Actor Baek Sung-hyeon and Park Jung-ah's additional joining and a proxy apology made the musical "Eyes of Dawn" a topic of conversation, but the musical ultimately closed early due to a boycott by some actors.
According to OSEN reporting on the 22nd, the musical "Eyes of Dawn" was unable to hold the performance scheduled for 2 p.m. that day and closed early. It had already experienced disruptions starting with the performances on the 20th and 21st, which were reported to have been unable to be staged due to theater circumstances, and after the performance on the 19th it effectively faced an early closing.
According to multiple entertainment industry sources, the disruptions to the musical "Eyes of Dawn" were triggered by a boycott by a small number of actors. The musical "Eyes of Dawn" is adapted from the MBC drama of the same name into a musical. It is a large-scale work featuring about 50 actors, including the male and female leads, Choi Dae-chi and the role of Yoon Yeo-ok, as well as the ensemble. However, among them a boycott led by a small number of actors over the process of extending the run had caused controversy.
The performance boycott already surfaced on the 8th. A performance had been scheduled on the 8th as well, but it was canceled that day due to the actors' boycott, causing controversy. Moreover, because that day had included an invitation for firefighters and their families, the disruption became widely known and drew regret.
In response, Baek Sung-hyeon, who joined as an additional cast member for the male lead in the extended run of "Eyes of Dawn," took the lead in issuing an apology. Baek Sung-hyeon's apology brought the lead actor's sense of responsibility to the fore, and the production company Next Sketch also emphasized the company's responsibility and later promised to resume performances. Afterward, firefighters who had left due to that day's cancellation returned to watch the performance, and the controversy seemed to end as a minor incident.
However, the actors' boycott resumed starting with the performance on the 20th, and ultimately the differences in views between the production company and the actors could not be bridged, leading to the catastrophe of an early closure of the production.
The actors who boycotted cited unpaid appearance fees by the production company as the reason. Originally, "Eyes of Dawn" had planned a first run from December last year to the end of January, but an extended run was scheduled from the end of last month to April. In this process, some actors received only up to 80% of their appearance fees, and they have maintained the position that they cannot proceed with additional performances because 20% of their appearance fees were not paid.
These unpaid fee disruptions stemmed from poor ticket sales and the complacent operational attitude of the production company Next Sketch in responding despite that. For many domestic staged performances such as musicals and plays, excluding advance payments such as deposits, they are operated in a way that covers actors' and staff wages through ticket sales revenue.
However, in the case of the musical "Eyes of Dawn," it was not properly promoted from the first run held last year, and in that process a large number of tickets were not sold. In severe cases, out of 1,000 seats, there were times when only 20 seats were paid seats.
Amid this, judging the work's artistic value, actor Baek Sung-hyeon and former Jewelry member Park Jung-ah joined the extended run as additional male and female leads respectively, striving to promote the performances in earnest. Baek Sung-hyeon even wrote an apology for the initial boycott before the production company issued one, serving as an example of a "proxy apology," yet despite this the performances ultimately ended in disruption, causing regret.
[Photo] Provided by "Eyes of Dawn" side and official SNS source.
[OSEN]