3 'Movicals' to Face Off in March

"My Scary Girl"ㆍ"Attack the Gas Station!"ㆍ"Radio Star"

Many musicals based on films have been staged in the past few years, leading to the coining of the new term "movical". The phenomenon is expected to continue this spring as three creative musical productions based on film adaptations will open next month.

"My Scary Girl", based on the same-titled Korean film that starred Choi Kang-hee and Park Yong-woo, opens March 6 at the Chungmu Art Hall.

It's a love story between "Daewoo", a 30 year old college English instructor who has never yet dated a girl, and a mystery girl named "Mina", who murders without blinking an eye. It's a romantic comedy but the uniquely clownish characters and wacky storyline delivers hearty amusement.

Two multi-role actors will play Mina's ex-boyfriend, a ghost and other parts in the musical for a comical twist. The show runs through May 17. Tickets cost W45,000.

The sensational 1999 film "Attack the Gas Station!" will come back as a stage production ten years after it screened in theaters. It opens March 12 at the Baekam Art Hall in Samseongdong, southern Seoul. It's a comedy about four men who attack a gas station and its customers.

Park Jeong-woo, who wrote the screenplay, and Son Moo-hyeon, who produced the music, will also take part in the musical and work with director Kim Dal-joong. Songs from the film's original soundtrack will also be included in the musical. The four front row seats will be used as extra space for the actors to enter and exit the stage as well as for special performances by the actors.

The cast includes Choi Jae-woong, Lee Yul, Moon Jong-won, Lee Sin-seong, Han Seong-sik, Lee Dong-geun, Kim Seung-pil and Kim Young-ok, among others. Tickets cost W50,000-60,000.

"Radio Star" was also a hit film. The musical version will premiere in the provinces and be performed at the Chungmu Art Hall in Seoul from March 3. The story is about the friendship between an old school rock singer and his devoted manager.

The musical's cast from last year will reunite for this year's production. Cast members include Kim Won-jun, Jeong Joon-ha, Seo Beom-seok and Kim Do-hyeon. The musical will run through April 5. Tickets cost W30,000-70,000.