Announcing the South Korean workshop and development of a major new West End musical - ICON, an all-new K-pop musical
by Best of Theatre Staff on Wednesday 9 March 2022, 8:55 pm in Upcoming and New Shows
ICON, a thrilling new K-pop musical, is coming to the UK with a bang!
This electrifying new concert-style musical has original songs from chart-topping K-pop team THE HUB, led by Brian You and platinum-selling songwriter Charlotte Wilson. With an English-language book by Kyo Choi, writing song lyrics in English and using Korean elements including the choruses of several songs, ICON is sure to have audiences on their feet and singing along.
ICON follows a five-piece boy band as they smash their way through their spectacular K-pop hits live in concert! As they gear themselves up to say farewell to their lead man who is called up for military service, the five ICONS find their own unique way of thanking their fans - and each other - in the only way they know how: with some of their breathtaking K-pop magic.
ICON is being developed in South Korea and the UK with workshops taking place in March & June 2022 before a full UK run, aiming for the West End.
K-pop - short for Korean popular music - is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and K-pop concerts, when announced, sell out in a matter of minutes in the UK. In South Korea, compulsory military service has meant that many K-pop groups have had to break up temporarily to fulfil their obligation. Artists’ careers in most scenarios struggle to recover from the break. The supergroup BTS - with sales of 20 million albums the best-selling artists in South Korean history - recently made headlines when the government brought in a new law to ensure BTS member Jin did not have to leave the band at 28. The National Assembly will soon debate whether to grant full military service exemptions to K-Pop idols who have raised the country’s global status.
The Hub is a South Korean based music producer who have produced in excess of one thousand songs for the K-pop industry. Their team of fourteen led by Brian You comprises of writers, producers, artists and engineers who create chart hitting songs from scratch. The Hub is due to make history in 2022 by being the first music producers to work with every major K-pop label. They work out of their Seoul studios where our current demos have been created and further work will commence.
The creative team:
Book by Kyo Choi
Music and Lyrics by Brian You & Charlotte Wilson on behalf of The Hub, South Korea
from an original concept by Jamie Chapman Dixon
Musical Director Chris Poon
Additional lyrics by Kyo Choi
Dramaturg & Additional Lyrics by Darren Clark
Orchestrations by Joe & Nikki Davison (Auburn Jam Music)
Casting Director Pearson Casting CDG
Producers Carter Dixon McGill Productions & Katy Galloway Productions
Associate Producers Piers Cottee-Jones Entertainment & M. Green Production