KPOP Reviews- Page 6

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 1:10am

People here have been preying upon this show since it began previews. Let’s not pretend that hasn’t happened. 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 1:13am

Maybe that’s your perspective? I’d love to see it and wish it could find an audience. I just think the creative team didn’t realize that the interesting part of the show was the immersive elements, not the story or songs. 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 1:16am

Take a look back in the previews thread. It was pretty incessant and unnecessary. Look at the like count on the negative posts of the show.

[2]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 1:23am

It is obvious that the reviews were not interested in calling out what good there is. It's not all good, don't get me wrong, but we agreed it was more fun and worth seeing than SIX or Almost Famous (which came up because Tom Kitt was in tonight's crowd). The cast is strong, giving insane vocals throughout, and you don't need to have any previous familiarity with KPOP or the Korean language. Definitely have a drink and enjoy the energy, performances, design, and choreography. Ignore the book and enjoy the good stuff, just like everyone told you to do for Moulin Rouge, A Beautiful Noise, etc.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 1:28am

This is classic.

"You racists!" wasn't landing, so now we have reverted back to "you're all so mean to this show!"

Maybe people are being too dismissive. I'd argue the marketing has been utterly atrocious and I cant fathom why anyone would want to see this based on what has been presented so far. But maybe I'm missing it. Maybe others are being too gossippy and harsh.

Once you inject an accusation of racism, you better back it up. A disingenuous, exploitative accusation is a smear. Its disgusting. It cheapens REAL LIVE DANGERS to the Asian American community. Its worse than anything you or the KPop producers have complained of. 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 2:05am

I’m not responding to that. People can be truly hurtful on this board.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 3:00am

HeyMrMusic said: "I’m not responding to that. People can be truly hurtful on this board."

says the guy casually and without evidence accusing others of racism.

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 7:43am

I saw the show last night. I had friends that saw it off-broadway and RAVED about it.

Having read both positive, and negative reviews of the show I went in with an open mind to at least enjoy myself.
 

The shows biggest sin IMO? Unfortunately it was pretty boring. The show has some really great production numbers, but where is the heart? Since the book is so all over the place I didn’t connect really with any of the characters.
 

Making the WILD choice that the stakes of the show is that they are doing a concert at Circle in the Square? I mean talk about not being able to trust your audience.

They tell us over and over again that Ruby was supposed to be the best, and we don’t get a production number from her?
 

The “love story” at the center the center of MwE’s story… it felt like the audience really wanted her to leave with the boy at the end, but what did she choose? The unrecorded concert at Circle in the Square? Does this mean that RTMIS the group we are rooting for actually doesn’t get a debut beyond on this?

 

The story line for the band F8 fares the best, but they aren’t the main plot of the show.

MwE gets to sing her on song… and it’s left me thinking ok…? So?


I left the show with the same feeling I had when I left The Adam’s Family years ago. The creative team has an incredible world and source material at their disposal, and this was the story they chose to tell? For me 2 and half stars out of 5. Fantastic performers, and 90% of the production number soar, but unfortunately there is not story to connect to at the end of the night.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 8:25am

That has to be the biggest issue - boredom. KPOP is not boring. Its fans are devoted and wild (in a good way). Artists have drama and struggles. It’s not like there isn’t much to pull from with a show like this - the creatives just didn’t do enough and the result is boring. I don’t wish the production anything negative, but I wish they would close and reopen with a 2.0 version. 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 8:39am

Anti-Asian crimes are indeed still happening and I have a daily fear of getting attacked in public. I know language matters, even the most casual and well-intentioned words can cause deep harm. And that’s why I speak up and support others who do. The people who are harmed should be the ones being amplified and listened to. It’s their opinion that matters if they feel something said was racist, not the white majority. It’s sad that there is seemingly no one else here who believes this. I never casually called anyone racist, not even Jesse Green, and if I did, please accept my apology and I will try to do better. I know words hold meaning and I may not be the most eloquent in coming up with a stance or argument. See, even my well-intentioned words have been misconstrued. I am not retreating, but it’s exhausting. Be well, everyone, and try to uplift others.

