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'The King' and The Clown' Reborn As Musical

The film "The King' and The Clown" has been recreated into a musical. 'Gonggiljeon' will be staged at Chungmu Art Hall's Grand Theater from September 15 to 30.

During the post-production conference, playwright and artistic director Lee Yun-taek emphasized that 'Gonggiljeon' is not a historical production but a love story that focuses on homosexuality and the story of a jester.

Lee explained that the musical is about the love story between a transsexual, Gonggil, and the jester Jangsaeng. Through the love story, the musical tries to show the audience what the role of a jester was during those times. King Yeonsan and Noksu are simply supporting characters that highlight how jesters interacted with the world as well as their heartaches.

Compared to the film, the production has more musical elements and the choreography, costumes and lyrics are more modern. Producers said they plan to incorporate the Korean pop genre called "trot" into the music to give the musical a distinctly Korean flavor and to appeal to the masses.

After its September run at the Chungmu Art Hall, the musical will be staged at the Gyeonghui Palace in October as a part of the palace musical program organized by the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture. In addition, the musical has been chosen as one of the official programs for the South Korea-China Exchange Year and will be staged in front of a Chinese audience in December in Beijing.

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