The new musical, about the exotic dancer who was executed in France following an espionage conviction during World War I, will make its world premiere in Seoul, Korea, in 2016. Calhoun, who was Tony-nominated for his direction of Newsies and his choreography for the revival of Grease, told the Herald, "What’s great about Mata Hari is that people think they know her story, but I think there are a lot of variations depending on whose book you read…So it was fun for us to coalesce from all of those books into what we thought were the highlights of her life."

About debuting the musical in Korea, Calhoun explained, "It's exciting to be part of this cultural phenomenon of musicals in Korea because it’s a relatively new art form here…I don’t really know about the different expectations of [international] audiences. I just think that if it’s good, it’ll be universally accepted so I hope that’s the case of this [Mata Hari]."

Whether Mata Hari, who was born Margaretha Geertruida "Margreet" MacLeod, was guilty of espionage, still remains a mystery.