2023 Feb. 13 Ticket

Red | Matilda | Hero | Sachsische Staatskapelle Dresden | Moulin Rouge | Sweeney Todd | Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg | The Musical Cats | Seoul Jazz Festival 2023 |

REDSeoul Arts Center, Jayu Small Theater

The Korean production of the play ″Red″ is being staged at the Seoul Arts Center. [YONHAP]

Through Feb. 19:“Red” is a play by writer John Logan that tells the story of Mark Rothko, an American abstract expressionist artist. The play, which debuted in London’s Covent Garden in 2009, is a two-hander comprising a conversation between Rothko and his fictional assistant Ken.

It Is loosely based on a story from 1958 about Rothko being commissioned to produce several large murals that were to hang in The Four Seasons, a luxury restaurant in New York City, before suddenly breaking the contract after finishing about 40 paintings. The confrontation between Rothko, who represents the old generation, and Ken, illustrating the young, leads the audience to question life.

After debuting in London, the play moved to Broadway in 2010 and received six Tony Awards that year, including the honor for Best Play. It premiered in Korea in 2011.

Actors Jeong Bo-seok and Yoo Dong-geun alternate the role of Rothko while Kang Seung-ho and Yeon Jun-seok alternate the role of Ken. The play is in Korean.

Tickets range from 40,000 won ($31.70) to 70,000 won.

The play begins at 7:30 p.m. on weekdays; 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on weekends. There are no performances on Mondays.

Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No. 3, exit 5

MATILDAD-Cube Arts Center Through Feb. 26: Based on Roald Dahl’s 1988 best-selling novel, this musical tells the story of a gifted young girl named Matilda who possesses telekinetic powers.

While dealing with her insensitive parents, Matilda befriends her school teacher, Miss Honey, and defends her friends from her evil principal Miss Trunchbull.

Four actors — LimHa-yoon, Jin Yeon-woo, Choi Eun-young and Ha Shin-bi — play Matilda. The show is in Korean.

The musical begins at 7:30 p.m. on weekdays, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

There are no shows on Mondays.

Ticket prices range from 70,000 to 150,000 won.

Sindorim Station, lines No. 1 and 2, exit 1 or 5

HEROLG Arts Center Seoul, LG Signature HallThrough Feb. 28:The Korean musical “Hero,” which centers on the life of Ahn Jung-geun, the Korean independence fighter who was executed in 1910 after assassinating Japanese Resident-General Ito Hirobumi, is being staged at the new LG Art Center Seoul in Magok, western Seoul.

The musical has recently been turned into a film by director Yoon Je-kyun.

The musical stars actor Jeong Seong-hwa who plays the lead character Ahn in the film as well. Musical actor Yang Jun-mo and Min Woo-hyuk will also alternate the role with Jeong. The musical is in Korean.

The musical starts at 7:30 p.m. on weekdays; 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on weekends. There are no shows on Mondays.

Tickets range from 60,000 won to 150,000 won.

Magoknaru Station, line No. 9, exit 3 or 4

SACHSISCHE STAATSKAPELLE DRESDENLotte Concert HallMarch 3: Sachsische Staatskapelle Dresden, which is one of the world’s oldest orchestras, will be coming to Seoul for a concert. Maestro Chung Myung-whun will be holding the baton, and Korea’s star pianist Cho Seong-jin will accompany the orchestra.

The program includes Tchaikovsky’s “Piano Concert No. 1 in b-flat minor, Op. 23,” Schubert’s “Symphony No. 8 in b-minor, D. 759, ‘Unfinished’" and Weber’s “Opera ‘Der Freischutz’ Overture.”

Tickets range from 90,000 won 380,000 won.

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.

Jamsil Station, line No. 2, exit 1 or 2

MOULIN ROUGEBlue Square, Shinhan Card HallThrough March 5:The ultimate extravaganza “Moulin Rouge!” is being staged at the Blue Square in Central Seoul. For this Korean production, which is an Asian premiere of the hit Broadway show, a flashy Parisian nightclub is recreated on stage. The original Broadway show is said to have cost $28 million in pre-production.

