SYNOPSIS

Axl, Tommy, and Brian are young men who dream of forming a rock band. After being swindled and driven into debt, they decide to rob a bank in a desperate attempt to raise money. When they are surrounded by the police, Tommy buries the stolen cash under a tree near the bank before they are arrested and sent to prison.

Inside the prison, they attempt to escape in order to recover the hidden money. Their plans, however, are repeatedly interrupted and distorted through a series of exaggerated and comedic situations, often driven by a multi-role performer who shifts between characters and directly engages the audience. A female guard also serves as a formidable obstacle.

One day, entertainment is brought into the prison to boost the inmates’ morale. Axl and his group disguise themselves as performers and manage to escape.

They return to the bank, only to find that it has gone bankrupt and has been converted into a club. They audition as a band for entertainment positions and discover that the owner is a former fellow inmate, who agrees to hide them while exploiting them as cheap labor. A waitress initially shows interest in the band, but after learning that they are escaped convicts, she attempts to report them to the police before ultimately joining the owner in taking advantage of them.

The group fails to locate the buried money. Brian begins to suspect that Tommy never buried it in the first place, and the band nearly breaks apart. Meanwhile, the club owner cements over the areas where digging has mysteriously occurred, making it impossible for them to recover the money.

One day, a famous producer visits the club to scout talent. Axl and the group prepare for an audition but are asked to perform a trot song. Unable to continue, they instead perform their own rock number, “Welcome to the Prison.”

The producer is impressed and offers them an album, television appearances, and concert opportunities. At the same time, the group realizes that accepting this opportunity could expose their identities and end their careers.

Meanwhile, the buried money is discovered by another woman, who is subsequently arrested by the police and becomes the apparent culprit of the robbery. The officer who originally arrested the group later receives a call from the prosecutor and visits them, explaining that due to this development and an administrative error, neither the attempted robbery nor the prison escape can be prosecuted.

As a result, the three men are unexpectedly released and become free. The story concludes with the formation and success of their band.


REVIEW

I happened to have some time to spare in Daehangno, so I stopped by the Ticket Box (Good Performance Information Center) to see if there was a musical I could watch right away. After buying a ticket, I walked about ten minutes to the theater and was able to go straight in.

While walking, I glanced at the leaflet and thought it might be a tribute to Guns N' Roses. I wondered—surely they wouldn’t actually use GnR songs. As I sat down, a music video of Sweet Child o’ Mine played before the show, while the audio switched among November Rain, Welcome to the Jungle, and Sweet Child o’ Mine. It had been a long time since I had seen those videos. As a Slash fan, I waited with mixed anticipation and concern.

The show was a full-on comedy. The plot was intentionally simplified and exaggerated, and the multi-role performer (the “multi-man”) played a central role. If the audience reaction wasn’t strong enough, the lights would cut to black and the same bit would be repeated to draw more laughter. He would even say things like, “You all need to react if you want to go home,” directly building the rhythm of the show around audience response.

There were also interactive elements where audience members were assigned roles—such as “boss,” “dog,” or “actor”—and asked to respond or even brought on stage. The audience seemed to take it lightly and enjoy the experience.

The storyline—forming a band by committing a bank robbery and eventually escaping from prison—was handled through brief lines of dialogue, with the multi-man filling in much of the energy in between.

The sole female performer took on roles such as a prison guard and a club waitress, serving as the show’s sensual focal point. However, she was not limited to that function; her solid singing suggested she would also be capable of handling more serious roles.

The actor playing Axl handled the high notes, while Tommy (guitar) delivered a rough, straightforward rock vocal style. Brian (bass) portrayed the vulnerability of the youngest member, creating a clear contrast among the three characters. Tommy, in particular, stood out with his open and slightly gritty rock tone.

The instruments were essentially props rather than being played live, and the guitar was shaped like a Stratocaster. That detail reminded me of Slash playing Guitar Hero, which made me laugh.

The most frequently reprised number was “Welcome to the Prison.” Hearing “Welcome to the—” momentarily made me expect the original song, but in fact, no Guns N' Roses songs were used at all. Naming the main character “Axl” alone served as a sufficient homage, and near the end, the cast even shouted, “We are Guns N’ Roses.”

The show also included brief excerpts from songs such as NewJeans’ “ETA” and (G)I-DLE’s “Queencard.” In particular, Lee Moon-sae’s “Red Sunset” (붉은 노을) was reprised several times, with the audience encouraged to sing along to the chorus.

My favorite part was the ending. The absurd bank robbers fail to retrieve the money they buried, and someone else ends up taking it. As a result, their crime is reduced to an “attempt,” and due to an administrative error, neither attempted robbery nor prison escape can be prosecuted. They suddenly become free. Paradoxically, the resolution felt clean—almost like Alexander the Great cutting through the Gordian Knot.

The story then concludes with the expected success of the band, providing a clear and complete ending.

The performance ran about 90 minutes, and for me, it was a welcome way to fill an otherwise idle stretch of time. The fact that it has been running since 2010 suggests that it has found a steady audience within the Daehangno ecosystem.