K-POP On Broadway - P/reviews & News Thread- Page 6

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 10/18/22 at 6:32pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "The company performing “This Is My Korea”:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cj23XpvsZQV/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y="

this was one of my least favorite songs in the off-broadway run, some of those lyric rhymes are just (cringe) 

[Ensemble1665759202]

Posted: 10/18/22 at 7:11pm

Kind of odd that Luna didn't perform given that she's the star of the show. Wonder if it was a contract thing or for some other reason.

[quizking101]

Posted: 10/18/22 at 11:19pm

Ensemble1665759202 said: "Kind of odd that Luna didn't perform given that she's the star of the show. Wonder if it was a contract thing or for some other reason."

Maybe they're saving her for 1:1 interviews/performances on the talk show circuit. Throwing her in a giant group number that doesn't really let her shine (especially with the time constraint) was probably not worth it.

I could see her doing an interview/performance on, like, "Tamron Hall" or "Live with Kelly & Ryan"

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 10/18/22 at 11:27pm

Just came back from the show. There’s some work that needs to be done (act 1 drags while the show takes off in act 2). Otherwise, this is such a fun time. I think this is probably the most impressive singing across the board in any one theatre on Broadway right now. The dancing is also super tight (they need to be doing TikToks right now). The tech elements blew me away; they really transformed Circle in the Square into an arena and it truly feels you are at a K-pop concert. I’d love to go back once they do some editing and tighten up the pacing, but I could see this winning multiple Tonys (granted it stays open until then). Also, I need that cast recording stat. Every song is a bop.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 10/18/22 at 11:44pm

HeyMrMusic said: "Just came back from the show. There’s some work that needs to be done (act 1 drags while the show takes off in act 2). Otherwise, this is such a fun time. I think this is probably the most impressive singing across the board in any one theatre on Broadway right now. The dancing is also super tight (they need to be doing TikToks right now). The tech elements blew me away; they really transformed Circle in the Square into an arena and it truly feels you are at a K-pop concert. I’d love to go back once they do some editing and tighten up the pacing, but I could see this winning multiple Tonys (granted it stays open until then). Also, I need that cast recording stat. Every song is a bop."

This makes me soooo excited. Can't wait to see it next week!

[Dusoleilcanwhistle]

Posted: 10/18/22 at 11:55pm

I saw it tonight as well. I went in with zero expectations and came out pleasantly surprised. 

It took me about 10-15 minutes to adapt to the format and figure out what was going on but once I did, it was a pretty fun ride.

The performances were pretty stellar across the board, but Luna is truly exceptional - she is definitely going to be a player in the Best Actress race if the show stays open.

I found the male group numbers to not be as strong as the female group and solo ones music-wise but on the whole, I really enjoyed the score and was bopping my head along. 

It still feels a bit small for the world despite creative choices with the design so that is probably my biggest issue with the piece.

It's a unique take and probably the best version of the story so kudos for that. All that being said, this is NOT for everyone. I was happy seeing it with my $40 rush ticket (TodayTix had plenty of them today) but I don't know if I would have been as happy if I paid $100.

[sassylash3s]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 12:30am

I saw the show tonight and overall really enjoyed it. The musical numbers were some of the most fun I've had at a Broadway show in ages. To those earlier in the thread who were concerned about the set, I thought it looked GREAT live, as did the costumes and choreography.

On the other hand, I thought the book was pretty rough - the scenes dragged and the plot felt like mostly showbiz cliches.  I'm curious how much of the book was retained from the immersive off-Broadway version. I can imagine that the same material might have played better in a production where the point of the evening was the unique theatrical experience, rather than the more straightforward presentation on Broadway.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 12:37am

I’d say F8’s storyline is the most like it was Off-Broadway. MwE’s was expanded and elevated while RTMIS is the most changed in terms of content.

[Mitch101]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 9:14am

It really has gone through quite an evolution since the off Broadway run. They have streamlined everything to make it all simpler plot wise. Characters cut.  They added the framing device of the TV taping.

If you go in expecting an American musical about K-pop, I think you are missing the point. I really admire the creative team for their commitment to creating a musical on their own K-pop terms. I hope the critics cheer for that. I think it’s successful. It just took me a moment to readjust expectations (as I think I’m sensing was the case with most of us on here who really enjoyed it).

SPOILERS!!!!!!!

 

I predict the criticisms will focus on the thin plot, mostly given stage time in Act 2, and little connective tissue between the three storylines. However, the point is that behind all this bubblegum, is hard working young people at all levels abused by a system- sadly not unique to K-pop.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 4:04pm

Do you guys think that people can enjoy it if they have no knowledge of the Off Broadway show?

[Mitch101]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 8:31pm

100%. 

[Phillyguy]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 11:34pm

Mitch101 said: "It really has gone through quite an evolution since the off Broadway run. They have streamlined everything to make it all simpler plot wise. Characters cut. They added the framing device of the TV taping.

