Idol Band Drama 'You're Beautiful!' Features Girl as Boy

[hallyuwood]

Girl masquerades as boy in SBS' new Wednesday and Thursday series "You're Beautiful!" The classic formula worked in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," in the hit MBC series "Coffee Prince" and in films like "Shakespeare in Love" and "She's the Man." So, will it work this time around?

For starters, the premise is a bit different. Imagine. Korea's top boy band gains a new member. To the public, he is just a pretty boy. Only he isn't. He is a she. And her band members know.

"The drama is very speedy," "You're Beautiful!" star Jang Keun-suk revealed at a press conference held on Sept. 24. "The fact that she is a girl is revealed early on, in the first episode, and then more incidents occur."

Based on Jang's statement, the plot, then, will not rely on the comical and dramatic value of the heroine's struggles to hide her true identity. It will focus on how the heroine and her male band members cope with having to bunk together, bond, and maybe cultivate a little inter-band romance or two.

During the preview, Jang, who plays the issue-ridden leader of the group, displayed a knack for doing an arrogant boy genius, a character type he pulled off last year in the hit MBC drama "Beethoven Virus."

Co-star Park Shin-hye, cast as the only female member of an all male group, was a convincing girl-dressed-as-boy lost in a boy-dominant world.

"Jang's character really hates me. Co-star Yong-hwa's character looks out for me and co-star Hong-ki's character is wary of me," "Tree of Heaven" actress Park summarized the characters' initial relationship dynamics.

By Hong-ki, Park means boy band F.T.Island lead vocalist Lee Hong-ki, who, alongside C.N.Blue band member Jung Yong-hwa, and thespians Jang and Park, will be playing a fellow idol group member.

The quartet took to the stage on Sept. 20 as part of a live mini concert that was filmed for the upcoming drama. Performing as A.N.JELL, the name of their characters' band, they showcased two songs.

"We performed in front of an audience of 1,500, in a real concert," said Jang. "I think they really enjoyed it."

Jang hinted at future performances to come: "I believe that we may just hold another mini concert like this."

Girl band After School member Uee is joining the musically gifted and young cast as a two-faced diva who is interested in Jang's boy genius.

"To become a singer, a lot of effort is made over a long period of time," Uee described her own personal experiences as a K-pop artist. "From that, an album emerges. I hope that A.N.JELL reveals that singers put in a great deal of effort."

"You're Beautiful!" airs on Wednesday on SBS at 9:55 p.m.

Credit: Korea Herald