Summer’s musical stage: Broadway blockbusters meet Korean revivals in Seoul

Seoul's musical theater landscape is shifting this summer, driven by a three-pronged strategy: Broadway imports, established Korean favorites returning for new seasons, and heavily revised productions of past hits.

The shift reflects a broader industry recalibration. "Summer was once considered the off-season for musicals because it overlapped with vacation season, but things changed this year," according to Won Jong-won, a musical critic and dean of SCH Media Labs at Soonchunhyang University. "Production companies seem to be targeting the summer market with works spanning a range of genres."

New Broadway imports arrive

Two major Broadway musicals are making their Korean debuts. "Hell's Kitchen," built around 17-time Grammy winner Alicia Keys's catalog, opened on 24 July at the GS Arts Center in Gangnam District. Keys produced the Korean version and expressed surprise at hearing her own songs in Korean. "I've never heard my songs in Korean before," she said in a written interview. "This is a gift."

"Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical" arrives on 13 August at the Charlotte Theater in Songpa District. The stage adaptation, which premiered on Broadway in 2018, adds 12 new songs to the original film's score. This will be the ninth international production of the show. The Korean cast will feature rotating ensembles, with Jeong Sun-ah, Jung Yu-ji and Min Kyung-ah sharing the role of Elsa.

A homegrown musical also launched this summer. "Yumi's Cells," adapted from a webtoon that has accumulated 3.5 billion views worldwide, opened on 30 June at the Seoul Arts Center. The stage version introduces an original character, Trainee Cell 109, not present in the source material.

Returning favorites

Several established Korean musicals are entering new seasons. "The Days," a jukebox musical featuring songs by late singer Kim Kwang-seok, opened its seventh season on 9 June at the D-Cube Link Arts Center in Guro District. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Kim's death in 1996.

"Dracula: The Musical," which premiered in Korea in 2014, opened its seventh season on 10 July at LG Arts Center Seoul in Gangseo District. The production has become one of Korea's most popular musicals. Former K-pop star Kim Jun-su, who plays Dracula, returned this season with a notable change: black hair instead of the iconic red he maintained through the show's tenth-anniversary run. He attributed the switch to maintenance demands.

Revised 2.0 versions

Two musicals are marketing themselves as substantially reworked productions. "Beethoven" reopened on 9 June at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno District after cuts to its original love story to emphasize Beethoven's artistic struggles. Won noted that the changes constitute "a different work from the premiere."

"Elisabeth," preparing for its sixth Korean season opening on 16 August at Blue Square in Yongsan District, has undergone major visual revisions to its stage set, direction and costumes. The production, which premiered in Korea in 2012, tells the story of Elisabeth, empress of Austria and queen of Hungary.