[PREVIEW] Musical “The Three Musketeers”

Super Junior's Kyuhyun from the musical "The Three Musketeers" [M Musical Company]

“My seniors said I won’t need to put in particular effort to look like a country bumpkin,” Kyuhyun from boy band Super Junior said of his role as D’Artagnan in musical “The Three Musketeers.” That is true for he is so much like his character: the shy expression he fronts when the 'country bumpkin' D’Artagnan as he stands gaping at the grandioseness of Paris and the way he runs awkwardly around the stage with his long legs which seems to materialize D’Artganan’s passionate but somewhat clumsy nature. This is the new D’Artagnan that was introduced at the press call for "The Three Musketeers" held at the grand theater of Chungmu Art Hall on December 16.

“The Three Musketeers,” which runs from December 15 to January 30, is actually a Czech musical based on a novel by Alexandre Dumas that tells a story of friendship, love and loyalty for king and the country in 17th century France through the experience of a young man named D’Artagnan who wanted to be a musketeer. The musical was first produced in Korea in 2009 with its script and the music re-adapted to fit Korean sentiment. And thanks to its cast which fit the image of characters that are “Disney-like, singing of hopes and dreams," the relatively easy-to-follow storyline and familiar music, the musical is on its third run. This year in particular, both old and new actors will join the show: actors Um Ki-joon, Yu Jun-sang, Min Young-ki, Kim Beop-rae, Baek Min-jung who starred in the musical since its first run, along with new actors Kyuhyun and Jay from Trax who will both play the new D’Artagnan and Suh Bum-seok, Choi Soo-hyung and Kim Jin-soo who will play the roles of Athos, Aramis and Porthos, respectively.

It may be too early to comment on the D’Artagnan to be played by Kyuhyun since he has yet to meet the audience with his new role but given his experience as a vocalist from SM Entertainment, he does have a stable singing voice and was also quite clear in delivering his lines which left a relatively good first impression. And though it cannot be helped that the way his heavyily-vibrating tone stands out among the clean voices of other musical actors and actresses, it went well in the love scene with Constance (Kim Ah-seon) as Kyuhyun is quite used to singing ballad songs, such as those belonging to big time male singers like You Young-suk and Sung Si-kyung. Since Kyuhyun also said that he is puting more weight on timing his sequences with his seniors, one may also look forward to the action scene.

On the other hand, this musical “The Three Musketeers” adapted to match Koreans' tastes, seems to demonstrate a rather brazen sense of humor. The way the three musketeers and D’Artagnan laughed exaggeratedly is something that is likely to be seen in comic books and so does Constance in the way she bounced her body within the make-shift coach to show that the horses are running fast. So there you go, “The Three Musketeers” does contain an element of comedy. But as actor Kim Beop-rae who has been acting in the musical since the beginning declared earlier -- that this time he plans to portray a more manly, serious and loyal Porthos than the last time -- the plot puts equal weight into restoring the justice, friendship and trust in the story. During the play that runs for over 150 minutes, the three musketeers repeat 'Justice is alive' over a dozen times. What kind of lesson would this musical gives us to think about in the world questionable justice in 21st century?