Korean Musical Awards Grand Prize Nominees: 'Gwangju', 'Marie Curie', 'Baekbeom', 'Little Women'

On the 11th of next month at 7 PM, held at Blue Square Interpark Hall with no audience, live online broadcast

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The musicals 'Gwangju', 'Marie Curie', 'Baekbeom', and 'Little Women' are competing for the Grand Prize at the '5th Korean Musical Awards.'

The '5th Korean Musical Awards,' a ceremony representing the Korean musical industry, will be held on the 11th of next month at 7 p.m. at Blue Square Interpark Hall. It is hosted by the Korea Musical Association and supported by the Korea Arts Council and Interpark Theater.

The Korean Musical Awards have been held annually as a festival where both musical professionals and audiences can enjoy together on-site. However, this year, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the event will be held as a no-audience online live broadcast. Auxiliary events such as the red carpet will also be pre-produced and broadcast through online channels. The '5th Korean Musical Awards' will present awards in 19 categories for original and licensed first and revival productions that opened domestically between December 1 of last year and November 30 of this year, with at least 7 performance days or 14 paid performances.

The Grand Prize nominees were selected from original premiere works performed in theaters with over 400 seats.

The Best Musical Award is given to the most outstanding work among original and licensed performances and is divided into works performed in theaters with 400 seats or more and those with fewer than 400 seats. Nominees for the Best Musical Award in theaters with 400 seats or more include 'Rent', 'Marie Curie', 'Big Fish', 'Swag Age: Outcry, Joseon', 'Something Rotten', and 'Jamie'. In theaters with fewer than 400 seats, 'Nanseol', 'Lizzie', 'Sidereus', 'Legendary Little Basketball Team', and 'Chami' compete.

Nominees for Best Actress include Kang Hye-in (Maybe Happy Ending), Kim Su-ha (Rent), Na Hana (Lizzie), Park Ji-yeon (Ghost), Ok Joo-hyun (Marie Curie), and Yoo Ju-hye (Chami). Nominees for Best Actor include Kang Pil-seok (Something Rotten), Kim Woo-hyung (Ghost), Park Kang-hyun (The Man Who Laughs), Jo Kwon (Jamie), Choi Jae-rim (Airport Baby), and Kai (Werther).

For Best Supporting Actress, the nominees are Kim Ji-woo (Kinky Boots), Lee Bom-sori (Chami), Jeon Na-young (Rent), Jung Da-hee (Rent), and Choi Jung-won (Ghost). For Best Supporting Actor, the nominees are Kim Ho-young (Rent), Seo Kyung-soo (Something Rotten), Shim Jae-hyun (Kinky Boots), Yang Jun-mo (The Man Who Laughs), and Choi Jae-rim (Rent).

Rookie Award nominees are selected from actors who debuted after January 2018 and have played leading or supporting roles. For Best New Actress, the nominees are Kim Su-yeon (Fan Letter), Kim Yeon-ji (Mozart!), Jung Woo-yeon (Chami), Han Jae-ah (Maybe Happy Ending), and Hong Mi-geum (Achilles). For Best New Actor, the nominees are Kwak Da-in (Legendary Little Basketball Team), Kwak Dong-yeon (Something Rotten), Na Hyun-woo (Werther), Lee Seok-hoon (The Man Who Laughs), and Lee Jun-young (Swag Age: Outcry, Joseon!).

The Producer Award, for producers of original and licensed musical works, includes nominees CJ ENM (Broadway 42nd Street, Big Fish, Maybe Happy Ending, Kinky Boots, Werther), Kang Byung-won (Gwangju, Marie Curie, Fan Letter), Kim Young-wook (Gentleman's Guide: Love and Murder, Lizzie, Jamie), Song Hye-sun (Swag Age: Outcry, Joseon!), and Lee Heon-jae (Beastie, Vanishing, Finding Kim Jong-wook, Mist).

Nominees for Best Director are Ko Sun-woong (Gwangju), Kim Dong-yeon (Gentleman's Guide: Love and Murder), Kim Tae-hyung (Marie Curie), Park So-young (Chami), and Lee Ji-na (Something Rotten). For Best Script, nominees are Ko Sun-woong & An Jun-won (Gwangju), Jang Sung-hee (Baekbeom), Jo Min-hyung (Chami), Cheon Se-eun (Marie Curie), and Han Areum (Little Women).

The winners will be decided by votes from an 'Expert Voting Panel' composed of musical professionals including actors, writers, composers, directors, producers, planners, creative teams, theater officials, critics, and journalists, as well as a 'Mania Voting Panel' made up of musical-loving audiences. Considering the current situation of the performing arts industry and audience ratios due to COVID-19, the number of voters has been reduced from 100 to 50 for each panel, totaling 100 voters. The Mania Voting Panel was selected based on the number of performances attended from December 1 last year to November 24 this year, with a final 50 members chosen. The voting weight for the actor category is 70% from the Expert Voting Panel and 30% from the Mania Voting Panel. The proportion of the Mania Voting Panel has been increased by 10 percentage points from 20% last year to 30% this year.