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Western Story
웨스턴 스토리
Official English Title
SOURCE
original
SETTING
Foreign
BOOK
original
A fake bounty hunt in the Wild West
Korean Premiere
2022
Korean Premiere Theatre
Uniplex Theater, Seoul
Further Korean run reference:
https://namu.wiki/w/%EC%9B%A8%EC%8A%A4%ED%84%B4%20%EC%8A%A4%ED%86%A0%EB%A6%AC
The Musical search cue — “웨스턴 스토리”
Summary
In a comic Wild West, fabricated heroes and villains become trapped in a fake bounty hunt that spirals into gunfights, mistaken identities, and competing dreams of glory.
Origin & Development
Premiered in 2022, produced by Neo Production. The musical was developed as a genre-parody of classic Western films, reimagining well-known historical figures and outlaw imagery through a comic narrative centered on a small desert saloon. The show features a small cast ensemble, rapid verbal humor, and a playful deconstruction of frontier mythology rather than historical realism. 2024 – Revival, Neo Production (re-staged at Interpark Uniplex 1). The musical has recurred with the same core concept and rotating casts rather than a large-scale retooling.
Full Synopsis
In 1886, 20-year-old Jane runs the Diamond Saloon, a theatre-bar inherited from her grandmother in Green Valley City, Arizona. Dreaming of leaving the West for New York, she spreads a false rumor that a railroad will soon reach the town and offers the saloon for sale at a suspiciously low price.
Her real plan is to lure three travelling actors who impersonate the legendary Wyatt Earp, Josephine Marcus, and Johnny Ringo, then collect the rewards placed on them. The scheme is complicated when gunfighter Billy Hooker arrives, seeking revenge against the three for his father’s death. Jane pretends to share his grudge and poses as his wife.
The false Wyatt is Freddie Simpson, an unsuccessful actor who fled his company with stolen money. He is soon joined by Kate Corbett, posing as Josephine. After recognizing each other and discovering that the stolen money is gone, they agree to purchase the saloon together for one dollar.
The third actor, Jack Marsh, arrives as Johnny Ringo. Billy captures him, but the real Ringo’s men attack the saloon. Billy is shot while fighting them. Jack removes the bullet and saves his life, explaining that he served as a medic during the Battle of Gettysburg. Billy realizes that Jack is “Orange Jack,” the man who once saved his father rather than killed him.
When the actors’ former company manager comes searching for them, Jane claims that she has never seen them. Instead of surrendering the three for reward money, she proposes that they use the Diamond Saloon as a theatre. Their performances become successful enough to repay their debts.
Freddie, Kate, Jack, and Billy eventually leave to pursue newly discovered ambitions. Jane transfers the saloon to her friends Harry and Bud and finally departs for New York. After everyone has gone, Harry and Bud discover a newspaper report announcing that a real railroad is coming to Green Valley City.
嘿!亚利桑那 (Hey! Arizona)
2024
2024-03-21
to
2024-03-31
Country:
China
City:
Shanghai
Production Type:
Licensed
Language:
Chinese
Venue:
Hey! Arizona Theater
Produced by Happy Twist (开心麻花) at its Hey! Arizona Theater in Changning District as part of the Happy Twist Music Comedy Series, with tickets at 199–599 RMB. The production reframed the work as a music-comedy hybrid for the Chinese market while keeping the saloon setting and mistaken-identity premise of the Korean original, and it was the title's first confirmed commercial staging in China.
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