Multicultural theater releases album based on in-house musical

Multicultural theater Salad released Friday an album of songs from a musical it produced.

The album, “Ara & Jjimin,” features songs from the musical of the same name, about a second-generation Mongolian girl, a Vietnamese immigrant and their experiences with Korean teachers and students in preparing for a national music competition.

The songs were composed by Gil Hizon, musical director and conductor for the Philippine Hyehwa-dong Catholic Church, with the scripts and lyrics penned by Korean writer and artist Park Kyong-ju.

“Ara & Jjimin,” is Salad’s fifth musical, all of which were written by Hizon and Park. The Salad collaboration was the first foray into musicals for both of the writers, although Hizon has worked as a musician for some time and has released conventional albums of songs.

However, he said one song on the album, “Multi-culture,” which he wrote while working as a pianist at the Hilton Hotel, was his favorite composition of recent years.

“The reason why I think ‘Multi-culture’ is the most perfect among dozens of songs that I have created over the last five years is because I devoted myself most to making my debut as a composer from migrant work,” he said.

Actors from Mongolia, the Philippines, Nepal and Korea play musical instruments from different countries in the musical, which deals in part with the process of composing music, and the cast also participated in recording the eight-track album.

The theater, based in Mullae-dong, Seoul, has been active since 2005. It has produced musicals introducing the cultures of Nepal, China, the Philippines, Mongolia and Vietnam since 2011, with total of five different shows staged.

The theater has put on the shows for free, supported by public funds and corporate sponsorship. Performances are generally in small venues, but the theater expects the total audience numbers for its musicals to surpass 30,000 in the near future.

“Ara and Jjimin” is available for 10,000 won from online and offline shops and the venues of performances by Salad. For more information, visit www.saladtheater.co.kr.

By Paul Kerry (paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)