Built around Korean writer-composer team, new musical to make world premiere in Seoul before heading to West End
Producer Shin Chun-soo took “The Great Gatsby” from its 2024 Broadway premiere to London and Seoul. His next musical, another classic novel adaptation developed alongside “Gatsby,” carries the same global ambition but reverses the route.
“Wuthering Heights,” based on Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel, will have its world premiere in Seoul in January, rather than in London, as Shin had once considered.
The 58-year-old veteran producer told reporters Tuesday that he decided to bet on a Korean writer and composer — and on Korean audiences, whom he described as deeply engaged and discerning.
“I really wanted this one to have its world premiere in Seoul,” he said. “I hoped to show it to these audiences first, then take it out to the world.”
The decision comes as “Gatsby” gives Shin a footing few Korean producers have had on Broadway. Since opening in 2024, the musical has drawn about 2.3 million theatergoers and passed 1,600 performances across Broadway, the West End, Seoul and a North American tour, OD Company said. Its Broadway run alone has grossed about $146 million through the week ending Nov. 1, according to Broadway League data compiled by Playbill.
When Shin spoke to The Korea Herald in early 2023, “Gatsby” was still in a lab workshop, and he said Korea still needed to grow in creative areas such as music and scripts. With “Wuthering Heights,” he has put a Korean writer and composer at the center, joined by Korean designers and an international team that is largely British.
“With ‘Gatsby,’ I read the English script and the translated script over and over, and fighting over every single line was really hard,” Shin said. “Working with Korean writers, the density of the story and the detail of the emotions really pile up. That is the solid core of this piece.”
The book and lyrics are by Han Jae-eun, known for intimate musicals “Fan Letter” and “It Rains Cats and Dogs.” The score is by Cho Woo-in, a classically trained composer who studied at Hanyang University and in US. Cho is not yet a mainstream name, but Shin said he recognized the Korean composer’s musicality long ago, and the two writers have been developing the show together since 2020.
Costume designer Kim Hwan, who works in Germany, and makeup designer Kim Nam-sun round out the Korean side. They are joined by British director Michael Fentiman, choreographer Alexzandra Sarmiento, set designer Max Jones and lighting designer Tim Lutkin, who designed “Life of Pi.” Jason Howland, who composed “Gatsby,” is the music supervisor and orchestrator.
Shin is also bringing a Broadway-style development process to a Korean stage. Most productions, he said, move quickly from setup to previews to opening night, leaving little time to fix what does not work.
For “Wuthering Heights,” OD Company has rented the 1,004-seat CJ Towol Theater for three months, though the show will run for only five weeks. The rest of the time goes to setup, technical and dress rehearsals and closed previews.
The musical tells Bronte’s story of Heathcliff and Catherine through the next generation. The younger Catherine, the heroine’s daughter, follows her parents’ story as the audience does, alongside Hareton, the son of Catherine’s brother Hindley. Shin said their journey carries the story from revenge and destructive love toward a love that continues across generations.
“Wuthering Heights” opens what Shin called a breathless 2027. In March, “August Rush,” a stage adaptation of the 2007 film, premieres at the Old Globe in San Diego. Shin said it aims at the family audience of “The Lion King” and “Wicked,” adding that it is the only show he has made in which the lead does not die.
In May, “The Grand Delusion,” directed by Julie Taymor with music by Elliot Goldenthal, has its world premiere at BAM’s Harvey Theater in Brooklyn, New York.
Shin said offers from nonprofit theaters such as the Old Globe and BAM, which rarely stage musicals, came because of “Gatsby.” “My pockets are light,” he said, “but the intangible assets may be worth trillions of won.”
gypark@heraldcorp.com
