Interpark Golden Ticket Awards Musical Grand Prize Goes to 'Frankenstein'

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] The 16th Golden Ticket Awards, hosted by Interpark and recognizing the performances with the greatest ticket power and the leading figures behind their success across all genres over the past year, announced the winners by category on the 19th.

Among 9,435 performances held from March 1, 2021, to February 28 of last year (based on viewing dates), the grand prize for delivering tears, laughter, and emotion to audiences beyond genre boundaries and showing the greatest ticket power went to the musical Frankenstein. Performed from November 24 last year to February 18 this year, Frankenstein ranked first in ticket sales in the musical genre in Interpark’s 2021 performance summary and also topped the list of shows with the highest repeat attendance, firmly establishing its ticket power.

Other winners of the performance category awards included Chicago in the musical category, The Last Session in the play category, and Universal Ballet’s The Nutcracker in the classical, dance, and traditional arts category.

In the individual categories, which were divided into musical male and female actors, play male and female actors, domestic concert musicians, classical/dance/traditional arts artists, small theater musical actors, scene-stealer actors, and popularity awards, a total of 113 artists fiercely competed across nine fields. First, in the ▲musical male actor category, Jeon Dong-seok of Frankenstein won the trophy, and in the ▲musical female actor category, Choi Jung-won of Chicago took the prize. Actress Choi Jung-won earned her third Golden Ticket Award for Best Musical Actress, having previously won in 2007 and 2008.

In the play category, actors active not only on stage but also in TV dramas and films were honored. ▲Best play male actor went to Lee Soon-jae for King Lear, and ▲best play female actor was awarded to Jang Young-nam for Richard III. Lee Soon-jae is a legendary actor in the theater world, having won the Best Play Male Actor award four times, including the 10th, 13th, 14th, and this edition.

▲The domestic concert musician award was claimed by singer Lee Chan-won. A star produced by Mr. Trot, Lee Chan-won demonstrated strong ticket power last year despite the COVID-19 situation by actively performing. His nationwide tour for Mr. Trot and solo concert tour 'Chan's Time' were highly successful, with five of his performances ranking in the top 10 annual concert rankings for 2021.

▲The classical, dance, and traditional arts artist award was given to composer Joe Hisaishi, who received the honor for the first time at the Golden Ticket Awards. His full orchestral nationwide tour concert featuring his famous compositions, which perfectly complement Studio Ghibli’s animations, achieved great success last year. Riding on this success, the 'Joe Hisaishi Film Music Concert' will continue its nationwide tour this year.

Meanwhile, the ▲popularity award, given to the highest vote-getter across all genres through 100% online voting, went to singer Lee Chan-won after a heated competition from the start. Lee Chan-won also won the domestic concert musician award, earning a double crown.

Also decided by 100% online voting, the ▲small theater musical actor award went to Yuria, who appeared in Inside William and other productions. Recently cast in the musical Hourglass, Yuria has been steadily building her reputation with distinctive charm and vocal skills in various works such as Lizzie, The Gentleman’s Guide, and Hedwig. The ▲scene-stealer award, given to an actor who leaves a deep impression on audiences with captivating performances, was awarded to Kim Dae-jong for his passionate portrayal of 'Lunge' in the musical Frankenstein.

For this 16th Golden Ticket Awards, a total of 63,782 people participated in voting over 11 days from March 29 to April 8, showing enthusiastic support. Detailed award results can be found on the Interpark Ticket website and mobile app.