Beneath all its glitz and glam, “Moulin Rouge!” is a love story of bohemian artists who fight for freedom against the tyranny of money. At times, the characters’ love and passion appear like a wishy-washy, futile mirage, but the story does have a transporting power that makes the audience escape reality and take a temporary trip to Paris.

For the current production, actors Hong Kwang-ho, Lee Choong-joo alternate the role of Christian, Ivy and Kim Ji-woo play the role of Satine. The show is performed in Korean.

Tickets range from 90,000 won to 180,000 won.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. There are no shows on Mondays.

Hangangjin Station, line No. 6, exit 2

SWEENEY TODDCharlotte TheaterThrough March 5: The musical thriller “Sweeney Todd” is back. After its premiere on Broadway in 1979, it became the signature work of American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim.

The current production features Kang Pil-seok, Shin Seong-rok and Lee Kyoo-hyung as Sweeney Todd while Mrs. Lovett will be alternated by actors Jeon Mi-do, Kim Ji-hyun and Lina. The musical is in Korean.

Set in 19th century England, the musical revolves around a barber named Benjamin Barker. He is living a happy life with his beautiful wife and daughter, but everything changes when he is falsely accused of a crime by Judge Turpin. The barber eventually loses his family and is exiled to Australia.

Tickets range from 70,000 won to 150,000 won.

Jamsil Station, line No. 2, exit 3

MOZARTEUM ORCHESTRA SALZBURGLotte Concert Hall, Seoul Arts Center

The Mozarteum Orchestra Zalzburg will be visiting Korea in March for a two-day concert to perform Mozart's symphonies and violin concertos. [NANCY HOROWITZ]

March 9 and 10:An Austrian orchestra based in Salzburg, which was founded in 1841 with the help of the sons of the late influential composer Wolfgang Mozart, will be visiting Korea for a two-day concert at two different venues. They will perform Mozart’s pieces under the baton of Hungarian conductor Adam Fischer.

On March 9 at the Lotte Concert Hall, the orchestra will perform Mozart’s “Symphony No. 40 in G minor K 550,” “Violin Concert No. 5 in A major K 219,” accompanied by violinist Ray Chen and “Symphony No. 35 in D major K 385.”

On March 10 at the Seoul Arts Center, it will perform “Symphony No. 38 in D major K 504” and “Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major K 216,” accompanied by Ray Chen as well as “Symphony No. 41 in C major K 551.”

The concert begins at 8 p.m. on both days.

Tickets range from 50,000 won to 250,000 won.

Jamsil Station, line No. 2, exit 1 or 2 Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No. 3, exit 5

THE MUSICAL CATS Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Grand Theater Through March 20:One of the most well-known musicals across the globe, “Cats,” is back again for the first time in three years. The original production team, which came to Korea in 2020 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of its debut, has made a return.

“Cats” was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and produced by Cameron Mackintosh, based on the “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” by T.S. Eliot, and tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles who must make the "Jellicle choice" to decide which of them will ascend to the Heaviside Layer to be reborn.

The musical is performed in English with Korean subtitles.

The musical starts at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 3 p.m. on Wednesdays and at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on weekends and public holidays. There are no shows on Mondays.

Tickets range from 60,000 won to 170,000 won.

Gwanghwamun Station, line No. 5, exit 8

SEOUL JAZZ FESTIVAL 2023Olympic Park

American singer Gregory Porter performs on the Auditorium Stravinski stage during the 56th Montreux Jazz Festival (MJF), in Montreux, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 6, 2022. He'll perform in the upcoming Seoul Jazz Festival, which runs from May 26 to 28. [YONHAP/AP]

May 26 – 28: This year’s 15th edition of the popular Seoul Jazz Festival will be held for three days.

The festival will feature artists including Sergio Mendes, Mika, Damien Rice, Gregory Porter, Robert Glasper, Kamal, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Mina Okabe and Sigrid. Korean acts include Crush, AKMU, Jung Seung-hwan, Taeyang, Epik High, among many others.

A three-day ticket costs 420,000 won.

Olympic Park Station, line No. 5, exit 3 *Most tickets are available at ticket.interpark.com/global or by calling 1544-1555.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]