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Man, Husband, and Father
A play that teaches us the importance of family: ‘Becoming a Dandelion Breeze’
The play ‘Becoming a Dandelion Breeze’ had its premiere in 2008 and has continued its sell-out encore performances throughout Seoul, Daejeon, Daegu, Busan, Hwaseong, Uijeongbu, Gwangju, Gapyeong and Jejudo from January to July 2011. The main characters of the play are a husband Ahn Jung Gi, a wife Oh Ji Yeon, and an old couple. With just a total of four actors the play has generated mass popularity and has received great attention from fans.
The play first began to generate attention thanks to the popularity of the actor Cho Jae Hyun. The role of the husband was double casted, with the actors changing on a routine basis. However, actor Cho Jae Hyun has appeared in every play and if you check the website for responses, over 40% of the replies are about Cho Jae Hyun. There are of course mixed reactions, where some say that they were disappointed with his performance, and others saying that it was beyond their expectations.
 
The play starts off with a lonely husband sitting in front of his deceased wife’s grave. The husband is talking to an old man in his 70’s about his worries as a bank clerk in his younger years. He talks about all the pain and hardships he has gone t hrough, and draws the audience of all ages into his story. His words bring upon a general empathy from the audience since he is talking about worries that people of all ages have. The husband‘s first struggles begin from when he was a bank clerk. His worries then moves on to his daughter, who is going through puberty. After that he goes on to talk about his second divorce with his wife after getting remarried, and how sorry he is for all the pain he caused her. His last hardship comes after his daughter gets married and he is left all alone as an old man.
During the play, the husband says the following line while staring at his wife’s wedding picture, “When I see you, you’re the same person, but me, I’m still that person that I shouldn’t be.” This line expressed the sadness and grief of aging. He tells his wife about what their daughter said at her wedding. “I’ll visit your house dad.” is what she said. He tells his wife how disappointed and disgusted he was when he was to hear her say those words. This scene teaches the audience the sorrows that parents feel when their children are married off.
Cho Jae Hyun’s acting was impressive and emotional with the audience in Braun Theatre, and was even more so in a small theatre stage. People from teenagers up to senior citizens were all moved by Jae Hyun’s acting, which led to people to say that he is simply “The Best” at what he does. I hope that in the future we have more opportunities like these to see great actors give a superb performance in small theatres around the nation.
The play ‘Becoming a Dandelion Breeze’ is very similar to other stories such as ‘My Husband’s Mother,’ ‘Please Look After my Mother,’ and ‘Goodbye Mom,’ but the reason why this play stands out so much is because the main character is a man, not a woman. The play shows the emotions of a husband, father, and lonely old man, which is the reason why I think it is so popular. I hope to have a chance to watch more plays like this, and that more creative stories are performed on stage in the future.
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