Mata Hari (Wildhorn musical)

Mata Hari at the Moulin Rouge is a musical with a book by Ivan Menchell, lyrics by Jack Murphy, and music by Frank Wildhorn.[1] It is based on the life of Mata Hari, a dancer and spy during World War I.

마타하리 Mata Hari
at the Moulin Rouge
MusicFrank Wildhorn
LyricsJack Murphy
BookIvan Menchell
PremiereMarch 29, 2016 (2016-03-29): Blue Square Interpark Hall, Seoul
Productions2016 Seoul
2017 Japan
2017 Seoul
2021 Japan
2022 Seoul

It premiered on 29 March 2016 in South Korea at Bluesquare Interpark Hall with the production directed by Jeff Calhoun.[2][3] The Japan premiere production ran from 21 to 28 January 2018 in Umeda Arts Theater in Osaka and 3 to 18 February in Tokyo International Forum Hall C in Tokyo.[4] An subsequent production opened in Seoul, South Korea, in June 2017 directed by Stephen Rayne that featured major changes to the story and structure.

Synopsis

The musical tells the story of Mata Hari, an exotic dancer who was executed in France following a conviction of espionage during World War I.[5] The musical's official website describes the plot as:

"The year 1917.

Paris, once the glamorous city of light, is suffering amidst the chaos that is World War I. France, Great Britain and Russia (the allies) are fighting against Germany and the Austrian-Hungarian empire (the enemy). To heal the wounds of war, a beautiful dancer Mata Hari captivates all of Europe, her mysterious dance putting her at the centre of attention within high society.

Mata Hari's status as a celebrity allows her to travel between the warring countries making her a valuable asset to the French army and one day a visit from George Ladoux of the French military intelligence changes her life forever.

Meanwhile she begins a relationship with a young French pilot, Armand Gilot, but all is not as it seems...."[6]

Inception and development

In 2012, Frank Wildhorn suggested a musical about the life and death of Mata Hari to South Korean producer Hong Hyun Eum. Ivan Menchell, Wildhorn's writing partner, completed the first draft of the script in 2013.[6]

The first reading of Mata Hari took place in New York at the Manhattan Pearl Studio.[6] During this time, Wildhorn also helped to produce Ock Joo Hyun's Gold album that predominantly featured her singing his songs. One of the songs, "내 마음을 조심해 Be careful with my heart", was from the development stages of Mata Hari. It was remixed to be more upbeat and jazzy than how the song was written.[7] Ock Joo Hyun was the inspiration for Mata Hari and Wildhorn wrote the part to match her voice.[8]

"There is a recording and it's a video on YouTube that she made of a song from Monte Cristo called "Back When The World Was Mine" that many of the actress, best actresses, in New York listen to all the time and really are blown away by it... It's a magical, magical moment this particular video on YouTube. And every time I listened to it I always get inspired that this was a voice I really wanted to write for."
- Frank Wildhorn, Mata Hari press conference[8]

As the production took shape, Oh Pil Young was brought in to create the set design.[9] The show took on a meta perspective wherein it was set on a stage in the Moulin Rouge. Mata Hari, a dancer and entertainer, is introduced by the Emcee who purposefully addresses the audience as spectators in the Moulin Rouge.[10][11]

In 2015, another workshop was held, this time in Seoul at the Namsan Creative Center. Sophie Kim, Lee Ji Hoon, Lim Hyun Soo and Kim Soo Yong participated in the workshop as the Korean lyrics and dialogue was tried out for the first time.[6] Then on 25 January 2016, the cast and creatives performed a Music Showcase of the key numbers. Menchell and Wildhorn were both there to introduce, give context to and play the songs that they had been developing. This was the first that the press were able to see the music numbers.[12] The whole showcase was broadcast on Naver Live TV and clips recorded by other musical news outlets such as PlayDB have been uploaded to YouTube.

Productions

World premiere (2016)

The show officially opened on 29 March 2016 at Blue Square Interpark Hall in Seoul. Previews were held from 25 to 27 March, with a two-day break before the opening as the directors were still negotiating the cast schedule.[12] EMK Musical Company reported that they had $4.5 million of pre-opening ticket sales and over 100,000 audience members attended the show in their limited eight-week run.[6]

During 29 January to 3 February, the cast recorded a highlights album that featured six tracks.[12] This was then released together as a package with a Photo Book and DVD of the behind the scenes.[13]

2017 Korean production

The productions premiere had received much criticism for the lack of substance in the show's plot but was critically acclaimed in its production design.[9] As a result, the show was revised to be more "realistic" and showed more focus on the effect of war on both Mata Hari's relationships as well as the citizens of Paris.

A main draw in the first production was that it was performed on the stage of the Moulin Rouge where the audience member was treated as a patron of the cabaret. The opening of the show featured Mata being shot by a firing squad and is reenacted in the closing scene as well. The 2017 production, however, opens with the citizens of Paris panicking as an air raid goes off. It then transitions into Mata's dressing room and the show resumes almost the same plot for the rest of the act as the premiere.

