K-POP On Broadway - P/reviews & News Thread — Page 14

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "how has this show not been on the usual papering sites?"

i know right! there's so many of us that would totally go see it papered and maybe improve word of mouth by the end of previews

I’m confused. On kpop Broadway instagram it looks like there’s a red carpet at circle in the square. Is the opening night tonight or next week?

suzycat said: "I’m guessing everything was booked for tonight & would have been expensive to cancel. Perhaps just the review date has been pushed back?"

Yeah, that was my guess. Things were already booked for tonight, and they pushed back the opening date so last-minute that there was no time (or money?) to reschedule. According to the BWW report:

"KPOP, the new Broadway musical, celebrates its opening tonight, November 20. KPOP is the first completely original musical on Broadway this year. Tune in at 5:15pm ET to watch as we take you to the red carpet. Be sure to check back on Sunday, November 27, as the show officially opens and the critics share their reactions."

On a separate note, I saw the show for the third time on Broadway last night, and the book has been improved SIGNIFICANTLY since I saw it twice in the first week a month ago. The RTMIS storyline has been fleshed out quite a bit; the girls have more dialogue (an expanded video segment + a new live scene), and their story arc is much clearer (the girls idolize MwE, but her backstage drama is threatening their debut; additionally, they are being pressed for behind-the-scenes tidbits by the director, and they have to decide whether to commit to protecting their brand - and their label). There are other changes here and there to the book, and all of them have strengthened the show. It's in much better shape than it was when they first started previews, so if you didn't like it the first time, I'd definitely go back!

ACL2006 said: "So they're still doing the whole opening night thing and after-party despite COVID running throughout the company?"

Covid isn't "running throughout the company." At least not anymore. I was there on Friday night, and there were only two understudies on.

Updated On: 11/20/22 at 11:30 PM

I was there Friday night too. Kevin Woo had some fans in the audience that wouldn't stop screaming his name and waving their arms in the air every second he was on. At one point even stood up and danced, but I was too far away to ask them to sit down. Guessing someone spoke to them during intermission, because they stopped.

I get that this is a concert type setting, but I hope this doesn't become the audience norm when (if) the show finds its footing.

I could be wrong (correct me if I am), but my assumption was that they were pretty much frozen a week+ ago, and the delay of the press opening was less about continuing to make changes, and more about making sure the critics saw the show without understudies. Maybe they took advantage of the extra time to keep tweaking things, but it seems like that would've been a lot to put on their plate while struggling to make sure the roles were covered.