‘Bremen Town Musicians’ delights families with fun, dynamics and sentiment

Everyone knows about the four jolly town musicians of Bremen.

The musical “The Bremen Town Musicians,” now on at the National Museum Theater Yong in Seoul until May 26, is a pleasant mix of adventure, dreams and self discovery.

The four animals, which were depicted as useless, outdated and almost abandoned fixtures in the original Grimm Brothers’ story, were revamped as a curious donkey, a dog with bad breath, a sympathetic cat, and an aspiring-star hen. And they take on a journey to become members of the town musicians of Bremen, a town portrayed as a utopia for those who wish to achieve their dreams.

“I wanted to tell the children that each person is unique and dreams are for everyone to achieve,” said Yoo Yeol, CEO of the YooYeol Company and producer of the musical. 

The musical has gained notable success, attracting more than half a million viewers in 700 shows over seven years. This is Yoo’s eighth year with the production.

Over the years, improvements have been made to the musical. The classic wooden set has been replaced by a state-of-the-art media projection, which enables the background to change every 4-5 minutes, quickly enough to keep children’s eyes glued to the performance.

It takes the audience to a starry midnight in a small German town; a beautiful sunset on a prairie; deep in the woods; and at one time, a desert, just by changing the three sets of panels, lighting and the projected images. The scene where two thieves are chased by a group of villagers is the epitome of media technology, giving a vivid sense of running by projecting the continuously moving image of roads.

More songs have been added as well.

“Composer Ji Seong-cheol has added new songs every year. This year, the lines of the donkey owner have been added. We have a vast range of repertoires,” Yoo said. The main theme song, “Urineun Bremen Eumakdae (We are the town musicians of Bremen)” resembles that of an amusement park theme song, cheerful and catchy. But some others have sentimental and slow beats, which deliver the serious and mellow side of the play.

“I want the audience to feel the dynamics, energy, fun and hopefulness in the musical but also think about their own dreams through it,” he said.

The musical is a perfect hallyu item, especially considering some of the hottest Korean musicals are staged in Japan and elsewhere.

The production visited the city of Bremen in 2009, and in 2011 the piece was staged as the opening piece for the Shanghai International Children Theater Festival to positive reviews. Being based on the universally famous German tale with animals as the main characters, and having catchy melodies and eye-catching media all make it a promising cultural export.

“I would love that. We are in talks with some Chinese theaters about it. First we will have to start with the Korean production, including the actors flying abroad for performances, but I hope in the long run we will be able to sell the format,” he said.

Yoo said he doesn’t like the label, “kid’s musical,’ as it is used in Korea. “There’s no other country limiting the genre to kids. Usually they say it’s a family musical,” he said.

“I meet people who come and tell me that they have seen the piece for 6-7 years straight. They give me detailed critiques and tell me how they loved it. I hope you would all come and see how seriously we have prepared it for people of both sexes of all generations,” he said.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)