The KPOP Broadway musical is shutting down due to poor box office results after 17 standard performances after 44 previews.
The production, which includes K-pop stars Luna and BoHyung fronting a cast of young artists, will hold its final show on Sunday at the Circle in the Square Theater. Term informed.
Last week, the musical grossed $126,493 with a low average ticket price of $32, filling 72 percent of the seats at the venue.
The Latest: The KPOP Broadway musical is shutting down due to poor box office results after 17 standard performances after 44 previews. The show was photographed during an October preview performance.
KPOP began previews on October 13, with its official opening date on November 27.
KPOP producers are offering 200 free tickets to AAPI community members and children for Sunday’s show, which will feature a post-musical panel featuring AAPI theater artists including Tony Award-winning playwright M. Butterfly David Henry. Hwang, Korean playwright Hansol Jung, artist Pun Bandhu, and KPOP songwriter Helen Park.
Organizations such as AAPAC (Asian American Performers Action Coalition), Gold House, Ma-Yi Theater Company and TAAF (The Asian American Foundation) sponsor the show.
The musical, which was directed by Teddy Bergman, features a cast that includes Julia Abueva, Major Curda, Jinwoo Jung, Jiho Kang, Amy Keum, James Kho, Marina Kondo, Eddy Lee, Joshua Lee, Jully Lee, Lina Rose Lee , Timothy H. . Lee, Abraham Lim, Min, Kate Mina Lin, Aubie Merrylees, Patrick Park, Zachary Noah Piser, Kevin Woo, and John Yi.
KPOP cast members are seen at the end of a performance of the musical at the Circle in the Square Theater in November.
South Korean singer Luna is seen performing in the musical, as several of the cast members are K-pop stars in Korea.
Park presided over the musical production and arrangements and worked with Max Vernon on music and lyrics, with Jennifer Weber choreographing.
The KPOP producers said they were proud to become the first Broadway production to showcase Korean stories written by Korean artists while marking the Broadway debut of 18 cast members of AAPI descent.
The shutdown comes amid news producers who have accused The New York Times of publishing a “racist” review implying “white supremacy.”
New York Times drama critic Jesse Green was accused in an open letter of racism in his negative review of the production and asked to issue an apology.
The letter, written by KPOP producers Tim Forbes and Joey Parnes, claimed to be “shocked” by The Times’ casual racism and cultural insensitivity.
In particular, the producers attacked the critic for describing the bright lights in the musical as ‘squinting’ – a ‘particularly egregious example’ of cultural insensitivity, they said.
Green also suggested in his review that he had a hard time understanding significant parts of the musical that were in Korean. The producers criticized that comment, arguing that the Korean dialogue always made sense in context.
New York Times drama critic Jesse Green (left) was accused in an open letter of racism in his negative review of the production and was asked by producer Joey Parnes (right) to issue an apology.
“Is a Broadway show only valid if it focuses on and caters exclusively to a white, English-speaking audience?” they wrote.
Throughout the letter, they claimed that Green’s negativity towards the show was based on a general distaste for Korean culture and music, but in their review he said that an Off-Broadway version of the same musical in 2017 was “far superior”. .
In response to the letter, The Times supported the review, saying, “We saw the open letter written about The Times’ review of KPOP and quickly convened a discussion between editors and members of our standards department.”
‘This group agreed that Jesse’s review was fair. More importantly, we strongly disagree with the argument that Jesse’s critique is somehow racist.
KPOP, which launched in November, tells the story of three KPOP acts, all managed by a major label, who come together to perform a concert that will introduce them to an American audience.
It features established KPOP artists, a point the producers emphasized in their letter after Green said in his Times review, “If you’re not a fan, you can feel exhausted by aggressive imitation of the K-pop performance style.”
He characterizes the acting style collectively as “aggressive mimesis,” another poorly chosen, racially insensitive, and ultimately ignorant phrase. Four of the cast members are true K-pop idols in Korea. They are not “mimicking” anything,’ the producers wrote.
KPOP, which opened in November, tells the story of three KPOP acts, all managed by a major label, who come together to perform a concert that will introduce them to a US audience.
One of the show’s stars, Abraham Lin, took to Instagram to express his disappointment with Green’s review.
“When you say squint… you can find better words,” Lin said in the video.
‘If you’re not an Asian-American who’s been mocked for squinting or slanting eyes, I’m sorry, I don’t want to hear from you right now. He can have a seat,” he added.
Viewers of the musical who read Green’s review also took to social media to offer their own opinions.
On Facebook, a user suggested that the Korean parts of the musical made sense in context.
Another comment attacked The Times for its lack of diversity.
Many readers in the comments section of the NYT supported Green’s review.
One Facebook user agreed with the producers that there was enough context that without speaking Korean it was still possible to follow what was happening.
Another criticized The Times for its lack of diversity. “They used to have a public defender who could investigate and report on allegations of their reporting and editing failures, but I think they got rid of that role,” they said.
Many in the comments section of The Times supported Green. “That an actor’s response to mild criticism is to accuse the critic of bigotry and bias is honestly concerning. These are serious accusations leveled at someone just because they didn’t like your show.’
Part 1 of 2: KPOP producers Tim Forbes and Joey Parnes posted an open letter criticizing The Times’ review
Part 2 of 2: KPOP producers Tim Forbes and Joey Parnes published an open letter criticizing The Times review