The Czech musical ‘Dracula’ has returned as ‘Bloody Love’.
On the afternoon of the 12th, a press call for the musical ‘Bloody Love’ was held at the Korea Electric Power Corporation Art Center in Seocho-dong, Seoul. The cast, including director Noh Woo-seong, attended the Q&A session following a highlight demonstration.
The musical ‘Bloody Love’ is based on Bram Stoker's classic bestseller novel ‘Dracula’, which premiered in the Czech Republic in 1995 and has been performed for 30 years. It has been newly reborn as the musical ‘Bloody Love’ to meet the audience.
Director Noh Woo-seong explained, “Until the last season, we performed ‘Dracula’. This time, about 50% of the script has changed during the adaptation. Nearly 80% of the music has also been changed. The story of Dracula contains a message of choice and salvation of a man standing in the midst of a great whirlpool of fate. The message flows the same as last season. The reason for the change this time is that we supplemented the message of choice and salvation for everyone involved in creating this play along with Dracula. By changing it to a story of everyone experiencing desperate love, we changed the title from ‘Dracula’ to ‘Bloody Love’.”
The role of the tragic warrior Dracula, who lives an immortal life but has harbored longing for his beloved woman for 500 years, is played by Kim Beom-rae, Tae, and Choi Jin-hyuk.
Choi Jin-hyuk makes his musical stage debut after 18 years in the industry with this work. He said, “It took a long time to challenge the genre of musicals. I received offers since 2015, but I pondered for five years about ‘Dracula’. While doing a drama, my sister Jung Young-joo asked me if I wanted to try musicals, and when I mentioned ‘Dracula’, she said, ‘You fit perfectly. Since you’re going to do it anyway, go for it. It’s better to get hit early.’ So I decided to take on the challenge.” He added, “After acting in a drama and stepping on stage, I felt the vivid energy and reactions, and I realized, ‘This is why people perform.’ I’m enjoying it a lot.”
Kim Beom-rae, who is performing alongside Choi Jin-hyuk, said, “Everyone has a first time. I think he must have been flustered and worried because it was his first time. I recommended him from the casting stage because I had looked into him a lot, and he was a really good actor. He has great visuals and sings well, so I wasn’t worried. There were some confusing parts because it’s different from broadcasting, but all the actors helped him, and he caught on quickly. I wasn’t worried, and I think he’s doing really well and will continue to do well.”
Tae said, “When Choi Jin-hyuk first came, I felt he was a really good actor. In a way, even though he has had more acting experience than I have, he always has a mindset to learn, which I was grateful for. It’s a big merit that in a musical, three people can play one role, rather than shouldering the burden of media acting alone. Choi Jin-hyuk opened his heart and approached us, which was really cool.” He added, “He shared many secrets to surviving in the industry. He absorbs almost everything, so there’s a lot to learn from him. Above all, seeing him give his all made me think I should learn from that.”
The role of Dimitru, Dracula's loyal servant who shares a friendship that transcends life and death, is played by Infinite's Nam Woo-hyun, Pentagon's Hui, The Boyz's Sang-yeon, SF9's Yoo Tae-yang, and Elast's Won-hyuk.
Nam Woo-hyun said, “It’s been a long time since I greeted you with a musical work.” He added, “Dimitru is an attractive character who has been a loyal friend to Dracula for a long time. I think the war god in the play and the appearance after a long time are also attractive, which is why I decided to participate. I felt the charm of this character even more while thinking about Dimitru's 500-year unrequited love for Lorraine.”
Sang-yeon said, “I didn’t see last season’s ‘Dracula’, but I heard that the character Dimitru was really attractive, which is why I joined. I think Dimitru has been made into an even cooler character through this season's adaptation. I felt a strong desire to do well. I researched a lot about how to portray the character Dimitru in a cool way.” He added, “I recently finished the first performance, and it was fun and interesting.”
Yoo Tae-yang said, “I felt a lot of charm in the character Dimitru, which is why I participated.” He continued, “This is my eighth performance, and rather than focusing on showing something, I tried to concentrate on what thoughts and feelings Dimitru has and research that. I think love is simple but not easy. No matter how much time passes, I tried hard to convey the pure and upright love of a man. I’m happy to be able to play a role that can shine as a member of this work. I will run until the end.”
Hui said, “While preparing for the role of Dimitru, I thought a lot about ‘Why does he love Lorraine?’ and ‘Why would I sacrifice my life for Dracula?’. I will continue to explore those questions while performing. I have some things organized in my head, but I think there will be new discoveries as I match my breath with the other actors during the performance. I want to show my growth.” He added, “The director said that we need to be good at martial arts. All the Dimitrus practiced martial arts really hard. If you’re curious about our splendid martial arts, please check it out.”
The role of Van Helsing, who chases Dracula to kill him for a lifetime, is played by Kim Hyung-mook and Kim Jun-hyun. The role of Adriana, Dracula's wife who protects him, is played by Kim Ah-sun and Jung Myung-eun. The role of Lorraine, who chose to become a vampire out of love for Dracula, is played by Lee Eun and Lee Yoon-ha from Melody Day.
The musical ‘Bloody Love’ will be performed at the Korea Electric Power Corporation Art Center until February 16 next year.
[Shin Young-eun, Star Today Reporter]