If you go in expecting an American musical about K-pop, I think you are missing the point. I really admire the creative team for their commitment to creating a musical on their own K-pop terms. I hope the critics cheer for that. I think it’s successful. It just took me a moment to readjust expectations (as I think I’m sensing was the case with most of us on here who really enjoyed it).

SPOILERS!!!!!!!



I predict the criticisms will focus on the thin plot, mostly given stage time in Act 2, and little connective tissue between the three storylines. However, the point is that behind all this bubblegum, is hard working young people at all levels abused by a system- sadly not unique to K-pop."

I think what’s most striking about the difference between a typical musical is that the songs don’t really advance the plot, except for the Halfway. It was either concert style songs or dialogue but nothing in between. 
 

Abuse may be too strong of a word. Perhaps more that it’s not quite as glamorous on the inside as one assumes and there’s a lot of sacrifices. 
 

Agree that the story dragged at times and the plot was quite superficial on these issues. 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 10/20/22 at 12:22am

Overall I enjoyed it, but I actually think I was most disappointed in the sound design.  Despite CITS not being a huge theater the sound felt distant, like the concert was happening in front of me but not that I was part of it.  Whatever Gareth Owen did in MJ for that music to feel like it resonates in your bones needs to happen here.  They still describe it as "immersive" but for that to be true I think they need to integrate a more surround sound-like system.  (Though I think the concert at the end did seem to improve on that a bit.)

I know very little about kpop besides what my friends have mentioned, and from what it sounds like, the plot off-Broadway seemed more like it was peeling back the layers of what goes into making a kpop star, and while this show does that, a lot does come off as a bit trite.  I think to people not familiar with kpop, some of it might seem overblown, but I don't think anything mentioned in the show is necessarily an exaggeration of how actual kpop idols are expected to work.  But I honestly felt like the show worked best when it leaned into the campiness of it (whether on purpose or not), which happened mostly with the boy band plot in the second act, but also with some scenes between MwE and Ruby, the label owner.

Zachary Noah Piser's storyline feels like it wants to be more important than it is, but his character also comes off as a little douchey, and part of his monologue seems to be the same stuff I've been hearing for years about growing up Asian (though who knows, maybe non-Asians haven't been hearing that as much), but I thought Kevin Woo as the boy band's leader was hilarious in their confrontation.

Luna definitely comes off as a star here.  It's a fairly competitive season but I can see her sneaking in a nomination.  I'm definitely a new fan, and I hope she goes on to do more theater in NYC after this. 

I'd definitely be interested in seeing this again near the end of or after previews to see if they've made any changes, but overall it's still just a fun time, though I think it'll also be a better experience if they can sell out the house and get really enthusiastic fans in the audience (like Six) to truly give it that concert experience.

[kurtal]

Posted: 10/20/22 at 4:18pm

I saw this on Sunday (front row, stage right).  While I had a lot of fun, and the KPOP fans in the audience were clearly having the time of their lives, I'm struggling to see how this builds an audience on Broadway.  

What worked -- The musical numbers and choreography were upbeat and fun.  Luna gives a surprisingly (to me) solid performance as MWE.  The woman who played her mentor was fantastic -- I wish she'd had a number of her own.

What didn't -- SO MUCH.  The book is awful.  There's no entry point into the show for people who don't know the genre.  I think they tried to keep too much of the plot from the immersive production...I would have cut the girl group entirely (or just made them MWE's backup dancers) so you only have an A-plot (Luna's ascent) and a B-plot (F8).  Why did we have to wait until halfway through Act Two to get any dialogue from RTMS?  I definitely did not care about them by that point.  I think it's a risky choice not to use subtitles during the Korean lyrics and dialogue.  I *loved* that they kept so much Korean...but lots of people are going to be alienated by not having access to a solid 30-40% of the words that are spoken or sung in the show.  

I spent such a big chunk of my time wishing that I'd seen the immersive production, because I could *totally* see how it would be successful in that form.  I wish it the best, but I think this one is going to struggle hard.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 10/20/22 at 5:04pm

Saw Kpop night before last. First time I've been able to sit down and get my feelings for it down.

I personally really liked it... for what it is. At least what it CURRENTLY is. The show only runs 2 hours and 15 minutes at the moment so there is room to beef up the book and it's a long preview period. So it have the chance to grow. As others have said, the book is very thin. The plot is there but is fairly generic 'rise of a superstar' with the typical, to be expected story beats, that are a dime a dozen. The two subplots of the F8 (boy group) and Rtmis (girl group) is sprinkled here and there but the boys group is front loaded and then they kinda just vanish. But at least we learn about them early and revisit multiple times to get the beginning, middle, and end of their plot. Meanwhile the girl group we don't learn anything about until a good 90 minutes in. I do think that book is still salvageable. It's never going to be a work of art but it can be cleaned up and added to make it more solid. Specifically we really need to be introduced more firmly to the girls of Rtmis before we see their backstory about being excited for their big break through flashback in act 2.

