Backstage magic at 'Mozart'

The stage of the musical "Mozart!" is seen from behind during a backstage tour at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

By Kwon Mee-yoo

• Published Jul 20, 2020 2:39 PM KST
• Updated Jul 20, 2020 2:39 PM KST

Behind-the-scenes crew make large-scale musical possible

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Theatergoers may only see the glitz and glamour of a performance on stage, but there are numerous backstage creative contributors and crew members who move around busily ― like a swan's busy webbed feet underwater that propel its graceful motion ― to make the show possible.

Austrian musical "Mozart!," which celebrates its 10th year in Korea, opened up its backstage to give a peek into how each creative department collaborates to put on the show safely and successfully amid COVID-19.

According to the EMK Musical Company, which produces "Mozart!" in Korea, approximately 170 people work for the production every night, including some 40 actors, 30 members in the orchestra and 100 crew members in the backstage area.

The sixth production of the musical in Korea returned to the Grand Theater of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul, where the musical premiered a decade ago.

The Sejong Grand Theater is one of the largest theaters in Korea with over 3,000 seats and a 22-meter-wide and 12-meter-high massive proscenium style stage. It can roughly house two tennis courts on stage.

“Mozart!” had to cancel its first few performances in mid-June as the number of COVID-19 patients rose in the Seoul metropolitan area.

"We were not sure whether we could stage this show amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We are so grateful that we can stage a show like 'Mozart!' in this difficult time," Kim Sung-kyu, CEO of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, said ahead of the backstage tour, Tuesday.

The musical, written by Michael Kunze and composed by Sylvester Levay, has been a big hit in Korea, starring A-list actors such as Kim Jun-su, Park Eun-tae and Park Kang-hyun playing the titular role. The musical centers on the great composer's humane side as he juggles between the mental world of a genius and ordinary life.

Sophie Kim of EMK Musical Company said the Korean version is a "small licensed" production of the show, which means EMK only purchased the music, lyrics and script and other parts such as direction, choreography and visuals are all created in Korea.

"This can be more difficult than a fully licensed replica production because we have to re-create the show while not copying the original production," Kim said.

Set designer Seo Sook-jean said all the designers had a series of meetings with the show director Adrian Osmond from Scotland last summer to visualize the genius and struggle of Mozart.

"'Mozart!' is a story about a prodigy who hungered for his father's love and approval. For this production, I designed moving walls on trolleys with sheer material where lighting and video can be projected to portray Mozart's mentality. The choice of transparent material suggests not restraining Mozart's unlimited talent," Seo explained.

While Mozart's inner side is symbolized by a curved music sheet on the stage, his stern father is represented by straight lines.

"Hieronymus Count Colloredo, who was a patron of Mozart, was scientific and inquiring, thus he is symbolized by a cogwheel-inspired design," Seo said.

Prop designer Cho Yun-hyoung is the mastermind behind over 200 props from musical manuscripts through to Colloredo's human organ collection of hearts and brains.

"The distinction between a set and a prop can be decided by whether an actor can hold it or not. If an actor can hold it in hand and use it, it is a prop," Cho said

In the show, Mozart's genius is represented in the form of "Amade," a younger version of himself played by a child actor. Amade always carry a small treasure chest with him, which holds his talent. Cho said there are four different versions of the box used in the show, all in the same design for the audiences to believe they are the same one.

"However, chests with different functions are used during different scenes of the show. The first one will emit light and smoke when opened, signaling Mozart's talent. The main one has a quill and music scores in it so Amade can compose whenever he wants. The one that appears in a scene in which Mozart confronts his father Leopold is reinforced as it is thrown on the floor. The one for the final scene is also equipped with lighting, but different from the first one," Cho explained.

Costume designer Han Jung-rim came up with the iconic red jacket Mozart wears.

"Since this jacket represents Mozart's journey of life, we added a scene in which he is given the jacket by Empress Maria Theresa when young," Han said.

Her wardrobe crew are the real magicians behind the stage who help actors quickly change within 10 seconds.

"Some costumes consist of over 10 pieces including underwear, shirt, vest, hat and shoes. The wardrobe crew prepares the costumes in the quick-change room and the actors literally jump into the costume while the crew puts the clothes on them," Han said.

Hair and makeup designer Kim Yoo-sun said confidence is the key in continuing the show amid the pandemic.

"Though audience members wear masks, actors cannot. Makeup crews have to deal with actors in bare face and it cannot be done without trust. Of course we take extra caution by disinfecting wigs and equipment every day," Kim said.

Since "Mozart!" is set in the 18th century, all actors wear wigs reflective of the time.

"Currently, there are about 110 wigs for 40 actors. Ensemble actors have more wigs because they play different characters in each scene," Kim explained.

All wigs are custom-made after measuring the shape of actor's head. "They can't wear the same wig because everyone has different head shapes and hairlines," Kim said.