In collaboration with Avex Pictures, Studio Dragon’s hit Netflix show Vincenzo (빈센조) is being made into a musical format in Japan projected for performances later this year. The show, originally produced by Studio Dragon, saw huge success on Netflix reaching up in the top five by rating in comparison to other shows at the time, succeeding both globally and in Korea. The Netflix series follows Vincenzo Cassano “During a visit to his motherland” as he “gives an unrivaled conglomerate a taste of its own medicine with a side of justice” (Netflix). There has already been casting announced for the two leads Vincenzo Cassano and Hong Cha Young, originally portrayed by Song Joong-ki and Jeon Yeo-been. The actors assuming these roles are rising star Masanari Wada and J-Pop idol Tomita Suzuka (Hinatazaka46). The musical will tour and travel to several venues in Japan including the AiiA 2.5 Theatre, the Nippon Seinenkan Hall and the Sankei Hall Breeze in late August of this year (11th-27th). The tickets will go for 11,000 yen ($78.89 USD) and will include taxes with reserved seating. Go see it if you can!
The Performer and Staff credits are as follows:
Performers
[Vincenzo Casano] Masanari Wada
[Hong Cha-young] Suzuka Tomita
[Jang Jun-woo] Kandai Ueda
[Chan- Hansoh] Masato Takeuchi
[Han Seung Hyuk] Kou Matsui
[Jo Young Eun] Shinsuke Takahara
[Nam Joo Sung] Yuichi Ito
[So Milli ] Ikumi Nakano
[Jang Young Jin] Sakiko Shibasaki
[Kim Young Ho] Masatatsu Furukawa
[Chessin] Hiroo Takayama
[Rely Kang] Seiya Ito
[Park Seokdo] Ryosuke Kobayashi
★Who will play Lee Cheol-wook, Toto, Tak Hong-sik, Kwak Hee-soo, and Chok-ha, who are the other members of the Plaza family? Please enjoy.
[Oh Kyung-ja] Shinobu Shirakihara
[Ann Gi-seok] Daiki Nishikawa
[Hong Yoo-chan] Soma Suzuki
[Choi Myung-hee] Hitomi Sato
and others
*Performers are subject to change.
Staff
Script/Lyrics: Kaori Miura
Director: Kotaro Yoshitani
Musical music: tak and others
What are my hopes for the musical adaptation?
My hopes are that the musical will be a condensed version of the drama. Though this is one of my top 3 K-dramas of all time with a dream role of mine being Vincenzo Cassano himself (would love a global adaptation, I am free😉), I do believe there were a lot of filler scenes with the heavy inclusion of the residents in the building. It would be funny to have some songs with them included, but I hope they aren’t a main focus. I truly hope the crucial moments are added in and everything flows well. I look forward to seeing where the creators end up with this project. I love musicals and I love Vincenzo, so I am very interested in seeing how the two will mesh together. I wonder what genre the music will be. I’m guessing classical and Italian-influenced music will be included a lot throughout scenes, and maybe pop/rock music or music similar to the score of 웃는남자 for the characters to sing. There has to be some thriller moments in there because of all the bloody moments in this show. Regardless, I expect the music to be beautiful and I hope it aids the story well. I’m excited to see clips from the show if any will be posted online. I have high hopes and high expectations. Good luck to the team and again, if you have the chance, you should go see it! Tell me all about it! We’re two months away!
~ K.C.
Sources used/referenced:
https://avexnet.jp/news/detail.php?id=1013491
https://avex.com/jp/ja/news/2023/vincenzo-musical/
Watch Vincenzo | Netflix Official Site
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