[johnnybravo]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 9:12am

NoItAll said: "johnnybravo said:…Most shows close without making a profit. Most people who invest in a show lose their investment."

Most people who invest in a Broadway show can afford to lose their investment in one show,, especially when their concern is long-term over many shows. Cry me a river.

Yes, people who invest in shows tend to be wealthy theater fans who believe in the art form and can afford to lose their investment. This doesn't change the fact that each individual show, especially one like KPOP that isn't built on an existing IP franchise, is a scrappy underdog. It is really difficult for a show to find its audience and make an operating profit. If a show consistently loses money every week, it will close and all those actors and crew will be out of a job and the authors will go back to wondering how they are going to pay their rent. 

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 9:14am

That has to be the biggest issue - boredom. KPOP is not boring. Its fans are devoted and wild (in a good way). 
 

I remember a couple of years ago, listening to a podcast about “the black ocean” at K-pop concerts and all the behind scenes drama and intrigue going on there. 
That kind of inside storytelling and drama was totally devoid from the story that was told last night. 
 

Also large portions on the show are in Korean. During the book scenes, it’s pretty easy to get the gist of what’s going on through the acting and staging, it’s not as easy during the songs.

The show could have benefited with the use of some subtitles during the musical numbers to let the non Korean speaking audience in a little. It’s for sure keeps you a bit at an arm’s length. 

[johnnybravo]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 10:15am

2 said:  Ignore the book and enjoy the good stuff, just like everyone told you to do forMoulin Rouge,A Beautiful Noise, etc."

This is a joke, right? Those two shows are utter garbage

 

[Kad]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 11:02am

HeyMrMusic said: "Anti-Asian crimes are indeed still happening and I have a daily fear of getting attacked in public. I know language matters, even the most casual and well-intentioned words can cause deep harm. And that’s why I speak up and support others who do. The people who are harmed should be the ones being amplified and listened to. It’s their opinion that matters if they feel something said was racist, not the white majority. It’s sad that there is seemingly no one else here who believes this. I never casually called anyone racist, not even Jesse Green, and if I did, please accept my apology and I will try to do better. I know words hold meaning and I may not be the most eloquent in coming up with a stance or argument. See, even my well-intentioned words have been misconstrued. I am not retreating, but it’s exhausting. Be well, everyone, and try to uplift others."

You’ve said multiple times in this thread that people are “preying” on this show with the implication being it’s because of anti-Asian bias. Could that be true of some people? Sure- a lot of people are awfully quick to note they don’t like K-pop as a genre, in the same way people are quick to distance themselves from rap. But the negative comments on this board pretty consistently name basic issues of show construction as the reason why people haven’t liked it. 

Updated On: 12/4/22 at 11:02 AM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 11:25am

johnnybravo said: "especially one like KPOP that isn't built on an existing IP franchise"

lolol

[johnnybravo]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 12:50pm

HogansHero said: "johnnybravo said: "especially one like KPOP that isn't built on an existing IP franchise"

lolol"

Explain how this show is built on an existing property. 

[NoItAll]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 1:45pm

johnnybravo said: "NoItAll said: "johnnybravo said:…Most shows close without making a profit. Most people who invest in a show lose their investment."

Most people who invest in a Broadway show can afford to lose their investment in one show,, especially when their concern is long-term over many shows. Cry me a river.

Yes, people who invest in shows tend to be wealthy theater fans who believe in the art form and can afford to lose their investment. This doesn't change the fact that each individual show, especially one like KPOP that isn't built on an existing IP franchise, is a scrappy underdog. It is really difficult for a show to find its audience and make an operating profit. If a show consistently loses money every week, it will close and all those actors and crew will be out of a job and the authors will go back to wondering how they are going to pay their rent."

The sooner such shows close, the better. It’s a zero-sum game, with a fixed number of theaters running a fixed number of shows at any one time. People lose old jobs, people are hired for new ones. A show goes on; the theatre community as a whole doesn’t suffer. If it’s stability you want, learn how to give anti-racism seminars for large racist corporations. 

