"Passionate Tragedy 'Macbeth' with a Fast Tempo, a Worthwhile Challenge"

Seoul Municipal Musical Group's 'Macbeth' at Sejong Center M Theater until the 30th
Fast-paced plot and royal noir genre reinterpretation

"I knew that the attempt to turn Shakespeare's work into a musical was not an easy task. Everyone knows the unique charm of the original work, and the process of making it a musical rather than a play. Especially, turning it into music was not easy. However, I thought it was important to create a musical from a work with solid text, and although difficult, I believed it was a task worth challenging."

Seoul Metropolitan Musical Group 'Macbeth' Highlight Demonstration Scene
[Photo by Sejong Center]

Shakespeare's play 'Macbeth' is being staged as a spectacular musical. At the press call for the musical 'Macbeth' held on the 5th at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts M Theater, Kim Deok-hee, director of the Seoul Metropolitan Musical Group, explained the background of choosing this work.

Director Kim said, "It was important to create a repertoire work that lasts 5 or 10 years. Shakespeare turned a story from 1000 years ago into a play 500 years ago. Macbeth is a work that tells a story of power and desire, conquest, and the consequent price that repeats throughout humanity." He added, "We attempted to make it a musical to create a unique repertoire for the Seoul Metropolitan Musical Group with a work that has solid text and deals with universal themes."

Writer Kim Eun-sung said, "Macbeth is a masterpiece left by human cultural history, so no matter how well we do, there is no possibility of surpassing the original, so I worked with confidence, prepared to 'take criticism'." He added, "Macbeth is a well-crafted masterpiece with elegant dialogue and dense narrative, but as it meets contemporary audiences in modern theaters as a musical, we adopted an adaptation strategy of 'royal noir' and transformed it into a genre musical."

Composer Park Cheon-hwi said, "When I first started the work, I thought the concept was the story of Macbeth and Macbunny driving those around them into a whirlpool of death, and I chose the waltz as a musical means that would maximize this." He explained, "I thought of a 3-beat rhythm to represent the whirlpool of death and the swirling motion, and other numbers actively borrowed 5-beat and 7-beat rhythms to create urgent and tense music because one beat is missing."

Kim Deok-hee, Director of the Seoul Municipal Musical Group.
[Photo by Sejong Center for the Performing Arts]

Composer Park continued, "Since there are many minor key pieces overall, to prevent the atmosphere from becoming dull, we gave contrast and variation and tried various genre experiments." He added, "Through Macbunny's music with primitive rhythms like African rhythms, fanfares surrounding royal ceremonies, large-scale choruses, ballads, pop, and various other music styles, we aimed to provide enjoyment to musical audiences."

Regarding the Macbunny number, which is especially memorable in the work, he explained, "I tend to push myself to the edge during work, and the actors also showed great skill under pressure."

Macbeth is a work that unfolds the brutal struggle for the throne in 11th-century Scotland and the human psychology and desire revealed in the process with a contemporary sensibility. As it has been adapted into a musical, the work has transformed into a dramatic narrative with an easy and fast pace. The witches' prophecy that Macbeth will become king is an important element throughout the original work, and in the musical, the prophecy is replaced by three characters. They appear as hallucinations at the moment Macbeth's desire grows and his fate is decided. The role of 'Macbeth' is played by actors Han Il-kyung and Sung Tae-jun, and the role of 'Macbunny' is played by Yumi and Lee Areumsol.

Seoul Metropolitan Musical Theater 'Macbeth' Highlight Demonstration Scene [Photo by Sejong Center]

Lady Macbeth, considered one of the representative villains in Shakespeare's works, appears in the musical as Macbunny, an independent and proactive character, refreshing the play with a new atmosphere.

Director Kim said, "For audiences expecting a family-friendly, bright atmosphere at the end of the year, 'Macbeth' will be a work that satisfies various tastes by attempting something different from existing musicals." He emphasized, "It is a work where families can enjoy a classic as a musical, and while it is important to read Macbeth seriously, it is also a work that can be enjoyed for 100 minutes without prior knowledge or burden, allowing audiences to easily approach Shakespeare by putting aside its weight."

The Seoul Metropolitan Musical Group's 'Macbeth' will be performed at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts M Theater until December 30.