Hit vampire sitcom turned into musical
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Hit movies are often made into musicals and vice versa, creating hybrid terms like "Movical". However, stage adaptations of television shows have not been as common.
This is probably why the long-awaited new musical, "Hello, Francesca", an adaptation of the popular homemade TV sitcom of the same title, is attracting a lot of attention.
The sitcom, which aired on MBC from 2005-2006, appealed to the public with a fresh topic and characters. It was one of the first domestic TV shows that presented a number of ideas and twists that had not been tried before, and it was clearly different from shows in the style of "Friends".
The sitcom featured the unlikely character of Francesca, a 500-year-old Romanian female vampire, and her clan visiting the human world. However, the audience did not see a bunch of scary vampires trying to attack people the way they might see them in a horror movie.
The characters in "Hello, Francesca" were a little creepy but nice; they were even able to mingle with humans.
The TV show contributed to the public's increased interest in sitcoms in general, and later initiated the creation of more eccentric sitcoms such as thriller comedies like "High Kick!" in 2007 and "The Secret of Keu Keu Island", which is currently on MBC. While most domestic sitcoms have a shelf life of one season, "Hello, Francesca" continued for two more seasons and became the first domestic TV show to be serialized.
The musical version is going to be somewhat different from the TV show, however, according to MBC.
"Apart from the characters and the setting, everything -- including the plot and the cast -- will be different from the sitcom -- not to mention the catchy musical numbers", said Kwon Yoon-suk, an MBC spokesperson.
The leading musical actress Choi Jung-won will play the role of Francesca, the seemingly arrogant but witty and warm-hearted vampire. Chae Dong-ha, the singer-turned-actor who led the popular R&B band SG Wannabe, will also star in the show, playing Kyun, the youngest (200-year-old) and attractive, but dumb, vampire.
The musical will present a funny yet touching process in which Francesca and her friends each find their true love in the human world -- which is forbidden by the vampire community -- and how they start to realize feelings like friendship which they never felt before.
"Hello, Francesca" will be staged at Theater Yong at the National Museum of Korea through Oct. 26, and on Nov. 1 and 2 at Goyang Aram Nuri Theater in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province. Tickets run from 40,000 won to 100,000 won. For more information, call (02) 789-3160.
By Koh Young-aah
This is probably why the long-awaited new musical, "Hello, Francesca", an adaptation of the popular homemade TV sitcom of the same title, is attracting a lot of attention.
The sitcom, which aired on MBC from 2005-2006, appealed to the public with a fresh topic and characters. It was one of the first domestic TV shows that presented a number of ideas and twists that had not been tried before, and it was clearly different from shows in the style of "Friends".
The sitcom featured the unlikely character of Francesca, a 500-year-old Romanian female vampire, and her clan visiting the human world. However, the audience did not see a bunch of scary vampires trying to attack people the way they might see them in a horror movie.
The characters in "Hello, Francesca" were a little creepy but nice; they were even able to mingle with humans.
The TV show contributed to the public's increased interest in sitcoms in general, and later initiated the creation of more eccentric sitcoms such as thriller comedies like "High Kick!" in 2007 and "The Secret of Keu Keu Island", which is currently on MBC. While most domestic sitcoms have a shelf life of one season, "Hello, Francesca" continued for two more seasons and became the first domestic TV show to be serialized.
The musical version is going to be somewhat different from the TV show, however, according to MBC.
"Apart from the characters and the setting, everything -- including the plot and the cast -- will be different from the sitcom -- not to mention the catchy musical numbers", said Kwon Yoon-suk, an MBC spokesperson.
The leading musical actress Choi Jung-won will play the role of Francesca, the seemingly arrogant but witty and warm-hearted vampire. Chae Dong-ha, the singer-turned-actor who led the popular R&B band SG Wannabe, will also star in the show, playing Kyun, the youngest (200-year-old) and attractive, but dumb, vampire.
The musical will present a funny yet touching process in which Francesca and her friends each find their true love in the human world -- which is forbidden by the vampire community -- and how they start to realize feelings like friendship which they never felt before.
"Hello, Francesca" will be staged at Theater Yong at the National Museum of Korea through Oct. 26, and on Nov. 1 and 2 at Goyang Aram Nuri Theater in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province. Tickets run from 40,000 won to 100,000 won. For more information, call (02) 789-3160.
By Koh Young-aah
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