Arirang Fantasy Musical

Last June 21st, my friends and I attended the “Philippine Night” of the “Arirang Fantasy” musical. It stars Filipina stage actress Cherish Maningat Bae along with seasoned Korean performers Park Hae Mi and Bae Gi Sung. Among those who were in the audience are Ambassador Cruz and Rep. Jasmine Lee.
The show was staged at the National Museum of Korea. It will continue its tour in many cities in the country until the middle of August. Try to catch it if you guys can, it’s worth the money and time you’ll be spending.
You can check the synopsis of the musical and where you can catch it in a previous post: Korean Musical, Arirang Fantasy.
Here’s a clip on Youtube from last year:

One of my favorite parts is Isabel’s monologue explaining herself to her MIL indirectly. I think a lot of foreign daughters-in-law feel the way she did. During that part, people in the audience shed a tear or two and I heard a lot of sniffling.
Cherish is so effective as “Isabel”. She’s quite funny too with her heavily accented Korean. Her comedic timing is fantastic. (Oh, she’s naturally funny in person too!) Her voice is soothing and her acting effective.
Arirang Fantasy runs for two hours. And that’s two hours of total entertainment. The only drawback is that it’s totally in Korean with no subtitles.
If I could have the chance to see the musical again, I certainly would. It would be perfect to see it with my parents-in-law, my husband and my son.