In 'Once,' supporting characters playing live music complete story

For the musical “Once,” 16 different types of instruments -- including guitar, mandolin, violin and drums -- are used on stage. This show demands 12 performers who can not only act and sing, but also play musical instruments. In fact, the difficulty of assembling a cast of skilled actor-musicians is one reason the show is returning to the stage a full decade after its Korean premiere in 2014.

While more musicals featuring actor-musicians — such as Great Comet and Zorro — are appearing domestically, the paths to becoming such versatile performers vary widely.

Among 12 actors who take the stage each show for “Once,” Park Ji-il, Ko Ye-il and Kim Min-seong exemplify that diversity.

Park, 65, plays “Da,” the father of the main character “Guy.” A seasoned actor with a long career across theater, film, and television, Park landed the role on his second attempt -- an audition that marked one of the rare occasions he didn't succeed on the first try, with more than a decade between the two auditions.

This role requires good guitar, ukulele and mandolin but he always loved playing the guitar but wasn’t familiar with mandolin back then. However, hoping to participate in “Once” he practiced, waited for a next change and tried again.

Park has always loved performing with others, even if not in a professional setting -- making the actor-musician role feel like an ideal combination for him.

“Being able to play music on stage and also act, something I’ve done for decades, makes this show one of the most meaningful performances I could ever take part in,” Park told The Korea Herald during an interview joined by two cast members.

“In my 40-year acting career, this might be the smallest role I’ve ever taken on, but to me, it feels like a huge gift. Despite how small the role is, I feel like I’ve put in ten times more effort into this one production than I have for any other,” he added.

While Park’s acting career spans four decades, Ko Ye-il, who plays violin onstage, is arguably South Korea’s most experienced actor-musician. The 37-year-old comes from a classical music background and trained as a violist. Her entry into musicals was unplanned; since stumbling into the genre in 2017, she has taken on nearly every actor-musician role available in the country, such as “Mata Hari,” “The Man Who Laughs,” “Midnight,” “Zorro,” “The Great Comet” and more.

“I’ve mostly played roles where I’m running around and moving a lot on stage, so I thought ‘Once’ would be a quiet, lyrical kind of piece -- very different from what I usually do. This was a deeper and more introspective work and really drew me in,” Ko said, adding “it has become my favorite role.”

“What’s really remarkable about this piece is that every single role, no matter how small, feels embraced with love,” Ko added. Ko takes the role of ‘Ex-girlfriend’ in ‘Once.’

Kim Min-seong considers himself fortunate to make his debut as Andrej, a character who plays both guitar and bass guitar in the musical.

“I’d watched the film several times -- it’s one of my favorites. When I saw the audition announcement, I thought it would be the perfect experience to have before starting my military service,” said the 23-year-old, who played guitar as he studied applied music in high school.

With this role, Kim, who now majors in musical theater performance in college, hopes to pursue his career in musical theater.

“When I studied applied music, I realized that it wasn’t the type of art that I wanted to pursue. When I saw a musical, my eyes opened wide. Now, I’m so sure about this path and I know performing in a musical production is something I really want to do,” Kim noted.

“I’m thrilled to start my career with this musical that I love so much,” he said.

Originally based on the 2007 Irish indie film, "Once" made its Broadway debut in 2012, winning eight Tony Awards including Best Musical.

The Korean version of "Once," produced by Seensee Company, runs at Coex Artium until May 31.