The ‘2025 Palm Tree Island Third Gala Concert’, in which a total of eight musical actors, including Kim Junsu, Kim So-hyun, Jung Seon-ah, Son Jun-ho, Jeong Won-young, Jin Tae-hwa, Seo Kyung-soo, and Lim Kyu-hyung, participated, has concluded successfully.

The ‘2025 Palm Tree Island Third Gala Concert’ held at the Olympic Hall in Olympic Park, Songpa-gu, Seoul from the 27th to the 29th sold out all tickets and received standing ovations for each performance.

This performance, in which all of the affiliated actors participated, organically connected unique stages, further solidifying the identity and teamwork of the Palm Tree brand concert.

The 180-minute stage, created with mutual trust and close collaboration, went beyond the simple musical gala concert format and led to enthusiastic cheers from the audience as a one-of-a-kind ensemble created under the name of ‘Palm Tree Island’.
This concert is Palm Tree’s own brand performance, which will be held for the first time in about 1 year and 8 months since the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts performance in 2023, and the lineup has been enriched with the addition of new members Jeong Won-young and Lim Gyu-hyung.

Now in its third season, it has gone beyond a simple joint stage and has established itself as a ‘brand series’ that encapsulates Palm Tree Island’s performance philosophy and identity.As the magnificent full orchestra under the direction of music director Yang Ju-in began to fill the theater, thrills immediately spread throughout the audience, and the musical ‘Aladdin’s ‘’ Overture’ and the eight actors ‘’ Arabian Nights’ followed, drawing cheers from the audience as a perfect opening to announce the splendid return of the Palm Tree Island Gala Concert.

Musical numbers filled with various genres and atmospheres, such as ‘Aladdin’, ‘Dear Evan Hansen’, ‘Chicago’, ‘The Lion King’, and ‘Wicked’, were organically connected into a single flow, and the directing and composition that took advantage of the flow between numbers increased the audience’s immersion, receiving great acclaim.

Especially in the musical ‘The Lion King’s ‘representative number’ Circle of Life ‘, six male actors appeared directly in the audience and maximized the immersion of the scene by breaking down the distance with the audience.In addition to the musical narrative on stage, the episodes and pleasant talks directly told by the actors became the central axis of the performance.The stories told by the eight actors with affection and trust for each other created a deep empathy with the audience as warm storytelling that went beyond a simple gala concert.

Another highlight of the Palm Tree Island concert was the stage combination that went from solo to ensemble.Kim So-hyun X Son Jun-ho’s ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ led to immersion with restrained harmony and explosive high notes, and in Jung Sun-ah’s ‘Popular’, Kim Jun-su, Jin Tae-hwa, and Seo Kyung-soo changed the role of Elphaba every day, adding a different kind of fun, while Jung Sun-ah, who played the role of Glinda, perfectly led the stage every time with her excellent expressiveness and overflowing energy.

In ‘Bring Me the Giant’ from ‘Cyrano’, the powerful ensemble of six male actors dominated the concert hall, and the individual solo numbers created by Kim Junsu, Kim So-hyun, Jung Sun-ah, Son Jun-ho, Jung Won-young, Jin Tae-hwa, Seo Kyung-soo, and Lim Kyu-hyung also received enthusiastic cheers from the audience as a high-quality performance.




Reporter Lee Jeong- annjoy@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.