I am not sold on the framing device of the documentary director popping in and out all the time. At times it works but at times it seems so forced in. I can't decide if it was the device itself or how Harry is written or how he is played. Something in there just is off and should be rethought or reworked.

Now, thin book aside though, the real reason to see this show is the song and dance numbers. Wow! I might not know what they are singing all the time but damn do I like the way they are singing it! This score is incredibly fun and catchy. Seeing the few rare clips online of the original off Broadway run, I doubted that the choreography was going to capture that very distinct Kpop feel, but boy was I wrong. It's downright perfect, highly stylized, and tightly performed. Everyone on that stage is performing to the fullest and seemingly having the times of their lives doing it. Their pride and joy in the work just radiates off of them and makes it a delight to watch. Luna's singing is out of this world. She hits her high notes with such ease and blows the roof off the Circle in the Square doing it.

Overall, I did really like the show... but I don't know how well it will do. This is the kind of show that has a very particular fanbase that is going to love it and become downright obsessed with it, but could also end up being shut out due to costs. The space is small and they either have to keep prices low to make it accessible to it's fanbase and suffer with grosses or raise the prices placing it out of budget for the target demographic and suffer with capacity. In the LONG term, I see this show being a massive hit in South Korea eventually. A place that can have an every changing cast of up and coming kpop trainees and idols. It would be a hit there even if it does fail to becoming a hit here.

This show should start promoting itself on social media to get up a following an an interest. Tiktok has done wonders for others show and I can see it doing wonders her. With such a dance heavy show, it's made for tiktok dance trends. Get some of the actors in costume, record 30 second long snippets of their dance numbers, challenge others to duet them their moves. It's a no brainer.

[YvanEhtNioj]

Posted: 10/20/22 at 10:30pm

Just left the show, and I really loved it! The choreography was insane and I was very surprised by how great of an actress Luna is. 

My only 2 issues are 1) the girl group has THE BEST songs in the show but they have 0 storyline besides “we’re tired” and 2) F8s vocals are…shaky. Especially during the “Amerika” number - the solo note that was held out sounded so, so bad. 
 

Luna and Jully Lee are pretty good guesses for Tony nominations 

Updated On: 10/20/22 at 10:30 PM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 10/21/22 at 5:23pm

Tonight’s preview is cancelled due to COVID, and they intend to resume performances tomorrow afternoon. 

[BETTY22]

Posted: 10/21/22 at 5:56pm

It so interesting that the young fans are buying the cheaper seats.....traditional theatre folk are not showing up 

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 10/21/22 at 7:12pm

because this is in no way a traditional broadway show and how many people over 60 even know what KPOP is?

[akhoya87]

Posted: 10/21/22 at 7:47pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "Tonight’s preview is cancelled due to COVID, and they intend to resume performances tomorrow afternoon."
 

COVID has not been mentioned in the public releases. Probably just too early in the show’s run to swing someone on. 

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 10/21/22 at 8:47pm

akhoya87 said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "Tonight’s preview is cancelled due to COVID, and they intend to resume performances tomorrow afternoon."


COVID has not been mentioned in the public releases. Probably just too early in the show’s run to swing someone on."

^This.

When Almost Famous was cancelled a few nights ago, many people started saying covid but I have a friend that when the very next night and no one was out.

This early in previews, it's not outside the realm of possibilities that they are implementing such drastic changes on a very technical show, they could not impliment them all during the day and so cancel an undersold show to use the time for a changes rehearsal.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 10/21/22 at 9:52pm

It could have been someone in an offstage capacity and subs weren’t trained yet. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/21/22 at 10:58pm

BETTY22 said: "It so interesting that the young fans are buying the cheaper seats.....traditional theatre folk are not showing up"

The challenge with CITS is that there's zero incentive to buy premium seats. Every seat is a good seat and the best view is towards the back.

Luna is sick but not with Covid and the understudy isn't well-rehearsed enough yet because of the rehearsal schedule, which is why they canceled. Per a friend working in the building.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 10/22/22 at 11:27pm

If anyone knows anything about Luna's return to the show, please let me know. 

[Wick3]

Posted: 10/23/22 at 9:19am

I saw the preview last night and Luna's understudy Amy Keum performed as MwE and her vocals were great. I think this was her 2nd or 3rd time performing as MwE so she's still getting her feet wet to the role and she doesn't have a Korean accent when speaking English. Having seen Luna perform in the first preview, I thought Luna was a bit more emotional but both ladies performed very well when I saw them. 

Near the end, I still wonder why MwE performs first. She's marketed as the headliner so I thought the boy group F8 and girl group RTMIS would perform first and then have MwE sing "Phoenix" last. 

For those of us who saw the show in 2017, do you remember MwE's dressing room scene? I don't remember exact details but I just remember MwE discovering a new song written for her only to later realize it was written for a younger/prettier girl Ruby was grooming to replace her. Drama ensues between Ruby and MwE and that scene made MwE's finale song "Phoenix" much more meaningful to me.