Undeniable Musical 'Mullangrujeu' Captures Both Artistic Merit and Popularity

Photo by CJ ENM

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomibeum] "If we cannot love, why should we live?"

In 1899 Paris, the genius unknown composer 'Christian' visits the Bohemian hotspot 'Moulin Rouge' and falls in love with its top star 'Satine.' During the process where the Moulin Rouge director 'Zidler' tries to use the Duke of Monroth to revive the struggling Moulin Rouge, Satine mistakes Christian for the Duke of Monroth, leading to their love. What follows is a love triangle. The storyline is reminiscent of "Did you really like Kim Joong-bae's Diamond that much?" At the crossroads of money and love, Christian exclaims to Satine as above.

The musical based on the movie boasts spectacular visuals. From 10 minutes before the main performance starts, actors come on stage creating an atmosphere as if the audience has actually entered the Moulin Rouge. The vivid atmosphere is enough to stimulate the eyes and ears. Actors dressed in glamorous and provocative party costumes perform familiar music. Over 70 songs loved across three continents for more than 160 years stimulate the audience's ears. Especially, modern pop songs by Madonna, Sia, Beyonc?, Adele, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and others distinguish the musical from the movie.

The musical Moulin Rouge numbers, arranged as mash-ups, are rich and abundant. To emphasize dialogue, multiple songs are sometimes combined into one number. The finale of Act 1, the 'Elephant Love Medley,' contains as many as twenty songs in a single number. Music supervisor Justin Levine explained, "Typical jukebox musicals arrange the story to fit the songs, but Moulin Rouge arranged songs advocating love and opposing love according to the story, then mashed them up like a puzzle."

While the movie emphasized flashy visuals in a show format, the musical places more weight on the narrative. It focuses more on the affection between Christian and Satine, structuring dialogues and songs and directing the stage accordingly. Ye Juyul, head of CJENM's business division, explained, "If the latter part of the movie was a flashy show focused on visuals, the musical was reborn as a drama centered on the relationship between Satine and Christian," adding, "The balance between glamour and dramatic elements is well maintained."

Photo by CJ ENM

The performance is a replica (maintaining the original without localization adaptation), and the cast was assembled after seven months of auditions. To maintain consistent quality worldwide, the stage, costumes, props, and wigs were produced and imported from designated overseas production studios in the U.S., Australia, the U.K., Germany, and France. However, translations were allowed to change to reflect local audience sentiments. Co-director Matt DiCarlo said, "We worked hard to find ways to effectively express the original humor through close conversations with the actors," adding, "Our goal was to draw out Korean characteristics from the actors." In fact, the performance gently embraces the cheerful sensibility of Koreans. Especially, the first meeting scene between Christian and Toulouse-Lautrec, who leads him to the Moulin Rouge, is the height of humor. Every line and song is followed by laughter.

The protagonist Harold Zidler, with his flamboyant eloquence, also exudes endless charm. From the beginning to the end of the musical, he adds dazzling words to his captivating voice, enhancing immersion with cheerful dance moves.

Director Baz Luhrmann, who attended the first performance on the 20th, praised the Korean actors and audience. He said, "The Korean production is particularly impressive with its deep emotional lines and pathos. The actors' vocal abilities are outstanding, excellently contrasting grand and flamboyant acting with low and quiet inner performances. The bond and relationship between Korean actors and the audience seem special. The way they exchange energy interactively is especially impressive." He also added, "Audiences with such youthful energy cannot be seen anywhere else in the world. I expect the future of the Korean musical market to be very bright." The audience cheered with standing ovations at every performance.

The musical Moulin Rouge will welcome audiences at Blue Square Shinhan Card Hall until March 5 next year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.