“I am delighted to be recognized for my skills as a Korean female composer on a white male-dominated Broadway.”
Helle Park (37), the first Asian woman to be nominated for the Tony Award, an Academy Award for American musicals, said in an interview with The Dong-A Ilbo on the 3rd (local time), “It was like encouragement for Koreans to be courageous and write Korean stories.” .
Park was nominated for the Tony Award for music along with co-composer Max Vernon for the US Broadway musical ‘K-Pop Musical’. The K-pop musical drew attention as the first K-pop musical on Broadway, but ended early after two weeks of regular performance, leaving a regret. However, despite performing 17 times regularly, she was recognized for the music award and was nominated, and because she was the first Asian woman, American media such as the New York Times (NYT) paid attention to her nomination.
It wasn’t easy for him to make his debut as a composer on Broadway. This is because there are very few opportunities, and the board is structured around white males and existing famous musicians. Mr. Park said, “Since he encountered musicals in the 6th grade, he has always dreamed of it, but he never imagined that he would be able to actually act on Broadway.”
My parents also recommended music as a hobby and a doctor. He majored in life science, a pre-medical school course at a Canadian university, but “I hated dying to give up without even trying.” He taught himself to compose and was accepted into New York University’s Graduate School of Musical Composition. After graduating, he sent an e-mail to famous composers who came to give lectures at school, asking them to “give me a chance to work as an assistant.” Tony Award-winning composer Tom Kitt gave me a chance to work in the production team for the musical “f/then.” done.
In 2014, he received an offer from New York University classmate Max Vernon to participate in the production of a K-pop musical, and his relationship with K-pop musicals began. At the time, K-Pop was regarded as the fun music of ‘Gangnam Style’ in mainstream American society. Mr. Park said, “As a stranger who does not belong to either the United States or Korea, the K-pop community is the only one that gave me a sense of belonging, and that music was my identity.” Britney Spears is good, but isn’t it worth watching? I wrote the song with excitement,” he said. He is said to have written over 50 songs for this musical.
A scene from a K-pop musical. Instagram capture He said, “The power of K-pop is to bring people together through dance and music that transcend language and cultural barriers. I wanted to melt the confusion and overcoming of identity into K-pop.” He added that he is of the same Korean descent, but has a special affection for ‘Amerika’, which is a content that causes conflicts such as ‘native’ or American born.
The K-pop musical received rave reviews from the NYT upon its Off-Broadway debut in October 2017. It was at this time that BTS started to rise to the mainstream in America. However, at the end of last year, the Broadway performance could not overcome economic difficulties and closed in two weeks. After the pandemic, ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ was also closed, so it was difficult for the new musical to survive.
He said, “It was so unfortunate that it was painful, but I was very happy to be nominated for three Tony Awards this time with many outstanding new works.” It is a recognition of eight years of hard work,” he said. Coincidentally, a K-pop musical album will also debut soon.
Kpop original soundtrack to be released in the US next week. In addition to his work on Broadway, which has now moved movies into musicals, Park served as the chief music director for the British-American joint TV program of ‘Isadora Moon’, a popular children’s fairy tale all over the world, and also started an animation film. The music for the 2020 Netflix release ‘Over the Moon’ is also his work. It’s a busy routine, but Park’s 7-year-old son, a working mother, is always on her mother’s side.
“When I told my son that he was nominated for the Tony Award, he said, ‘Mom has already won the award for her K-pop performance. I want to show honest music that reflects my own identity through work with a story.”
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.