The North American premiere of "Yunie's Magical Adventure," a Chuseok family musical presented by the Korean Cultural Center New York (KCCNY) at its theater on Sept. 25-26, wrapped up with three performances and 500 audience members. Reservations sold out in a single day, so a 1 p.m. show was added on the 26th. Traditional children's songs and games such as "Kkoma-ya Kkoma-ya," "Mugunghwa Kkochi Pieotseumnida" (the Korean version of Red Light, Green Light) and "Ganggangsullae" moved between the stage and the audience to the live playing of the New York Classical Players.
On the weekend before Chuseok, the theater at the Korean Cultural Center New York on 32nd Street in Manhattan was filled with children with their hands shot up in the air. The Korean Cultural Center New York (Director Lee Jung-mi) announced that it completed the North American premiere of the multimedia Chuseok family musical "Yunie's Magical Adventure: A Musical Dreamscape for the Whole Family" in three performances over two days, Friday, Sept. 25, and Saturday, Sept. 26. A total of 500 New York children and family members attended.
The production was originally planned for two shows. But when reservations opened, every seat was claimed within a day, and the center added a 1 p.m. show on Saturday, Sept. 26, in response to audience demand. The work was created jointly by the center and MIRI Opera of New York as part of the center's signature performance brand, KCCNY Curates.
An Adventure That Begins at Grandmother's House, With Children in the Audience Becoming Friends
The story follows Yunie, a curious girl who visits her grandmother's house for Chuseok, meets living, moving friends in the form of tofu and bean sprouts, and sets off on a magical adventure. Storytelling that wove together music, movement and animation conveyed the value of family, friendship, memories that link generations and the meaning of community. The entire show was performed in English, so not only Korean American children of the next generation but also New York families from diverse cultural backgrounds could enjoy it together.
On stage, a chamber orchestra from the New York Classical Players, led by Music Director Kim Dong-min, performed live. Traditional children's songs such as "Kkoma-ya Kkoma-ya," "Mugunghwa Kkochi Pieotseumnida," "Dongdaemun-eul Yeoreora" and "Dukkeop-a Dukkeop-a," along with traditional games such as hide-and-seek and Ganggangsullae, were rearranged with Western classical and Korean traditional melodies and presented as a contemporary musical. Children answered questions posed by the actor during the show and joined in the songs and games. Photos of the faces of child audience members who had signed up in advance appeared in the animation, giving the children in the seats the experience of entering the story as friends of the main character, Yunie.
New York-based actor Seong Ye-na took the stage as the storyteller. Park Seong-seon was responsible for the original story, composition and artistic direction; Yang In-yong and Jeong Ju-eun for the script; and Kim Hye-ran for character design, animation and media art.
Director Lee Jung-mi said, "This performance was a meaningful occasion for New York's children to make special memories by enjoying Korean songs and games with their families for Chuseok. We will continue to present a variety of family performances and participatory cultural content, and work to build cultural ties among next-generation Korean American children and to spread Korean performing arts locally." In October, the center will continue to offer free programs that families can attend together, including a Korean contemporary dance performance (Oct. 9-10), the first New York Korean Independent Film Festival (Oct. 15-25) and a workshop on the picture book "The Rabbit's Tale" by author Kim A-ram (Oct. 24).