Musical 'Benjamin Button' a beautiful but incoherent experience

It is an aesthetic production that uses puppets to depict the different stages of Benjamin’s life. However, it fails to commit to a single narrative and deliver a fully coherent, entertaining show.

Actor Kim Sung-sik acts with a life-sized puppet of a young Benjamin in the musical "Benjamin Button" playing at Sejong M Theater in central Seoul [YONHAP]

[Review]

"I am a child, really!" blurted actor Max Changmin behind a gray-haired Benjamin Button puppet in a wheelchair during the opening week of the namesake musical at Sejong M Theater in central Seoul. The wooden, life-size puppet barely appeared to have the strength to keep its eyelids open, but the voice — that of a young boy — was earnest and full of life.

Based on the 1922 short story "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Korean musical “Benjamin Button” follows the emotional journey of a man who ages backward.

Musicals based on the same source material are slated to open in London’s West End in October and China. The Korean show, which premiered on May 11, is an aesthetic production that uses puppets to depict the different stages of Benjamin’s life. However, it fails to commit to a single narrative and deliver a fully coherent, entertaining show.

For a relatively short show of 115 minutes with no intermission, it packs in a lot of material — some 70 years of Benjamin's life, to be exact.

Actors Kim Jae-bum, Max Changmin otherwise known as Shim Chang-min, and Kim Sung-sik alternate in the role of Benjamin.

Stripped to its core, the plot is primarily driven by Benjamin chasing after Blue, a young jazz prodigy who grows up to be a star. She is played by actors Kim So-hyang, Park Eun-mi and Lee Arumsoul.

Max Changmin, or Shim Chang-min as backward aging Benjamin in the musical "Benjamin Button" playing at Sejong M Theater in central Seoul [YONHAP]

When they first meet as children, Benjamin falls instantly in love with Blue. However, despite his chronological youth, he is physically an old man in a wheelchair and cannot do the things she likes. Benjamin, always slightly depressed and confused about his condition, is told to wait by his guardian, Mama, the owner of a jazz club — his time or “sweet spot” in life will come.

Cho Kwang-hwa, best known for writing the book and lyrics of the pansori (traditional lyrical storytelling) musical “Seopyeonjae,” took on the direction, lyrics and book of “Benjamin Button.”

According to Cho, the show's message is that life’s sweet spot is short and that we should learn to savor the times leading up to and after it.

“As I was working on this musical, I had a chance to look back at my own life and seek out my sweet spots," he said. "Then I started asking myself how many of those sweet spots I had in my life and wondered what came of all the times around those sweet spots. Then I realized that all those times I waited for the sweet spot and those after the sweet spot were precious, too.

"I wanted to tell the audience not to worry so much about catching the sweet spots or regret their passing."

The supposed climax, therefore, comes near the end when Benjamin realizes this truth. The epiphany motivates him to run back to Blue, who had told him to stay away. The musical's ending — that Benjamin stays with Blue through her elderly years and dementia — is no spoiler, as the scene opens with it.

The melancholy yet romantic ending with a stage full of teary-eyed performers hugging each other feels slightly forced because the musical fails to pick and choose what it wants to be.

So many events happen — like Mama dying, Blue being sold off to her manager Jerry by her father and Benjamin becoming part of an illegal bootlegging gang during America’s Prohibition — that the audience feels dragged through them instead of immersed in the drama of the scenes. The show's ending might have been more convincing if it committed a little more to being a romance about two star-crossed lovers, however stereotypical.

Kim So-hyang as jazz singer and Benjamin's love interest Blue in the ongoing musical "Benjamin Button" [YONHAP]

The use of puppets is a creative attempt that hits home. Some life-size and others smaller, these mostly wooden puppets showcase beautiful craftsmanship by artist Moon Su-ho. He studied theater at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Czech Republic, and currently heads a local acting troupe, Mokseong.

The actors playing Benjamin handle the puppet and interact with it almost like a twin. The stage set also displays Moon's artwork from the past 20 years.

The music, by relatively new composer Lee Na-o, is inspired by 1920s American jazz. Most notable is her use of tempo to relay the characters’ ages as they change.

However, the melodies lack creativity and drama. In songs like Benjamin’s solo “Before and After,” where the character has an epiphany mid-song, reminiscent of “Words Fail” from “Dear Evan Hansen,” the melody doesn’t quite match the lyrical level of emotiveness.

A seven-person cast performs her 22 songs.

The Mama character particularly stands out. Played alternately by Ha Eun-seem and Kim Ji-sun, she is the show’s narrator and comic relief and also manages to deliver a dimensional quality to the role and garner sympathy from the audience.

"Benjamin Button" runs through June 30.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]