K-POP On Broadway - P/reviews & News Thread — Page 10

YvanEhtNioj said: "If it really is closing that soon..that hurts a little. I loved this show and (outside of the people on this board) I don’t know anyone who didn’t enjoy it."

Outside of people on this board, how many people do you know that actually saw it?

It seems there isn't enough of an audience to drum up any real positive or negative word-of-mouth.

Was at this evening’s performance. I went in with zero expectations or preconceived notions. I have next to no familiarity with the k-pop genre, and knew nothing about the show’s previous productions/iterations.

The good:

I had an absolute blast. The music was phenomenal and really carried me through the show. Not once did I even consider sneaking a glance at my watch (even with the lackluster book - which I’ll discuss later).

The cast is wildly talented. A couple of bum notes, but they are singing and dancing their hearts out and really selling it. I was rooting for every one of them.

The audience all seemed to be enjoying themselves. Lots of cheering and dancing in seats. I was completely charmed by an elderly woman seated behind me (82 years old she told me during intermission) who was having the time of her life and was quite literally waving her cane in the air at several points during the the final act.

Patrick Park made his Broadway debut and clearly had some friends in the audience, because they went wild every time he appeared on stage or was featured in a number. This is the type of show that actually benefits from behavior like that - so their enthusiasm was most welcome and honestly it was just really endearing to see them supporting their friend. He did a great job and I had to call this out.

The not so good:

The book. My god does some of that book drag. Others have put it far more eloquently than I ever could, so I won’t belabor the point too much. All I will say is I don’t even know how to go about salvaging it at this point. The show is its best when these performers are performing - and while I really appreciate the importance of what the show is trying to highlight during their book scenes - I think 50% of the dialogue could go and they’d still get the same message across.

The sound design. I needed it LOUDER. I needed it BUMPING and PULSING. I needed to feel that music. I felt like I was watching a concert but not hearing a concert. I don’t know what they did at MJ but this show is in desperate need of that type of sound design.

Empty seats. Lots of them. I could see them. The performers could see them. Obviously never ideal, but since the audience is illuminated throughout I kept looking around and seeing all the gaps which occasionally took me out of the show.

The marketing. This show is selling woefully and I’d hazard a guess a lot of that can be blamed on the marketing (or lack thereof). Look, this show isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea - that much we all know. But that’s the thing about theater: it doesn’t have to be for everyone. But it DOES need to find its audience and be for someone. And their audience is out there. K-pop has become massive in America and continues to expand here. But people don’t know this show exists. A colleague of mine is a massive fan of k-pop and when I mentioned I was seeing the show tonight she literally didn’t even know it was happening. How is this possible?

As others have mentioned - why have they not been all over TikTok? I just checked their account - they’ve got maybe ten videos and just shy of 2500 followers. Just as an example, BTS (who, granted, are one of the biggest bands in the world), have 54 million followers on TikTok - and I am sure some of those 54 million followers are in the NYC area. There’s an audience there. They don’t seem to be making an effort to find it - and I am wondering if that tells us all we need to know, which is that they’re planning on it closing and don’t want to invest the money to market it.

My only question then, is why would they film B-roll tomorrow if they weren’t potentially investing in some sort of marketing? Perhaps someone more in the know has some insights there.

Those quips aside, I had a smile on my face the entire time and will be recommending it to several friends. And I definitely plan to see it once more after it’s frozen.

tl;dr. Went in with no expectations. Had a fantastic time watching this supremely talented cast perform, despite the poor book and disappointing sound design. Hope it finds its audience but that unfortunately seems unlikely. Thrilled to see something unlike anything else I’ve ever seen on Broadway. So let’s please keep trying to push the boundaries of what “Broadway” means and is in 2022, and what it can mean and become in the future.

Updated On: 11/9/22 at 12:51 AM

jimmycurry01 said: "YvanEhtNioj said: "If it really is closing that soon..that hurts a little. I loved this show and (outside of the people on this board) I don’t know anyone who didn’t enjoy it."

Outside of people on this board, how many people do you know that actually saw it?

It seems there isn't enough of an audience to drum up any real positive or negative word-of-mouth."

Several actually. It’s getting a good amount of hype with the gays - similar to Six.

Canceling a performance to shoot b-roll? Jeez.

But unlike Diana, this is a show to be EXPERIENCED in person. Part of the major appeal is the immersive factor and the fact you can feel the theatre VIBRATE when the music starts.

Thats a quality that would get lost in a pro-shot and why the GMA performance was a bit disappointing for me (aside from not giving Luna a chance to shine)

quizking101 said: "But unlike Diana, this is a show to be EXPERIENCED in person. Part of the major appeal is the immersive factor and the fact you can feel the theatre VIBRATE when the music starts."

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I sure as hell vibrated when Diana punched that mirror.

Quick question. Is there a difference between a pro-shot and a B-roll?

Thanks, Jan. So which is it for K-Pop? Will this just be for promotional use only or streaming like Hamilton or Come From Away? Do we know?

Lola Getz2 said: "Thanks, Jan. So which is it for K-Pop? Will this just be for promotional use only or streaming like Hamilton or Come From Away? Do we know?"

It's just a b-reel shoot so just for promo use. They will only only film select songs or scenes in the show. Not the full thing. A proshot takes a lot more time, effort, and money to produce. Something Kpop really does not have with the look of their grosses. I am so sad about this show's downward spiral. The longer I have sat thinking of it, the more in love with it I am. I only hope we get a cast recording out of it. It's score is fantastic.

short of getting raves this is closing November 27th

Does anyone think they have the wrong theater for this? Circle in the Square really works for some productions but this doesn't seem like one of them.

Sutton Ross said: "Does anyone think they have the wrong theater for this? Circle in the Square really works for some productions but this doesn't seem like one of them."

The only better theater would be if they transformed the space to be more like the off-Broadway set up, but I'd say Circle in the Square probably houses this show better than any proscenium theater would.