[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] The Korea-US co-created musical drama "Yeojong-eobwon gwa Namjadojeok" (The Female Employee and the Male Thief), inspired by "Hong Gil-dong Jeon," will premiere next month in New York, USA.
According to the Korean Cultural Center in New York on the 18th (local time), "Yeojong-eobwon gwa Namjadojeok" is a musical drama jointly produced through collaboration since 2017 among Korea's theater workshop Mabangjin, Yellow Bomb Production, and Concrete Temple Theater, a theater company based mainly in New York.
The work is set in a fictional dystopian society where everyone can only communicate through machines, making them lonely and isolated. It tells the story of a female employee and a male thief who act to find freedom. It draws inspiration from Friedrich Schiller's representative play "The Robbers" and the Korean classic "Hong Gil-dong Jeon." The work is praised for its witty dialogue and lively songs. Especially in the current era, following the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting social disconnection and isolation, reflection on the marginalization of the elderly and socially vulnerable groups is necessary, making this work even more noteworthy.
"Yeojong-eobwon gwa Namjadojeok" will hold its world premiere on May 21-22 after a three-week residency at Performance Space 21 (PS21) in Chatham, Hudson Valley, Upstate New York. Performances will continue from May 25-29 at Dixon Place in Manhattan, New York.
Ren? Phillippe, artistic director of the multidisciplinary creative theater company Concrete Temple Theater, took charge of the script and co-direction, while Tony Award-nominated composer Louis Flynn wrote the lyrics and music. The performances will be conducted in English and Korean. Tickets are available on each venue's website.
Jo Yoon-jeung, director of the Korean Cultural Center in New York, said, "It is very meaningful that this excellent work, created through long-term collaboration between theater companies from Korea and the US, will have its world premiere in New York this year, marking the 140th anniversary of Korea-US diplomatic relations."
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