[CELEB] WJSN's Yoo takes the stage in 'Lizzie,' a rock 'n' roll musical

K-pop

Published: 03 Apr. 2022, 15:02 Updated: 03 Apr. 2022, 18:29

[CELEB] WJSN's Yoo takes the stage in 'Lizzie,' a rock 'n' roll musical

K-pop star Yoo Yeonjeong [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]

Girl group WJSN's Yoo Yeonjeong, 23, made her debut as a musical theater actor last week through a role in the blistering rock 'n' roll musical "Lizzie."

During a press conference on Tuesday at the Doosan Art Center in Jongno District, central Seoul, Yoo said she fell in love with the show and her role almost immediately after seeing the script and researching it.

"I was intrigued by the plot and the composition of the musical," said Yoo. "I strongly expressed that I wanted to try out for this show."

A lot of the music in "Lizzie" is rock, a genre that Yoo has never tried before as a K-pop girl group member. But Yoo said that she took on this challenge with an open mind.

"I wanted to learn the genre, and I thought that maybe this could be another thing that I could be good at."

In the musical, Yoo portrays Alice Russell, the best friend and lover of Lizzie Borden, the show's protagonist.

A 120-minute musical sustained by just four actors and an energetic score with many high-belting notes, "Lizzie" is a challenging role for any musical theater actor. Yet Yoo masterfully portrays her character with convincing acting and powerful vocals.

Yoo Yeonjeong as Alice Russell in the musical "Lizzie" [SHOWNOTE]

Behind her smooth musical performance were four years of training as a musical theater major.

"I have always been fascinated with musicals and loved the genre, which is why I chose to major in musical theater," said Yoo.

Yoo enrolled at Dankook University's Jukjeon campus in Gyeonggi as a musical theater major in 2018. The school is considered to be one of the most prestigious institutions for aspiring musical actors in the country.

"Lizzie" is a musical based on the true story of Lizzie Borden's murder case in 1892 America. It premiered off-Broadway at the Living Theater in New York.

With eight performances a week, "Lizzie" runs every day except Mondays at Doosan Art Center through June 12.

Off the stage of live theater, Yoo is continuing to keep herself busy with her K-pop career.

On Thursday, she appeared on the first episode of "Queendom 2," Mnet's K-pop girl group survival program, as a member of WJSN, otherwise known as Cosmic Girls.

In the episode, six K-pop acts choose the order amongst themselves for the first round of competition. Snatching the most popular sixth slot, WJSN will be the last group to perform in the first round of the competition.

Album cover of girl goup WJSN [ILGAN SPORTS]

In "Queendom 2," six high-profile female K-pop acts compete against each other by releasing a new song on the same day. The program is slated to air for the next 10 weeks. The winning K-pop act wins a live-streamed global comeback show on Mnet.

WJSN debuted in 2016 with its EP "Would You Like?" and has released hits "I Wish" (2017) and "As You Wish" (2019). The members of the 13-member girl group are: Exy, Seola, Xuan Yi, Bona, Soobin, Luda, Dawon, Eunseo, Cheng Xiao, Mei Qi, Yeoreum, Dayoung and Yeonjeong.

Yoo initially made a public appearance on "Produce 101" (2016), Mnet's K-pop girl group survival program, at the age of 17 as one of the show's trainee contestants from K-pop agency Starship Entertainment.

Receiving a final vote count of 136,780, Yoo made the cut by coming in 11th of the 11 finalists who get to make their debut in a girl group.

I.O.I, the survival program's project girl group, debuted in May 2016 through the EP "Chrysalis" and its lead track "Dream Girls."

The group disbanded in January 2017 after a number of songs were released including "Crush" (2016), "Whatta Man" (2016) and "Downpour" (2017).

Yoo Yeonjeong posing for a profile picture for Mnet's K-pop survial program "Produce 101" (2016) [MNET]

Yoo Yeonjeong

Date of birth: August 3, 1999
Zodiac sign: Leo
Birthplace: Gwangmyeong city, Gyeonggi
Debut: May 2016 as a member of project girl group I.O.I / June 2016 as a member of WJSN
Agency: Starship Entertainment

Yoo was brought into the public eye as a K-pop trainee contestant in "Produce 101" (2016), an Mnet-created K-pop survival show with 101 female K-pop trainees from various agencies. Yoo made the final top 11 and debuted as a member of the project girl group I.O.I. Yoo joined girl group WSJN, a Starship Entertainment creation, in June 2016, while she was a member of I.O.I. The other 12 members of WSJN had debuted a few months earlier. Though I.O.I disbanded after one year according to the contract, Yoo continued her career as a K-pop singer as a member of WJSN. The group's latest music is EP titled "Unnatural" (2021). In 2022, Yoo made her debut as a musical theater actor through a role in the four-person show "Lizzie."

This information was confirmed by Starship Entertainment on April 1, 2022.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.k]