K-POP On Broadway - P/reviews & News Thread- Page 12

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/13/22 at 6:44pm

They were supposed to have an out-of-town tryout, I believe, but covid happened.

[JoeW4]

Posted: 11/13/22 at 6:53pm

I was at the matinee today. Here was the understudy board:

MwE - Amy Keum

Brad - Patrick Park

Ivy - Lina Rose Lee

Sonoma - Marina Kondo

Wooyeon - Timothy H. Lee

Camera Operator - Jason DePinto (the assistant stage manager)

The show also started 30 minutes late, including a speech from the director beforehand, informing us of the situation (all covers were on), and that they hadn't had a chance to do the pre-recorded video with the swings, so it wouldn't always match.

The first of the recorded MwE dressing room scenes featured the understudy, Amy Keum, but the other one featured Luna as MwE

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 11/13/22 at 8:13pm

That actually sounds thrilling! I love seeing understudies and standbys, I bet Amy is great as MwE! 

Updated On: 11/14/22 at 08:13 PM

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 11/13/22 at 8:14pm

muscle23ftl said: "That actually sounds thrilling! I love seeing understudies and standbys, I bet Amy is great in the title role!"

Yeah, I'm sure Amy is amazing as KPOP herself. 

[juliacd]

Posted: 11/13/22 at 8:31pm

I saw it. Terrible. It makes no sense. It will be closing quickly.  Not a Broadway show. Writing is pathetic and acting is worse. Bye

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 11/13/22 at 8:34pm

HeyMrMusic said: "They were supposed to have an out-of-town tryout, I believe, but covid happened."

yes and instead of taking a breath and looking to reschedule they decided to still jam this in and it clearly is not going well, and I don't know if COVID is exactly to blame I heard there was money problems

to someone elses point, the in the round space at Arena Stage in DC comes to mind (yes I know they originally had a different venue in DC) 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 8:51am

Does this even open on Sunday with all of their absences?

[Kad]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 9:33am

While COVID is still very much around, as are other sorts of cooler weather illnesses, other new productions don’t seem to be struggling with canceled performances and swings galore going on as much as this one. 

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 10:14am

Saw the Sunday matinee. As someone who normally sees the entire Broadway season minus a show or 2 each year, this was the first time I have left a Broadway show at intermission in about a decade.

The show started 30 minutes late, and there were no announcements about any delay...just an audience of folks sitting there wondering what on earth was happening. Then the director came out and gave a speech that basically apologized for the performance we were about to see. Note to the director: if you are going to do this, just focus on hyping up the audience for the understudies who are pumped to go on. The "sorry there might be new people and sorry someone might have a page in their hand" attitude doesn't start the show off on the right energy.

I fully admit to not being the target demo for this. I dont really listen to KPOP music. But this show definitely didnt convert me. For starters there were SO many moments of singing that were completely off key. Notes that weren't even remotely in the neighborhood of the chord being played. And the book scenes...holy moly. All of them were flat, telling a very basic "stardom comes with a price" story which we have seen told 100 times before in way more compelling ways. And why do major moments happen on screen? I'm watching live theater, don't make me watch a fully pre-recorded scene. And all of it was delivered with very surface level acting.

The biggest issue though is that the entire thing kept me at arms length. The musical numbers are mostly energetic and fun pop songs I suppose. But none of them convey the story (it relies on the horrible book scenes to do that). But the songs and choreo are done with zero emotion. Everyone has their typical "pop persona" on, so I was not compelled or drawn into a single character during any number. And then the MwE character (was sad to miss Luna) has what should be a "big scene" where she says she is not longer going to lock away her emotion on stage: she'll unleash it to become a star. Then she immediately sings another completely emotionless song which told me nothing about her character. At that point I was done. This is just not musical theater and it was painful.

Wish I had seen the Ars Nova version, which sounds much different. Perhaps the immersive/interactive nature of that made some of the terrible book forgivable? I don't know. But with no clear direction to their advertising and with seemingly everyone around me comped (every overheard conversation was "Im so glad I got this comp offer through work!) this will be gone in the coming weeks as there is no way critics are going to fawn over this. This needed SO much more time in development.

[kdogg36]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 11:59am

I saw the Saturday matinee this weekend. Cast substitutions were similar to what has been listed for Sunday, except that Luna was on (seems like we got very lucky with that!).

I found the show entertaining, but it presents itself as a book musical, and on those terms it's not a very good one. The dialog scenes came across as if they were written and performed by high-school students. 

I thought it was odd that basically every character in the show rejected the director for focusing on backstory rather than music, when that's exactly the choice the creators made when writing KPOP. Their authorial voice seems to condemn the character who enables the very point of view they've chosen to present.

Beyond that, I'd probably cut a song or two and get rid of the intermission. With a ten-minute delay we were out at 4:17, so a tight 1:45 run time seems very much within reach.

The musical performances were terrific and I especially liked Patrick Park, subbing for Brad. I wouldn't dissuade K-pop fans from seeing this, but I can't say it's a success as musical theater.

Updated On: 11/14/22 at 11:59 AM

[KitKatBoy24]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 12:05pm

I’ve seen this twice now, very early in previews and then last week. Magically I only had one swing on the second time, so I’ve mostly seen the primary cast. I have a lot of thoughts:

1. This is not a musical, it is a play with music. Whenever they’re doing a number, the characters are actually doing a number within the context of the scene. That, to me, is not musical theatre. Similar to Lady Day with Audra a few years back

2. The cast is incredible. I was blown away by the singing, dancing, and general fierceness of this cast. They’re working so hard and it’s impressive as hell. Luna is a star.