But I lied; it isn’t quite a zero-sum game. Swathes of empty seats are depressing and have the potential to affect overall Broadway attendance. Think, if you will, of a fundamentalist Christian, Republican businessman from Biloxi “taking in a show” with a hired escort, being so bored he finds himself impotent back at the Hyatt. Will he ever again lay out $400 for orchestra seats at a Broadway show after such a trauma? He will not.

[Theater3232]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 2:48pm

It's sad if people call others racist for not liking a show.  It's frankly a boring show where I couldn't follow the plot.  Way too long & way over-amplified, so I needed earplugs.  With painful bright lights flashing directly into the audience's eyes throughout the show.  The last 30 minutes with nonstop concert songs were fun.  But everything before that was mostly a bore.  I can't see this staying open past New Years.  Many empty seats after intermission with several COMP tickets scattered on the floor (the theater was less than half full to begin with.)

[HogansHero]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 4:22pm

johnnybravo said: "especially one like KPOP that isn't built on an existing IP franchise"

lolol"

Explain how this show is built on an existing property."

You said IP not "property," although there is of course a lot of existing property as well.  There is a quarter century of IP related to KPOP and my impression was that you were oblivious to that.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 12/4/22 at 4:43pm

Sorry Hogan but i think it was perfectly clear that Johnny was comparing K-Pop--a story about....i have no idea, and the marketing just says Korean pop-star teenagers--with Moulin Rouge, &Juliet, Neil Diamond---all of these feature recognizable stories, songs, catalogues, etc. K-Pop very well may be brilliant (except everyone says its not), but it did not have big name IP to sell it. It needed/needs something more to convince ticket buyers (and even bway nerds like me) to show up.

And IP means intellectual property, so I don't even know what semantic point you were making here. 

(though i completely disagree that Moulin Rouge is utter garbage by any means--it does an excellent job doing precisely what it sets out to do)

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 12/5/22 at 8:57am

I haven't seen the show, but I have to say that the storyline doesn't appeal to me (even though I like to listen to K-pop and love K-dramas). I was just thinking about how the complaints about the show being in Korean remind me of discussion about The Light in the Piazza having untranslated Italian back in the day, or In the Heights having untranslated Spanish (supposedly, when the national tour came to my city, a bunch of the audience left for that reason). Personally, I think it's fine as long as there's context cues and the song itself conveys emotion well enough to make up for the lack of language comprehension. 

Updated On: 12/5/22 at 08:57 AM

[Doug Giffin]

Posted: 12/5/22 at 9:54am

I saw yesterday's (packed) matinee -- I had seen the show near the beginning of previews and they've definitely tightened the story elements up. I've heard most of the songs several times before, but I was really into the music this time around, and I can't wait for the cast recording.

Incidentally, my "date" was in her 70s and had a fun time, even though she knew nothing about KPOP in general.

[Ke3]

Posted: 12/5/22 at 10:36am

Nothing I love more than when this board with an overwhelming white membership tries to tackle racism. Never fails to be a.... thrilling discussion.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 12/5/22 at 11:00am

PipingHotPiccolo said: "Sorry Hogan but i think it was perfectly clear that Johnny was comparing K-Pop--a story about....i have no idea, and the marketing just says Korean pop-star teenagers--with Moulin Rouge, &Juliet, Neil Diamond---all of these feature recognizable stories, songs, catalogues, etc. K-Pop very well may be brilliant (except everyone says its not), but it did not have big name IP to sell it. It needed/needs something more to convince ticket buyers (and even bway nerds like me) to show up.

And IP means intellectual property, so I don't even know what semantic point you were making here."

IP means patents, trademarks, and copyrights. If that's not what the other person meant, then fine. Beyond that, you use "recognizable" to mean "recognizable to me and perhaps the folks being targeted by the marketing." That's a different subject that the one articulated and of course there is no question that, at least as of now, the production is not tapping in to a sustainable market. Finally, a "property" in theatre vernacular refers to a source material like a play (for a musical), a movie, a book, etc. but not just stories, songs, and catalogs. But perhaps, as you say, this is all semantics. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 12/5/22 at 11:03am

Ke3 said: "Nothing I love more than when this board with an overwhelming white membership tries to tackle racism. Neverfailsto be a....thrilling discussion."

what is the alternative? How else could it be tackled?