BETM Korea

[Billy Whiz]

Some videos from YAGP 2009 have just appeared on youtube of Se-Yong Kim and Giuseppe Bausilio (Chicago Billy)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiTB875r ... r_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPLWoNwN ... r_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6SZGAQz ... r_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8nG37lH ... r_embedded

[porschesrule]

BETM:Korea held a press gathering yesterday at the LG Arts Center. The Forum's own sctwins (Cha) was there and captured the event wonderfully in words and video:

http://www.theskykid.com/billy-elliot-m ... onference/

[porschesrule]

Cha (sctwins) has written a brief update on the Korean show, reporting on the first night of closed previews last night:

http://www.theskykid.com/news-random/bi ... t-preview/

[porschesrule]

Sunu Lim, the youngest boy to portray Billy Elliot ever, played the role at the official opening of BETM: Korea.

[tzwicky]

I predict near blissful (not sure the "o" word would translate widely) acceptance of BETM in Seoul.

Starting off with Sunu was a crafty/calculated move on the BETM Seoul folks, surely chosen for maximum effect. Face it, Sunu could forget 99% of his lines, and just stand there and the crowd would go wild.

But I'm sure the "forgetting of lines" thing did not happen to Sunu. The kid has PROFESSIONAL written large all over him.

Geez, if I didn't have a strict "see the US [or UK] first" policy for my almost-never breaks from work, I would book for this show immediately. That's the drawing power of BETM. But even that draw has to figure in almost a day in the air, just getting there and back. Virgin America makes it dirt cheap to fly from Ft. Lauderdale to London (I am not a paid endorser for Virgin!), but the prices on LAX to Seoul are all over the place.

It would be truly odd to watch a show I know from front to back, and not understand a word being spoken on stage. Maybe I could just view the whole thing as a first-timer, which is what I would be, after all. It would be totally rich to have the first few rows of the theatre filled by old white guys with varying amounts of hair on top. A delicious bookend to all those times I have missed out on day seats because they were all snapped up by mysterious middle-aged Asian women, many of them who seemingly spoke no Geordie or even English.

Excuse, please, the rambling post here. I have not seen BETM in too long a time. Being cut off from the hive seems downright debilitating some days.

Best of luck to Sunu, my favorite Korean Billy.

tzwicky

[porschesrule]

Forum member, sctwins, who attended the performance, reports on the official Opening Night of the Korean production of BETM:

http://www.theskykid.com/news-random/bi ... uth-korea/

[ERinVA]

Here is some interesting material about the show, including brief interviews with Moon Mi-ho, the producer BT McNicholl, co-director, and Kim Se-young, Billy. You will need to scroll down a bit to get to the part about BETM.
http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View ... category=2

[ERinVA]

Found this picture of the Korean board on twitter from billyholic, who chronicles BETM Korea.

http://twitpic.com/2grxpm

I think it's interesting how the boards look quite different from country to country.

[ERinVA]

Here's a link for the new Billy Elliot Korea website. It's very nicely done.

http://www.musicalbillyelliot.co.kr/

[ERinVA]

Here is a lovely photo from the Korean edition of Allure Magazine.

http://www.style.co.kr/allure/fashionfe ... 5040000193