불교뮤지컬 ‘보이스오브뉴욕’ 떴다

뉴스로=노창현특파원 newsroh@gmail.com

 

   

‘보리수나무아래가 뉴욕에 온다’(‘Under the Bodhi Tree’ Comes to NYC)

 

다음달 2일 뉴욕 오프브로드웨이에 사상 처음 소개되는 불교 뮤지컬 ‘보리수나무 아래(Under the Bodhi Tree)가 보이스오브뉴욕(Voices of NY)에 10일 대서특필(大書特筆) 됐다.

 

보이스오브뉴욕은 최근 ‘글로벌웹진’ 뉴스로가 보도한 보리수나무아래의 오프브로드웨이 상륙에 관한 기사를 전문 번역 소개해 눈길을 끌었다.

 

보이스오브뉴욕은 뉴욕 메트로폴리탄 지역의 200

여 소수계 언론을 아우르는 포탈미디어로 주요 언론의 기사들을 매일 전하고 있다.

부처님의 일대기(一代記)를 아름다운 음악과 누구나 공감할만한 스토리라인으로 그린 ‘보리수나무 아래’는 이진구 총감독이 무려 12년간을 공들여 완성한 작품이다.

 

'보리수나무 아래’는 영어버전과 한국어버전 두 개로 제작됐으며 이번 공연엔 영어버전이 첫 선을 보인다. 이진구 총감독이 작품에 등장하는 전 곡을 작곡했고 대본과 노랫말은 아내이자 제작자인 송연경 시인이 참여했다.

 

연출은 브로드웨이에서 잔뼈가 굵은 에런 갤리건-스털(Aaron Galligan-Stierle), 프로듀서는 티모시 엘리스 라일리(Timothy Ellis Riley), 안무는 아날리사 레드슨(Annalisa Ledson)이 맡았고 대본 각색에 대니얼 링컨(Daniel Lincoln) 매튜 메자카파(Matthew Mezzacappa) 포스터 디자인 장하니, 의상, 무대 디자인 스탭과 배우 등 50명이 힘을 보태고 있다.

다

.

불교예술단 ‘무소의뿔’ 이진구 총감독의 뮤지컬 ‘보리수나무 아래(Under The Bodhi Tree)’가 5월 2일부터 14일 맨해튼 47가 로열패밀리 퍼포밍아트스페이스에서 총 12회의 공연에 들어간다. 티켓은 웹사이트(www.underthebodhitreethemusical.com)를 통해 예매할 수 있으며 공연은 월요일(8일)을 제외하고 매일 오후 7시에 올려진다.

 

다음은 보이스오브뉴욕 원문 기사.

 

Actors in the new musical “Under the Bodhi Tree” (Photo via Newsroh)

 

A musical about the Buddha, produced by Koreans, will be performed on the New York off-Broadway stage for the first time.

 

The musical “Under the Bodhi Tree,” produced by an arts organization and directed by Jingoo Lee, will have 12 performances from May 2 to 14 in Manhattan at the Royal Family Performing Arts Space.

 

“Under the Bodhi Tree,” which is about the life story of Buddha, is a work that took Lee 12 years to complete. (…)

 

The musical has been written in both the English and Korean language. This is the debut of the English version. Lee composed all the songs and poet Julie Song, who is his wife and one of the producers, wrote the script and lyrics.

 

The musical is being directed by Aaron Galligan-Stierle. The general manager is Timothy Ellis Riley, and Annalisa Ledson is the choreographer. (…)

 

The running time of “Under the Bodhi Tree” is an hour and 25 minutes. A run-through last October brought some in the audience to tears even though the performers sang and acted without costumes, props or special stage equipment.

 

One viewer said: “The story of the human Buddha and the powerful and beautiful music have made Buddhism more accessible. This musical is nothing less than any Broadway work.”

 

The musical is about the life of Prince Siddhartha before he became Buddha, his father [a leader of the Shakya clan who was said to have shielded Siddhartha from suffering], and his wife Yasodharā. The musical has a story with which everyone can sympathize, and different kinds of music that everyone can enjoy, which makes it appealing.

 

 

 

 

 

Lee has written music for broadcast TV and film, and produced records. (…) We met Jingoo Lee and his wife, writer Julie Song, who hope to make “Under the Bodhi Tree” a success in New York.

 

Please share your feelings with us about the musical that took you 12 years to produce.

 

“(…) The musical is the result of many trials and errors in trying to enter the really challenging American musical market. Twelve years have passed since we started preparing the Korean and English versions, and we’ve gone through various processes to select talented directors and actors.”

 

Why did you choose the life of Buddha as the subject of this musical?

 

“I thought the story of the human Siddhartha abandoning all wealth, honor, and greed and realizing more valuable truths after becoming an ascetic is universally appealing. Also, I think everyone can sympathize with the relationships between Siddhartha and his wife and his father. I want the musical to have a global appeal, so I omitted some myths associated with Siddhartha’s story. I included elements that convey a contemporary message of harmony and healing.

 

(…)

 

We heard that the musical genres are diverse. What kind of music does this musical have?

 

“There are a total of 30 songs in the musical, but more than 100 songs were written and abandoned. Audiences can hear classical, rock, pop, hip-hop, jazz and more. Also, Korean traditional music such as a Buddhist chant and folk music are included. It is made up of things that people are familiar with. The audience members who couldn’t understand English said at the last performance: “I did not know that the music alone could be beautiful and impressive.”

 

It could not have been easy to work with American actors and production staff.

 

“In fact, cultural differences were more difficult than language differences, and still are. For example, in Korean performances, if an army wins a battle, it is important to focus on the emotions surrounding the death of your colleagues rather than the joy of victory. But in Western culture, they try to express the joy of victory. There is a conflict between virtue in Eastern culture and rationalism in Western culture. So I considered what to emphasize. I worked hard with Americans so that I could make the musical impress audiences. I am really thankful that I met and worked with excellent American directors, actors and production staff.”

 

You held a fundraiser night last year. How are your finances?

 

“In fact, even if all of the tickets for these performances are sold out, we can’t earn back one quarter of the production cost, so my wife invested the money she had collected to buy a house. So my wife is also a producer. (Laughing) We have not received the sponsorship I expected, but it has been encouraging to receive the heartfelt support of many people, and that is more valuable than sponsorship. (…) I do not want to create a piece of work alone, but I want to have a lot of connections.

 

We are curious about the possibility of the Broadway stage.

 

"As many people are giving us positive feedback, the main purpose of the show is to succeed off-Broadway and [eventually go to] Broadway. Obviously, we don’t have a lot of money, but the musical was well received, and Americans liked it and wanted it. If it felt like just a religious work, it could never have been shown in such a theater, and the actors and staff would not have participated."

 

Please tell us about the Korean-language version and your future plans.

 

“In Korea, I have been promoting this musical for three years with a gala show, and some are already interested in planning regular performances. Also, some [individuals in] Buddhist countries are interested in the musical [after seeing] a workshop that was held last year. I will try to have this musical performed in many countries around the world.

 

“Under the Bodhi Tree, a new musical based on the life of Buddha” runs from Tuesday, May 2 to Sunday, May 14 (except Monday, May 8) at 7 p.m. at the Royal Family Performing Arts Space, 145 W. 46th St., 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10036

 

 

 

‘Under the Bodhi Tree’ Comes to NYC

 

https://voicesofny.org/2017/04/under-the-bodhi-tree-comes-to-nyc/