Seol & Company of Korea‘s production of its new original, non-verbal sports musical High Kick began its official two month run yesterday at the Yeongdongpo CGV Art Hall in Seoul, South Korea. Based around soccer, High Kick incorporates not only the nation’s favorite sport but also elements of acrobat, Sepak Tacraw, martial arts, B-boying, and dance.
Because of the highly specialized physical nature of the show, the cast demanded exceptional athleticism and boasts talent from professional soccer, gymnastics, and martial arts backgrounds. Some notable cast members are Yungjo Choi, an original cast member of the martial arts based musical Jump, and Thailand’s national Sepak Takraw champions Mam and Nanni. The international cast and production is already scheduled to appear at the 2012 Edinburgh Festival.
For the musical score, Seol recruited Woody Pak the CEO of Chaos Theory Music (a music and entertainment company) to score the musical and bring a global sensibility to the music. Pak is no stranger to meeting the demand for music and entertainment. His company promotes refreshingly cultural and classical tastes fused with modern forms of performance. His experience includes work with Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning lyricist Brian Yorkey on Making Tracks (Second Generation Productions, 1998-2005), Wedding Banquet (Second Generation Productions, 2003-2005), and One Day (One Production Company, 2010-present).
Of his work on High Kick, Dahoon Jung of the Segye Times states that Pak’s music not only “amplified the dynamics of the sports but also contributed to the heightened sense of completeness.” Despite this being Pak’s first composition for an original Korean musical, Pak has been pleased with and proud of the intense creative collaboration.
Sports, like dance, is full of rhythm and dynamic energy, which made composing for High Kick a wonderful and challenging experience. To discover the inherent musical cadence within the flow of soccer was a revelation for me. Because soccer is both explosive and finesse it was the perfect medium to create a sonic sphere of extremes and subtlety.
With Pak’s expertise underscoring the action-packed performance, High Kick is sure to be an invigorating new take on musical theater.
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