Broadway singer James Barbour is making his directing debut in Korea with the second Seoul run of “A Tale of Two Cities,” a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel of the same title.

The piece is set against the conflicts between rebels and aristocracy during the French revolution and its parallel world in 18th-century London. It tells the story of Sydney Carton, a shrewd young English lawyer who develops a strong, unrequited love for Lucie Manette, a young loving French woman who grew up in England. Barbour performed the role of Carton on Broadway in 2008, and had been participating in the show’s production since 2004.

Its first Seoul run, which took place last year in Seoul at Chungmu Art Hall, was a great success. Though Barbour did not star in the first Seoul run, he performed in a concert in Seoul that featured the musical’s numbers. He was impressed with Korean singers at the concert and decided to direct the second Korean run of the musical. 

Before the musical’s first run, its original novel by Dickens was largely unknown to the Korean reading public. The popularity of the musical triggered a local publishing house to publish the full-length translated Korean edition of the novel, which did not exist until the opening of the show.

“Everyone knows Charles Dickens in Korea,” said Sohn Eun-joo from Penguin Classics Korea, who published the full-length Korean edition of the novel last year. “But the novel has been considered as something that’s hard to translate into Korean mostly because of its length.”

Despite its unpopularity in Korea, the 45-chapter novel ranks among the best-known works in fictional literature. Its protagonist Carton makes the ultimate sacrifice in the end, for the love of his life who is married to another man.

In the upcoming run, three different actors ― Ryu Jung-han, Yoon Hyung-ryul and Seo Bhum-seok ― are sharing the role of Sydney Carton. Ryu and Yoon played the same role in the first Seoul run, while it is first time for Seo. Two actresses, Cho Hyun-joo and Im Hye-young, are sharing the role of Lucie.

The show is two hours and 50 minutes long, whereas last year’s show lasted more than three hours. “I was very impressed with the performance by the Korean cast last year,” Barbour said through local promoters. “I am trying to approach the show from an objective angle and give the best experience to the local audience.”

Penguin Classics Korea has published a special limited edition of the novel for the second run of the musical. There are a total of 800 copies, with a special cover featuring the musical’s poster, and the books can be purchased at the performance hall.

The show kicks off on Tuesday at Charlotte Theater in Seoul and runs through Aug. 11. Tickets range from 60,000 won to 130,000 won. For more information, call 1544-1555.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)