3. The book is bad, unfortunately. There’s no depth and it feels like they’re shying away from the dark/interesting dramatic aspect of the KPOP industry that used to exist in the old version. What we get now is paper-thin

4. The music is great. I cannot deny that every song is a bop and wildly entertaining. I couldn’t stop smiling. There’s something special about seeing some actual KPOP stars perform the genre, even if I’m not super familiar with them. You can tell it means SO much to a lot of people in the audience and it was lovely to know that what I was seeing was really special for many in attendance. 
 

5. The tech/design they’re pulling off in that tiny space is incredible. 
 

Overall I can’t deny that I was extremely entertained. I wish I could change the book, but otherwise I had a great time. I think there’s an audience for this show, but they’re subpar marketing team failing to find it. I genuinely hope it takes off.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 1:20pm

Kad said: "While COVID is still very much around, as are other sorts of cooler weather illnesses, other new productions don’t seem to be struggling with canceled performances and swings galore going on as much as this one."

I think other shows have had the luxuries of out-of-town tryouts, previous workshops, and more cast coverage. Since this is basically opening cold with very few swings and a large number of people calling out, not to mention quite a large cast for that theatre to house, it’s hard to say “the show must go on.” The tech and video elements are also a factor; as someone mentioned, they haven’t filmed all of the understudy/swing footage yet. With constant changes going into the show, swings and understudies are also under-rehearsed. I think it’s just an unfortunate series of events for the company, not even accounting for show/production/marketing troubles. I really feel for this company. They’re trying something different and weird, and the cast represents a sorely underrepresented group of people in theatre. Plus, the music is the catchiest original score so far to come out this season. I’m really rooting them on. I hope they can find an audience. Even if that’s not the typical NYC theatre crowd, isn’t that a great thing?

[Peppa222]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 2:15pm

I was the target audience for this and left at intermission. The pop music industry is rife with theatrical fodder for a full-length musical and the KPOP genre? Even better. Yet what's presented feels like the first pass at an idea completed in one night. Copy and paste generic KPOP performances you could watch on Youtube for free, and without a single interesting thing to say. It's a miracle this has made it as far as it has. 

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 3:29pm

Some people just don't get that this is pure entertainment and it's not trying to be anything else than what it is. Entertainment! Some good music at the theater and an exposure of KPOP to Broadway audiences. I hope Broadway audiences gives it a chance.

I left Hadestown, Les Miz, Lion King and many others, but KPOP is worth staying for, especially since the 2nd act is much better than the 1st.

[Lola Getz2]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 3:39pm

muscle23ftl said: 

"I left Hadestown, Les Miz, Lion King and many others, but KPOP is worth staying for, especially since the 2nd act is much better than the 1st."

You left at intermission for Hadestown, Les Mis, and Lion King? Wow. What were the "many others" that you walked out of? Really curious to know. 

 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 3:39pm

I think people "get that this is pure entertainment". It just happens to not be good entertainment according to most people and the grosses. 

[Ensemble1665759202]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 5:31pm

Sutton Ross said: "I think people "get that this is pure entertainment". It just happens to not be good entertainment according to most people and the grosses."

I would curious to know what they're aiming for in terms of grosses for previews in such a small theater. Obviously apples to oranges to compare it to other shows with 2/3x bigger capacities. Anyone have any insight into this?

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 6:26pm

I walked out of 1776 most recently, also Assassins, Regina Comet, In my Life, some of those I left during act 2 when I just couldn't take it anymore. I wish I had left at Kimberly Akimbo and Freestyle Love too. 

[Wick3]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 6:26pm

I'm not sure but I always thought the main aim is to eventually produce the show in South Korea, where there is a growing Broadway market. During the height of the pandemic in spring 2020, I think Seoul was the only city hosting live theater (Phantom world tour). 

This is not classical/traditional musical theater but I enjoyed watching it and applaud them for making it as authentic as possible. 

I agree that the 2nd act is definitely better than the 1st. I liked the group numbers but I preferred the ballad type songs/solos more. 

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 6:28pm

But anything with 1 star I wish I had walked out during intermission:

 

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1154739#5366716

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 6:44pm

muscle23ftl said: "I walked out of 1776 most recently, also Assassins, Regina Comet, In my Life, some of those I left during act 2 when I just couldn't take it anymore. I wish I had left at Kimberly Akimbo and Freestyle Love too."

I mean, I’ve walked out of plenty of shows at intermission too, but I’m not sure it’s such a great look to be bragging about walking out of Les Miz, Hadestown, and Assassins. 

[JoeW4]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 7:31pm

For anyone curious, I did a breakdown of how the show's book changed for Broadway (along with my thoughts on why most of their decisions didn't quite work).

See my post here

And I wasn't even able to get to all the changes they made! That's how much the show was overhauled!

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 8:13pm

So they just cancelled the Wednesday...I'm guessing final rehearsals before reviewers come?

[ACL2006]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 8:39pm

everythingtaboo said: "So they just cancelled the Wednesday...I'm guessing final rehearsals before reviewers come?"

Geez, so that was four cancelled previews in total? How soon after their opening on Sunday do the announce their closing date of Nov. 27.

[Wick3]

Posted: 11/14/22 at 9:38pm

Wait I’m confused. Today is Monday but they cancelled Wednesday matinee m? Is Tuesday eve performance still happening? I hope cast is ok.