K-POP On Broadway - P/reviews & News Thread — Page 8

I really enjoyed the show last night. It's so much FUN!

I'm a K-Pop fan and I thought they did a great job portraying/satirizing many aspects of the industry - the wild costumes, the silly music video concepts, the questionable lyricism (especially when sprinkling English words in), and of course the brutal label system that chews and spits out many young children. Yes, it's all a bit melodramatic and yes, there are lots of loose ends/rushed storylines, but I didn't really care by the end.

The cast was stellar all around, and wow can Luna SING!! I need a cast recording ASAP, and really hope this show becomes a frontrunner for the Best Choreography Tony.

I'm very curious to read the critics' reviews of the show, but I do hope this gains an audience and has a healthy run.

Went back again tonight courtesy of the Lottery (Orch B-233 - pretty good seat for $40!)

There have been a lot of subtle changes, mostly with the first scene. According to the cast, the entire first scene that sets up the show has been changed although I didn’t really notice it because it just happens so quickly. Unfortunately they haven’t fixed the major problem (in my opinion) and give RTMIS a reason for being. They’re still the tertiary group in what feels like a two-track show.

The singing and choreography remain TIGHT and you cant help but feel the show in your whole body. Luna is still magnificent and Zachary Piser remains a highlight.

The cast does come out of the stage door and, while some move quickly through the line, a lot of them are really engaged with the audience and love the chatting and feedback. One of the cast even remembered me from the first preview “because you’re really tall”. (I’m 6’8 - I guess I stuck out in the audience 😂)

Just go!

Wow this is not doing well.

Yes, matinee is cancelled with the evening show planned to go on.

muscle23ftl said: "I am going with 3 friends tonight, I think it was probably the staging, which is very modern and moves a lot."

I’ll see you there! (Maybe)

Well if this isn’t just the biggest glitter-covered turd to ever show up on Broadway.

I’ll be surprised if it lasts beyond Christmas.

It belongs in an event space in Hudson Yards, if that.

It’s likely. Too bad, it’s something unique, and it is well done. It’s a hell of lot more authentic and entertaining then the awful “Almost Famous.” But with no advance, terrible marketing, and the likelihood of pans from mainstream critics it’s not likely to survive past New Years (I’m holding out a little hope it will run longer than Thanksgiving).

quizking101 said: "muscle23ftl said: "I am going with 3 friends tonight, I think it was probably the staging, which is very modern and moves a lot."

I’ll see you there! (Maybe)"

I wish we had said hi, have you me met before? I have the worst memory. I do remember chatting on here a lot. The theater was very busy, almost full, some empty seats on the last row, but very busy and very enthusiastic audience, it was lovely revisiting Kpop.

BorisTomashevsky said: "muscle23ftl said: "quizking101 said: "muscle23ftl said: "I am going with 3 friends tonight, I think it was probably the staging, which is very modern and moves a lot."

I’ll see you there! (Maybe)"

I wish we had said hi, have you me met before? I have the worst memory. I do remember chatting on here a lot. The theater was very busy, almost full, some empty seats on the last row, but very busy and very enthusiastic audience, it was lovely revisiting Kpop."

Lots of papering tonight."

Well, we all paid $89.50 and we thought it was 100% worth it.

I was there for the third time last night. They are getting better each time and have apparently been making A LOT of changes (per the cast). I’m happy that RTMIS now has more of a fleshed out storyline so they don’t feel so tertiary.

Luna is still a star and I hope she gets a Tony nod for this.

Based on their lack of advance ticket sales, there's no way this continues into January.

So saw this finally last night after waiting since seeing off-broadway so many years ago. And I had a great time! But def not everything I expected.Here are my thoughts :

SPOILERS BELOW!!

Pros:

-Music is as good as ever! If this doesn’t get a cast recording I will be soooooo disappointed. I am still humming the songs. And wow those are some amazing singers, not a weak voice anywhere.

-Choreography is amazing! The performers are so crisp and stellar. I don’t know how they perform at that level 8 times a week -costumes are great, set is intriguing with great and exciting projection mapping, and lighting is phenomenal.

-Overall, had the most fun last 15mins of any broadway show I’ve seen. You leave forgetting some of the issues

Cons:

-Wow this new single linear plot is not really working. The benefit of when it was off-broadway was you were only with each musical group for like 30mins total, and a good 15mins of that was them singing and dancing. So the pretty simple individual plots were less paper thin as compared to a “single” story that is stretched to two hours. The F8 plot was the same but worked better back then and didn’t feel stretched out, Mwe was more of a diva character who was gonna get the chop for being too unruly and getting too old, and RTMIS was in the rehearsal space where you witnessed all the inhuman training these groups are put through and each member was striving to replace Mwe as the next solo artist. There was also a tiny subplot about a member of F8 getting one of the RTMIS girls pregnant. This plot was much more a critique on the industry then just the celebration that it is now.

-the whole framing device of the broadway production definitely made the audience feel unsure of how they should act. At the beginning it seemed that the audience was unsure how or when to applaud for the groups. It just felt disconnected and alienating. However the last 15mins the audience was really going hard, and it was a standing ovation at the end.

-The whole show was basically musical number in the present, flashback, musical number in the present, flashback, etc. so whenever a plot would start or build steam they would cut to another group. So pretty stagnant on storytelling. Bless the 4 performers who are just acting and not singing or dancing, those book scenes are straight out of a Behind The Music parody. But they try their best, especially Jully Lee as the head of the recording company. She deserves more praise for giving those scenes emotional depth.



Anyway that’s my long opinion. I really want this show to succeed, but they should of done at least an out-of-town or stayed off-broadway, like Here Lies Love. It def would have built more steam and garnered good word of mouth IF they decided to transfer. Any of that it had from the original off-broadway run is nonexistent and forgotten. Best of luck to the cast and creative team!! I hope it finds its audience and sales soon!