There were changes to the characters but for the most part the three leads (Mata Hari, Armand and Ladoux) characterisations stayed the same. The role of Emcee was removed to get rid of the "show" and "performance" aspect of the premiere to better show the realism of the War. Katherine's role as a minor antagonist also decreased and her song was subsequently cut. Von Bissing had a larger part as his character was expanded upon to reveal more of the spy aspect to Mata's character.

2022 Korean production

The 2nd production of Mata Hari premiered at Charlotte Theatre in Seoul on May 28, 2022. Ock Joo-hyun returned in the role of Mata Hari, alongside Mamamoo's Solar in her musical theatre debut. Armand was played by FT Island's Lee Hong-ki, BTOB's Lee Chang-sub, Phantom Singer's and Letteamor's Kim Seong-sik, and Yoon So-ho. Ladoux was played by RabidAnce's Kim Paul and Choi Min-cheol.[14]

Casts
Role Seoul, South Korea (2016) Japan (2017) Seoul, South Korea (2017) Japan (2021) Seoul, South Korea (2022)
Mata Hari Ok Joo Hyun
Sophie Kim		 Reon Yuzuki Ok Joo Hyun
Cha Ji Yeon		 Reon Yuzuki
Reika Manaki		 Ok Joo Hyun
Solar
Ladoux Ryu Jung Han
Kim Joon Hyun
Shin Sung Rok		 Kazuki Kato
Takanori Sato		 Kim Joon Hyun
Min Young Ki
Moon Jong Won		 Kazuki Kato
Mario Tashiro		 Choi Min Cheol
Kim Paul
Armand Um Ki Joon
Song Chang Eui
Jung Taek Woon		 Keisuke Higashi
Kazuki Kato		 Um Ki Joon
Jung Taek Woon
Lim Seul Ong		 Ryōsuke Miura
Keisuke Higashi		 Kim Sung Sik
Lee Hong Ki
Lee Chang Sub
Yoon So Ho
Emcee Im Chun Gil
Pierre Taiki Nishikawa
Hiroki Hyakuna		 Hiromu Kudō
Paul Painlevé Hideo Kurihara Naoto Kaji
Anna Kim Hee Won
Choi Na Rae		 Miō Kazune Kim Hee Won
Choi Na Rae		 Hitomi Harukaze Han Ji Yeon
Choi Na Rae
Katherine Hong Ki Ju
Sun Woo		 Megumi Iino
Von Bissing Shōichi Fukui Kim Neul Bom Shuntarō Miyao

Musical numbers

2016 Korean production

Source; Mata Hari Namu Wiki (In Korean)

2017 Korean production

The 2017 Korean production has seen major revisions since its premiere. Majority of the main songs have remained the same however songs have been renamed, added and removed.

Source; Mata Hari Official Production Site (In Korean) (In English)

References
  1. "Mata Hari". CastAlbums.org. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  2. "Broadway gurus team up to stage Mata Hari musical in Seoul". kpopherald.koreaherald.com. 2015-06-16. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  3. "Broadway team to stage Mata Hari musical in Seoul". The Straits Times. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  4. "Mata Hari Japanese Official Website". Umeda Arts Theater.
  5. Gans, Andrew (2015-06-17). "Jeff Calhoun Reteams with Frank Wildhorn for World Premiere of New Musical". Playbill. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  6. musicalmatahari.com http://musicalmatahari.com/m/bbs/board.php?bo_table=production_en. Retrieved 2019-09-21. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. "Ock Joo-hyun releases 'Gold'". Korea JoongAng Daily. 2014-08-22. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  8. "프랭크 와일드혼, 옥주현에 대한 극찬! [뮤지컬] 마타하리 MATA HARI 제작발표회 (2016.3.8)" [Frank Wildhorn praises Ock Joo-hyun! [Musical] MATA HARI Production Presentation (2016.3.8)]. YouTube. 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  9. Mee-yoo, Kwon (2016-04-10). "'Mata Hari' is theatrical delight, but empty". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  10. "Showbiz Korea _ MUSICAL "MATA HARI"(뮤지컬 "마타하리" 제작발표회)". YouTube. 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  11. "Portfolio". Pilyoung Oh | Set Design Portfolio. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  12. "[2016 뮤지컬 마타하리] D-25 메이킹 영상" [[2016 Musical Mata Hari] D-25 Making Video]. YouTube. 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  13. "CD MATA HARI - Original Korea Cast 2016 (Collectors Box with DVD and Photo Book), EUR 169,95". SoundOfMusic Shop. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  14. Park Sooin (April 6, 2022). "옥주현 솔라→이홍기 이창섭, 뮤지컬 '마타하리' 캐스팅". Naver (in Korean). Newsen. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
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