1. Overview

Frida: The Last Night Show is a Korean original musical produced by EMK Musical Company. It portrays the final chapter of the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, known for transforming personal suffering into profound visual expression. The show reimagines Frida’s final moments as a staged "last show" told through the voices of four actresses, each embodying a different facet of her identity. The result is a vivid blend of theatricality, music, and biographical storytelling that celebrates her passion for life despite enduring pain.

2. Background and Development

The musical premiered in Korea in 2020, winning the Original Musical Award at the Daegu International Musical Festival (DIMF). It was later nominated in seven categories at the 7th Korea Musical Awards. Since its debut, Frida has toured various venues including the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts and the ARKO Arts Theater in Seoul. The musical uses a symbolic and non-linear format to depict Frida Kahlo’s life, focusing not on chronology but emotional truth. The famous message she left behind—"Viva La Vida"—serves as the emotional core of the show.

3. U.S. Performance (2024)

Frida: The Last Night Show was presented in the United States on September 6, 2024, at the Bing Theatre of the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. The event was co-hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles (KCCLA), the USC School of Dramatic Arts, and USC Visions and Voices. The performance featured four Korean actresses—Jeon Su-mi, Park Sun-young, Park Si-in, and Kim So-hyang—who portrayed Frida through a shared role. The show was performed in Korean with English subtitles.

4. Artistic Approach

The musical is presented as a stylized talk-show format, with four performers shaping the narrative through shifting roles, dialogue, and song. At its center is Frida, portrayed in her real-life state: a woman marked by illness and accident, yet defiantly committed to living and creating. Alongside her stands Memoria, a parallel-universe version of Frida who is healthy and fulfilled her dream of becoming a doctor. Memoria offers compassion and encouragement, affirming that even in suffering, life retains its worth.

Repleha functions as both talk-show host and narrator, framing the story while also embodying Diego Rivera, the central figure in Frida’s love and artistic journey. Destino, by contrast, embodies despair and fatalism — the voice that insists Frida was born only to suffer, and that death would bring release.

Dance, narration, and projections of Kahlo’s iconic paintings intensify the storytelling, while a rock-inflected score underscores the turbulence and vitality of her inner world. Instead of a conventional biography, the production distills Frida’s life into a theatrical meditation on creativity, endurance, and the tension between agony and beauty. It portrays a woman torn between conflicting voices — despair and hope, illness and vitality, love and loss — yet who ultimately affirms, “Viva la Vida.”

5. Themes and Reception

At its core, Frida: The Last Night Show delivers a message of life affirmation. Through the lens of Frida’s physical and emotional struggles, the musical explores how pain can be sublimated into art, and how suffering can coexist with joy and purpose. The U.S. performance was followed by a discussion panel led by USC faculty and artists, addressing themes of performance ethics, global feminism, and creative authorship in a Korean context. The show was warmly received for its bold structure, emotional clarity, and cross-cultural resonance.

6. Legacy and Significance

Frida: The Last Night Show stands out as a rare Korean original musical focused on a non-Korean historical figure. Its international tour reflects the growing ambition of Korean musical theater to engage with global stories through distinctly Korean creative lenses. By choosing to tell Frida Kahlo’s story, the creators not only celebrate an iconic woman artist but also affirm that pain, art, and resistance are themes that transcend borders.