, Huh Hyejin, and Kim Jihye made their debut as each Jason, Ivy, and Nadia. Also, Goo Dabin and Kwon Soy, members of the ensemble each made their debut by taking part as Dianne and Rory. An interesting fact of this year's performance was that there were additional actors that only performed for a limited number of shows. The actors who had played as Jason for the last two performances, Seong Doosup and Seo Kyungsu, and Jung Wonyoung who had played Peter also for the last two performances joined the new cast for a special limited edition of the show called "The Graduation Day." I was fortunate to see one of these special performances, and the cast for the show I watched, Jason was played by Seong Doosup, Peter by Yoon Soho, an actor who had participated the first performance of BARE: THE MUSICAL as Peter, Ivy by Huh Hyejin, and last but not least Matt by Lee Donghwan.

In general, the show was very pleasing to watch. Seong Doosup and Yoon Soho, who performed together for the first performance of BARE: THE MUSICAL each pulled off an individual character that somehow harmonized with each other. The chemistry between Jason and Peter was clearly shown and the voice of each actor mingled with one another making their duets such as "Ever After" and "Bare" more memorable. Huh Hyejin who played Ivy was beyond expectations. She had a strong voice that showed much of Ivy's characteristics and though this was her debut, her singing and acting were stable. However, during the whole show, Matt was the character that really stood out. Lee Donghwan, the actor of Matt was a show stopper in every aspect. Not only was his husky voice pleasant to hear, his actions clearly showed how thoroughly he prepared for the character. Through diverse facial expressions and body gestures, the affection he has toward for Ivy, the jealousy towards Jason, and guilt were all delivered. On the whole, the actors did a superb job in making each of their characters alive.

The past performances of BARE: THE MUSICAL in South Korea was performed in the same theater, so there were no set changes. However, this year, the theater was different and due to that, major changes were made. The most noticeable was the main set of the musical. For the past performances, the setting was made to look more like a Catholic church, with stained walls and a cross in the middle. However, for this year's performance, the setting looked more like a cross-section of a building. It was two stories, with a steep staircase in the middle. There were two sections on the second floor, one a dorm room and the other a balcony. On the first floor, there was a room with a door and the other was empty with a small staircase that could be pulled in and out. The new set was realistic in a sense; however, it seemed a bit too much. The movements of the actors were complicated and because there were blank spaces on the sides and almost no space in the front stage, the usage of space seemed ineffective and unbalanced.

BARE: THE MUSICAL has been a show that has been loved by many people. Throughout the performances, many rookie actors have made their debut and went on to develop their career in different shows. With wonderful music and a heart touching story, the show has brought many Korean audiences into tears. Don't miss the opportunity to see this piece of beautiful tragedy.

The third performance of BARE: THE MUSICAL plays at Baekam Art Hall until February 25th. Tickets start at 55,000 Won and can be purchased at the ticket box and online at www.interparkglobal.com Be sure to check the cast prior to buying the tickets.

For more information, visit www.interparkglobal.com.

"Hear my voice, did you really hear me, hear my voice, and you think you know me?" the lyrics of the last song spread throughout the theater, as the audience applauded while the actors took their bow. The theater doors opened and as the audience made their way toward the exit, I could see some people wipe tears from their face, while others were murmuring about how the show was moving. It came to me that once again, BARE: THE MUSICAL has managed to not only 'touch my soul' but the audience's heart.

BARE: THE MUSICAL is a story about two gay high school students, Jason and Peter who go to a private Catholic boarding school. The musical mainly elaborates on their struggles and deals with issues such as coming out, college, pregnancy, drugs and basically anything a teen can go through. One thing to be aware of before seeing this show is that, though the title is BARE: THE MUSICAL, it is not the 2012 version of BARE which was performed in the U.S. The show is based on the original version, BARE: A POP OPERA which was first performed in 2000.

This is the third performance of BARE: THE MUSICAL in South Korea. The show was highly known for casting rookie actors for each performance, and this year's cast had the most rookie actors. Noh Yoon, Huh Hyejin, and Kim Jihye made their debut as each Jason, Ivy, and Nadia. Also, Goo Dabin and Kwon Soy, members of the ensemble each made their debut by taking part as Dianne and Rory. An interesting fact of this year's performance was that there were additional actors that only performed for a limited number of shows. The actors who had played as Jason for the last two performances, Seong Doosup and Seo Kyungsu, and Jung Wonyoung who had played Peter also for the last two performances joined the new cast for a special limited edition of the show called "The Graduation Day." I was fortunate to see one of these special performances, and the cast for the show I watched, Jason was played by Seong Doosup, Peter by Yoon Soho, an actor who had participated the first performance of BARE: THE MUSICAL as Peter, Ivy by Huh Hyejin, and last but not least Matt by Lee Donghwan.

In general, the show was very pleasing to watch. Seong Doosup and Yoon Soho, who performed together for the first performance of BARE: THE MUSICAL each pulled off an individual character that somehow harmonized with each other. The chemistry between Jason and Peter was clearly shown and the voice of each actor mingled with one another making their duets such as "Ever After" and "Bare" more memorable. Huh Hyejin who played Ivy was beyond expectations. She had a strong voice that showed much of Ivy's characteristics and though this was her debut, her singing and acting were stable. However, during the whole show, Matt was the character that really stood out. Lee Donghwan, the actor of Matt was a show stopper in every aspect. Not only was his husky voice pleasant to hear, his actions clearly showed how thoroughly he prepared for the character. Through diverse facial expressions and body gestures, the affection he has toward for Ivy, the jealousy towards Jason, and guilt were all delivered. On the whole, the actors did a superb job in making each of their characters alive.

The past performances of BARE: THE MUSICAL in South Korea was performed in the same theater, so there were no set changes. However, this year, the theater was different and due to that, major changes were made. The most noticeable was the main set of the musical. For the past performances, the setting was made to look more like a Catholic church, with stained walls and a cross in the middle. However, for this year's performance, the setting looked more like a cross-section of a building. It was two stories, with a steep staircase in the middle. There were two sections on the second floor, one a dorm room and the other a balcony. On the first floor, there was a room with a door and the other was empty with a small staircase that could be pulled in and out. The new set was realistic in a sense; however, it seemed a bit too much. The movements of the actors were complicated and because there were blank spaces on the sides and almost no space in the front stage, the usage of space seemed ineffective and unbalanced.

BARE: THE MUSICAL has been a show that has been loved by many people. Throughout the performances, many rookie actors have made their debut and went on to develop their career in different shows. With wonderful music and a heart touching story, the show has brought many Korean audiences into tears. Don't miss the opportunity to see this piece of beautiful tragedy.

The third performance of BARE: THE MUSICAL plays at Baekam Art Hall until February 25th. Tickets start at 55,000 Won and can be purchased at the ticket box and online at www.interparkglobal.com Be sure to check the cast prior to buying the tickets.

For more information, visit www.interparkglobal.com.

Photo Credit: Showplay Official Twitter Account(@showplay)

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