[Sports Seoul | Reporter Pyo Kwon-hyang] Kim Ho-young, 43, is upending audience expectations and commanding the stage with a hard-edged presence that stands in stark contrast to the sunny persona many know from his media appearances. He has traded light, buoyant energy for a fierce, often impulsive charisma. That disciplined reinvention—coupled with incisive character work and relentless experimentation—has produced a performance critics and audiences call nearly flawless.
Kim plays the futurist Marinetti in Lempicka, now at COEX Artium’s Woori Bank Hall in Samseong-dong, Seoul.
Lempicka sets music to the life of Tamara de Lempicka, the so-called “Queen of Art Deco,” whose work captivated the early 20th-century art world. The musical dramatizes how she maintained her artistic identity through the upheavals of the Russian Revolution and two world wars.
In the show, Kim portrays an artist who provokes Lempicka’s creative debates and acts as a catalyst for her work. Whether motivated by a personal artistic credo or sheer survival instinct, his character is relentlessly pragmatic—often cold and calculating.
The role is far removed from the playful, crowd-pleasing entertainer that has made Kim popular. When his casting was announced, many were surprised; Kim himself said he had doubts. Han Jung-rim, the music director who first connected with him during the 2014 production of Priscilla, invited him to audition, and Kim questioned whether the part suited him. In an interview on May 7, he spoke openly about the audition process, why he chose the role, and the hurdles he faced during rehearsals.
◇ A complete reinvention with the opposite image…a new signature role
From the outset, the production presented a steep challenge. This was a world-premiere licensed production and the show’s Asian debut. Because Tamara de Lempicka is not well known in South Korea, background material was scarce. Even preparing the audition pieces required unusual effort. Kim now jokes that the project ranks among the top three hardest of his career, but at the time he felt lost and uncertain.
At the audition he sang the show’s signature number, "Perfection," three times. He says the process felt like a true test from an international creative team. Relying on instinct, he used bold physical choices to break through. On the third take, he ran to the judges’ table and pushed a judge’s water bottle off the table—an abrupt move that startled the room and captivated both the domestic and international team.
“We’d described Marinetti in rehearsals as someone possessed by a larger force,” Kim recalled. “The creative team liked my Marinetti because he could do anything unexpectedly. They said if I had just stood and sung on the third take, they would have asked for a more provocative acting choice. When I threw the water bottle, that question disappeared.”
Kim, who usually learns lines, lyrics and character detail quickly, found this process unusually slow and difficult. He struggled with range issues—handling a song written lower than his usual tessitura, then attempting it higher—which created additional obstacles.
He needed a clear strategy. Kim began by stripping away the original cast’s interpretation from his mind. He believed a new character had to emerge from his own inner life. He asked the creative team for time and patience; they agreed.
The method paid off. The Lempicka creative team embraced—and praised—his Marinetti. “I told them I would build the stage presence they wanted and that they shouldn’t worry if it didn’t look finished at first,” Kim said. Composer Matt Gould told him he had “a lot to offer” and didn’t need to treat the numbers strictly as conventional songs. During development Kim experimented: sometimes singing a number as if it were spoken dialogue, other times pushing emotional extremes. Those choices helped shape his interpretation of Marinetti.
Kim said the role allowed him to reveal facets of his artistry he’d never shown onstage. “After 24 years, I’m performing a character and using a voice I’ve never used before,” he said. “That brought a deeper emotional response. I think this could become my signature role.”
With a commanding stage presence and a willingness to transform, Kim’s Lempicka is drawing attention. The production runs through June 21 at COEX Artium’s Woori Bank Hall. gioia@sportsseoul.comn
