The musical "Eyes of Dawn" ended early about a month before its scheduled run after a boycott by a small number of actors over the original producer's partial nonpayment of appearance fees. Among them, actors Baek Sung-hyeon and Park Jung-ah, who joined as additional cast members, stayed at the theater until the end, adding to the regret.
On the 22nd, OSEN exclusively reported the news of the early closing of the musical "Eyes of Dawn." The production, which had been extended through Apr. 26, came to an end after the performance on the 19th amid disruptions caused by a boycott by some actors.
Based on the popular drama of the same name that aired on MBC, "Eyes of Dawn" held its first run from Dec. of last year through the end of Jan. this year. After that, extended performances were scheduled from Mar. 24 through Apr. 26, and notably, from the 17th veteran actor Baek Sung-hyeon, who began as a child actor, joined as the male lead Choi Dae-chi, and Park Jung-ah, a former member of the girl group Jewelry, joined as the female lead Yoon Yeo-ok, meeting audiences anew as additional cast members.
However, there was a conflict between the production company Next Sketch and some actors over unpaid appearance fees. In addition to the newly joined Baek Sung-hyeon and Park Jung-ah, the production featured more than 50 cast members, including main and supporting actors Kim Joon-hyun, Jung Si-uk, Jung Myung-eun, Song Yong-jin, Park Jin-woo, Kim Jin-woo, Jo Nam-hee, Hong Seo-jun, No Woo-jin, and the ensemble, who had appeared since the first run. Some of them declared a boycott, saying they had not received part of the promised appearance fees.
Multiple entertainment industry and production sources said the unpaid amounts applied not only to actors but also to staff, and the sums varied widely depending on the size of the roles. On average, 80% of appearance fees were paid and 20% remained unpaid. The staff respected the actors' wishes and allowed the actors to negotiate with the production company first, but in the end the conflict could not be resolved.
The interests among the actors also varied. Even on the 22nd, when the performance was canceled and the early closing was announced, Baek Sung-hyeon and Park Jung-ah visited the theater. Even amid discussion of the actors' boycott, they said they would still go to the site and tried to continue discussions at the venue. However, the small number of actors who actively participated in the boycott were adamant that they could not continue. They said it was because trust with Next Sketch had been broken.
The cancellation on the day of the performance that drew attention when Baek Sung-hyeon issued an apology on behalf of others on the 8th was also a fallout from the actors' boycott. Coincidentally, that day firefighters and their families had been invited to watch the performance. Audiences who had come and were forced to turn away in the absurd cancellation later consoled themselves by attending the resumed performances. The performances on the 20th and 21st, which had been reported as canceled due to theater circumstances, were also harbingers of the early closing caused by the actors' boycott and the production company's conflict.
These performance disruptions were ultimately the result of poor ticket sales. Despite the enduring popularity of the original drama, ticket sales for the musical "Eyes of Dawn" were weak. On some severe days, a 1,000-seat theater sold only 15 or 20 paid tickets. Given the industry practice of paying actors' and staff wages from ticket sales, proper payments became impossible. The production company had planned to use revenue from the extended run after the addition of Baek Sung-hyeon and Park Jung-ah to pay the unpaid amounts, but it faced early closure without winning over the feelings of the originally cast actors.
The victims in this situation are the group audience members who had booked or were waiting to attend the performance. Even on the day of the early closing, about 200 audience members from the coast guard and disability groups were scheduled to attend the "Eyes of Dawn" performance. However, after learning from the production company that the performance had been canceled, they ultimately turned away. Other group visits from metropolitan local governments had also been scheduled but were canceled. Initial promotion and operation that did not match the scale of the production, and the resulting conflicts with actors, ultimately caused harm to the audience. It is particularly sad that the light of the original drama, still regarded as a masterpiece, seems to have dimmed because of the musical "Eyes of Dawn" disruptions.
[Photo] Provided by "Eyes of Dawn" production.
[OSEN]