Spectacular music back with old and new cast
“Moulin Rouge! The Musical” is set to return to Blue Square in Seoul for the first time in three years this winter, bringing back its extravagant flair and high-octane theatricality.
“To me, ('Moulin Rouge! The Musical') is what a musical truly is,” new cast member Lee Seok-hoon said of the production during a press conference on Monday.
Cha Yun-hae, also new to the production, said, “Some shows are visually spectacular, others have beautiful storytelling, and some are driven by exceptional music. ‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical’ combines all three.”
Set in 1890s Paris, the musical is a passionate love story between Satine and Christian, presented with a modern musical twist. Lee, Cha and Hong Kwang-ho, who returns to the show, will alternate in the role of Christian, a young writer who falls for Satine, the star of the Moulin Rouge nightclub. Satine is to be played by Kim Ji-woo and Jeong Sun-ah.
The actors and creative team alike expressed confidence in delivering a spectacular production featuring a mashup of more than 70 hit songs by global pop icons including Madonna, Elton John, Sia, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Adele and Rihanna. The local production is performed in Korean.
Jacinta John, international associate director of production, emphasized the show’s immersive and grand approach.
“It is an extraordinary spectacle styled with a maximal aesthetic, which means everything is at 100 percent,” she said. “We have more than 2,500 light bulbs on stage. The sound design is enormous and the storytelling reaches the highest emotional peaks.”
CJ ENM, which has been part of the musical’s global production team from the early stages, focuses on making the show’s maximal aesthetic an immersive experience for audiences — a quality it sees as central to the musical’s strong reception.
Ye Ju-yeol, head of CJ ENM’s performance division, said the Korean premiere that ran from December 2022 to March 2023 saw unique audience behavior.
“Venue data showed something striking — audiences stayed inside the theater far longer than usual. Many arrived early to immerse themselves in the Moulin Rouge universe before the curtain,” he said. Audiences are free to take photos inside the venue to engage with the set and the cast, making the experience not just a performance, but an interactive journey into the show’s universe, he added.
According to the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System, the Korean premiere ranked as the fourth-highest-grossing musical of the year, following "The Phantom of the Opera," "Rebecca" and "Beethoven."
Choi Yoon-ha, CJ ENM's international theater producer, said even though the musical production has become a success, the idea of staging a dazzling, maximalist production initially seemed out of step with Broadway trends at the time.
"At that time the theater scene was dominated by works with strong social or political themes. There was a thirst for something truly spectacular — a production that even international visitors who don’t speak Korean or English could enjoy,” Choi said, adding that surpassing the legacy of the original film was one of many challenges.
Premiering in Boston in 2018 before opening on Broadway in 2019, the musical has won 10 Tony Awards, including for best musical. It is currently running on Broadway.
The second Korean run is slated for Nov. 27 to Feb. 22. Ticket prices range from 90,000 won to 180,000 won.
gypark@heraldcorp.com
