SLL-produced drama "Thirty-Nine" is being remade in Japan as the stage play "39 years old (39歲)" and will be staged.
The drama "Thirty-Nine," released in 2022 (written by Yoo Young-ah, directed by Kim Sang-ho, produced by SLL and Lotte Cultureworks), is a realistic human romance drama that deals with deep stories of friendship, love and life among three friends on the eve of turning 40. It realistically depicts the emotional lines that build up within everyday relationships, earning viewers' empathy, and its final episode recorded a personal best rating of 8.1%.
The play "39 years old" is a remake that stages the original drama. It transfers a story completed as a visual content into the performing arts format, unfolding the relationships and flow of emotions between characters from the original on stage through music and acting.
This production raises expectations with veteran production teams representing Korea and Japan participating. The screenplay is handled by scenario writer Sakaguchi Riko, who wrote the film "On the other side of the summit you are (てっぺんの向こうにあなたがいる)", the drama "Joseotjeok saenghwal (女子的生活)", and the musical "Your lie in April (四月は君の)". Composition is by Korean composer Kim Hyo-eun, noted for original musicals such as "HOPE" and the original dance musical "Navillera". Lyricist Nagata Ikue, known for the theater company's "Robot in the Garden", and director Koyama Yuna, who presented plays such as "The dilemma of the rose", "We are stories" and the musical "Finding Neverland", join to raise the work's completeness.
The casting is also glamorous. Actors from the 100-year-old "Takarazuka Revue (塚歌劇)", who have a large fandom in the Japanese performing world, transform into three 39-year-old women. The role of Cha Mi-jo, played by Son Ye-jin, is taken by Asaka Manato, the role of Jung Chan-young, passionately played by Jeon Mido, is taken by Nanami Hiroki, and the role of Jang Joo-hee, played by Kim Ji-hyun, was chosen for Yumesaki Nene. In addition, Aiba Yuki appears as dermatologist Kim Seon-woo, Maeda Ise as entertainment agency CEO Kim Jin-seok, and Takahashi Kensuke as Chinese restaurant owner chef Park Hyun-joon, adding vitality to the play.
SLL is accelerating its push into the Japanese market by expanding verified drama IP into performance content. It plans to strengthen the life of IPs, including "Thirty-Nine", by varying original IP across diverse genres and formats and to increase their global business value.
An SLL official said "'Thirty-Nine' is a work that showed the power of a story centered on character relationships and emotions," and said "the play '39 years old' will serve as an opportunity to show that the IP can be expanded through remakes in other cultures and formats."
Meanwhile, the play "39 years old" will open this September at Tokyo IMM Theater and Osaka Umeda Arts Theater Theater Drama City.
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