From page to stage
Multidisciplinary ‘Dorian Gray’ portrays 21st century artists
“The Picture of Dorian Gray,” an 1890 novel by Oscar Wilde, was controversial from the onset as it revolves around moral deterioration by means of aestheticism. However, the scandalous novel inspired many artists and writers of subsequent generations, even halfway around the world in Korea.
A multidisciplinary total theater version of “The Picture of Dorian Gray” raised its curtain in Seoul earlier this month, Wilde wrote: “There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book,” in the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray and for this total theater piece, there is no such thing as winning everyone’s favor. This experimental project has drawn one of the most polarizing responses from theatergoers this year.
This multidisciplinary “Dorian Gray” is dubbed a collaborative project as it features creators from various fields and the elements such as music, dance and video art are balanced as well as acting.
Director and dramatizer Lee Gi-na is not new to the novel. She created a big-budget musical version “Dorian Gray” in 2016, starring JYJ’s Kim Jun-su as the titular role, which was faithful to the original time setting and characters.
Lee said Wilde was a man of eloquence and the novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” is the essence of his eloquent words. “I directed a large scale musical version of Dorian Gray, but always wanted to deal with the characters’ psychology and values in-depth in a smaller space,” she said. And she made it with collaborators.
In the original novel, the young and handsome Dorian Gray is fascinated by his portrait painted by deeply moral painter Basil and gives up his soul in order to have the beauty captured in the portrait forever. Dorian gets enraptured by Lord Henry’s hedonism and indulges in every pleasure and sin, which eats his life and talent away.
In this multidisciplinary stage version, the 19th century society men are converted into 21st century artists. Dorian Gray is portrayed as Jade, an aspiring sculptor of, while Basil is turned into an earnest yet talented photographer Eugene. Lord Henry is reborn as Oscar, a big player in the art market who makes Jade a star artist.
The plot is simplified as it is conveyed mostly through music, dance and abstract video art. Eugene discovers unknown, but gifted sculptor Jade and features him as a model for a photo collage exhibition titled “Seven Abysses.” Art kingmaker Oscar saw an extraordinary star quality in Jade and develops Jade into the Dorian Gray of the 21st century through aggressive promotions. After being shot to unexpected stardom, Jade suffers from inherited bipolar manic-depression and becomes self-destructive and so Eugene tries to embrace and protect him.
Another notable characteristic of the show is that it is gender-free, which is a term that refers to gender-bending and gender-blind castings in Korea. Director Lee is one of the pioneers of the trend in Korea, who casted actress Cha Ji-yeon as the ideological character X-White and X-Black in the third production of the musical “The Devil.”
Lee takes the approach even further in Dorian Gray, creating characters that can be either played by a man or a woman.
In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Jade is shared between ballet dancer Kim Joo-won and actor Moon Yoo-kang. Since their backgrounds are vastly different, the choreography is adjusted to maximize each performer’s strengths.
Photographer Eugene is alternated between pansori performer Lee Ja-ram and actors Park Young-soo, Shin Sung-min and Yeon Joon-seok.
So, the chemistry between male Eugene and female Jade is different from that of female Eugene and female Jade or male Eugene and male Jade, making the show more complex.
Oscar, whose styling seems to pay homage to the late Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, is played by Michael K. Lee, Kim Tae-han and Kang Pilsuk, all male actors. In the 21st century, the most hedonic element is money and Oscar is portrayed as a moneyed contemporary art producer, who drives his artists to the extreme to become famous.
Though the show is not labeled as a musical, music plays an important role in creating the atmosphere. Director Lee said composer and musician Jung Jae-il connotes similarities with Dorian Gray and it was inevitable to adapt the Wilde’s aesthetic novel when she had an opportunity to work with Jung.
From classical and folk to rock and EDM, composer Jung breathed life into the characters, especially following the changing tides of Jade’s fluctuating emotions. Jung also set a Wilde poem “Her Voice” to music, showing respect to the literary figure with witty words and a unique aesthetic.
Visual director Yeo Shin-dong, who also designed the set, does not borrow any explanatory object nor intuitive image. Sensuous video art stirs up the imaginations of audiences, as the show is open to interpretation.