Competition at the 9th Korea Musical Awards will be fierce, with musical big-names Kim Jun-su, Jo Jung-suk, Michael Lee, Yoo Jun-sang, Lim Gyu-hyung and Hong Kwang-ho eyeing the award for best male actor.
The Korea Musical Theater Association unveiled the nominees for the awards, slated for January next year, during a press conference held at the Artist House in Seoul on Monday. A total of 81 musical productions were considered for the nominations.
In the grand prize category are "Gloomy Sunday," "Long Long Night," "Swing Days: Codename A," "Il Tenore," "Pagwa" and "Hong Ryeon." The grand prize is presented to an original production that premiered this year, regardless of production and stage size, to recognize the originality of the work.
A tight race is also expected in two subcategories for the year's best musical. For productions with 400 seats or more, "Dear Evan Hansen," "Swing Days: Codename A," "Il Tenore," "Come From Away" and "Kinky Boots" are vying for the award. In the under-400 seats category, "Long long Night," "The Last 5 Years," "Island:1933-2019," "Kiki's Borderline Personality Disorder Diary" and "Hong Ryeon" will compete for the prize.
Cha Ji-yeon ("Pagwa"), Kim Soo-ha ("Hadestown"), Min Kyoung-ah ("The Last 5 Years"), Park Ji-yeon ("Il Tenore"), Lee Arumsoul ("Hong Ryeon") and Hong Na-hyun ("Hong Ryeon") were nominated in the best actress category.
The battle for the best male actor award is also fierce, with musical stars Kim Jun-su ("Death Note)," Jo Jong-suk ("Hedwig"), Michael Lee ("Jesus Christ Superstar"), "Yoo Jun-sang ("Swing Days: Codename A"), Lim Gyu-hyung ("Dear Evan Hansen) and Hong Kwang-ho ("Il Tenore") contending for the prize.
The annual Korea Musical Awards winners are selected through a collective decision of experts and online voting by the general public.
The ninth edition will be held at the Universal Arts Center in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, on Jan. 13 next year.
