“To be, or not to be – that is the question.” Hamlet agonized himself whether to fight against harsh fate or to live a life surrendering to lies.
Hamlet, one of the tragedies written by the great English writer William Shakespeare, is a classic everyone may have ever heard of or read at least once. Hamlet, the tragedy, has a background of Danish royal family 400 years ago, and the hero of the tragedy, Hamlet had raised wrath and revengeful thoughts, seeing his mother marry his uncle who murdered his father. But who can really sympathize with the life of Hamlet in such an unusual situation? We can only get the rough idea of it.
There is a man who is experiencing Hamlet’s life with all his mind and body and expressing Hamlet’s life through songs and dances on the stage. He is the singer and actor, Lee Jee Hoon. He is now holding the stage under his control as Hamlet in the new musical Hamlet. He is showing the best performance with maturity, experience and charisma which he gained from his career over 10 years. Audience kept cheering and applauding for a long time after the performance and JH is the very hero of the stage.
“Firstly, as Hamlet is a prince, I am well-matched to Hamlet, don’t you think so?” he joked at the question how he got to join the musical. Then, soon he became serious. “I watched the first Hamlet performance. Of course, I read the book long time ago. I couldn’t understand some parts of the tragedy when I read it, but when I saw the musical, I got to understand the whole things. His father was murdered and his mother married his uncle who killed his father. While he was planning revenge, Ophelia and her father died…Then, I got to understand what drove Hamlet to do so. Only then, I could understand his wrath and regret for the first time. Sincere and human Hamlet is quite a desirable character.”
“I always longed to be on the musical stage. My singing career is over 10 years and my acting is reaching the stage of maturity. I hoped to be on a musical stage which can combine acting and singing. I hoped to show audience my another appearance which people have never seen from me. I hoped to challenge to a new field and receive much recognition.”
When he got the proposal to be a Hamlet, however, he hesitated, too. “ I thought it would be too much for me to be on the stage because my schedule is too heavy. When I show a poor performance, I will be hit by arrows of disappointment as much as their expectation to me.” Besides, 4 people were cast as Hamlet. Park Kun-Hyung, Lim Tae- Kyung and Yoon Hyung-Ryol are recognized in the musical field. Lee Jee Hoon had no choice. He should show the best performance equal to them.
He is preparing with such a resolution. So, he picks up an umbrella when he has time. Fencing match with Laertes, Ophelia’s brother, is a climax of the musical. “I concentrate on the fencing practice. Because the timing is very important and difficult to get.” His agent/manager is the practicing partner.
“As far as I am a singer, I hope to impress audience through songs in the musical where songs can stand out remarkably. Music in the musical is an axis which leads performance. Songs are the lines which convey emotions and do the communication. The vocalization of ballads, the genre of most of my songs, is that of drawing inward. So, I am not ready to throw my voices outward whether it is low or high. That is why I got to be pointed out that I sang like a pop singer when I sang musical songs at first. But I am better now,” he affirmed.
Dance is left open yet. “In the musical, there are many big motions like tap dance and group dance. I think I can dance well enough to bring into line with others. But I feel awkward still now.”
He shows love scenes, too. He kisses Ophelia briefly and he takes off his shirt and pants for bed scene. “Now that I have acted for quite some time, I don’t feel awkward at all, but only I find it hard to get good timing when I take my pants off on the bed…timing is important in that scene.” He is serious and said, “If the drama is good, if there is coherence and if necessary, I don’t decline to be in the nude.”
He differentiates his Hamlet from Park Kun Hyung, Yoon Hyol Ryol, and Lim Tae Kyung Hamlets which stand on charisma and power. “(Hoon-let is) Hamlet with warmth, sweetness and tenderness. Nevertheless, he also dies like other Hamlets at last.”
“I can’t forget the thrill and the feeling which I felt and made me shudder at the moment I came down after finishing my first performance.” “I thought I did the right thing to decide to be in this musical. I also thought that I am in character with Hamlet. At first, I worried and wondered if my new look of anger and outcry could appeal to audience because I had never showed anger and outcry. But after I did it, it served as a chance for me to find a new aspect of myself,” he diagnosed.
“I once turned my eyes to Laertes for a moment, because I shed tears whenever I hear the musical songs which Ophelia and Laertes sing together. But Hamlet is the best. There is no character like Hamlet. Hamlet is a prince, above all,” he laughed mentioning prince again.
Lee Jee Hoon emphasized, “The musical Hamlet is a good work which can make audience feel that a good work is born after a long time.” He showed his confidence, “You will never regret having spent the ticket fee. Though Hamlet is a hero, all characters have reasons for being and their situations are persuasive in the musical.” “You may get another feeling when you watch the musical once again. The more you watch the musical, the more you get to fall into it.”
Lee Jee Hoon gave his word, “I will make up for the insufficient or weak points and show you all I have at the last performance.”
souce:benoit0511@newsis.com
credit: leejeehoon.co.kr
