Singer and musical theater actress Ivy revealed that she was ultimately selected for the American Broadway musical "Chicago" after enduring over a year of auditions. Ivy stated that although she had performed more than 600 times in South Korea as Roxie, she had hesitated to take on the challenge due to her English proficiency, and shared that she received the news of her acceptance only after multiple video reviews and an indefinite period of waiting.
In Episode 367 of tvN's "You Quiz on the Block," broadcast on the 4th, Ivy appeared as a guest and disclosed her journey as a musical theater actress and the behind-the-scenes details of her Broadway audition.
On this day, Yoo Jae-suk mentioned Ivy's experience in playing the role of Roxie in the musical "Chicago" for an extended period.
Yoo Jae-suk introduced, "Ms. Ivy has continued her activities in musicals for a long time, and in particular, she has performed 'Chicago' more than 600 times," adding, "She is known as South Korea's longest-running Roxie."
In response, Ivy recalled the time, saying, "I first took on the role of Roxie in 2012."
Ivy boasted about her deep expertise accumulated over a long period, stating, "I have done many performances, roughly once every two years, and I can perform it even if I wake up in the middle of the night."
Yoo Jae-suk expressed interest in the possibility of her overseas expansion, saying, "At this level, I would think a casting offer from Broadway would have come first."
Upon hearing this, Ivy revealed that she had actually received contact from the Broadway side.
Ivy shared an unexpected story, saying, "In fact, I received an offer after the pandemic."
However, at the time, she could not actively accept the offer due to concerns about her English proficiency.
Ivy confessed, "Because I am not good at English, I just let it in one ear and out the other, and it faded away without a resolution."
Then, two years ago, contact came again from the Broadway side.
Ivy said, "They contacted me again two years ago, so I challenged myself to an audition," adding, "The first thing I said as soon as I picked up the phone was, 'I'm not good at English,'" which drew laughter.
She continued, "If I had been good at English, I think I would have tried many different challenges," revealing her regret about the language barrier.
The Broadway side first advised her to start studying English.
Ivy explained, "They told me to study English first, so I was studying English with a native speaker."
However, no contact came for more than six months afterward. Then one day, she received a request from the Broadway side to formally submit an audition video.
Ivy described the audition process, saying, "I filmed Roxie's monologue, two songs, and one or two scenes, and sent the video."
However, even after submitting the video, a response was slow to come.
Ivy said, "There was no contact again," adding, "Americans work slowly. It was a pace that Koreans could never understand," which brought laughter.
Contact came again around the time she thought she had been rejected.
Ivy revealed, "When I thought I had failed, I received a call asking me to send a second-round audition video."
Ivy prepared even more thoroughly to address feedback regarding her English pronunciation.
Ivy shared the process of her efforts, saying, "My English pronunciation was lacking, so I focused more on vowel pronunciation and submitted the video."
However, after sending the second-round video, there was no contact again for six months.
Ivy revealed, "There was no contact for another six months, and then when I went to the United States as a tourist, I received a call asking me to send a third-round video."
Having suddenly received an audition request, Ivy had to quickly find a filming location and an accompanist locally.
Ivy explained that she was able to complete the third-round audition with unexpected help, saying, "A deacon who plays the piano at my friend's church helped me out."
After more than a year of three rounds of video reviews and long waits, Ivy ultimately passed the final selection for the role of Roxie in Broadway's "Chicago."
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