Just two short weeks after it officially opened, KPOP The Musical on Broadway played its final performance on December 11, 2022 and I was fortunate enough to be able to see this wonderful show for a second (and final) time.
I’m going to try and be as honest and open in my reviews as I can. Please note these are my personal opinions and I’m always open to discussions!
Show Name: Kpop
Show Type: Musical
Location: Circle in the Square, NYC
Date Seen: Sunday, December 11, 2022
On December 6th it was announced Kpop would be closing only – 5 days later. This was such a short amount of time and I’m so sad this fun show closed so soon. Everyone who wanted to see this show quickly scrambled to buy a ticket and the show even offered standing room only tickets for most of these shows. Sadly the spike in ticket sales wasn’t enough to save the show.
I first saw Kpop on its first preview on October 13, 2022. I had always planned to see it again but I wanted to wait until it officially opened, which happened while I was on vacation in London, and 2 days after I returned home it was announced it was closing so that didn’t give me much time.
With almost two months between first preview and when I saw the show again, I don’t remember specific details but the show is a lot shorter time wise and the plot is tightened up a lot. I could tell they cut a lot of unnecessary plot points out and focused more on the music and performances, and it felt like a completely different show! I know the show often canceled performances during previews due to either sickness in the cast or for them to rework the show. The reworking really paid off in my opinion but apparently it was too little too late.
I thought the music and performances by the entire cast were incredibly fun and lively! It truly felt like being at a concert. While I’m a regular concert attendee, I realize not all Broadway attendees might be and perhaps this show just wasn’t ready for a Broadway audience.
I’m sad to see this (almost) all Asian cast with spoken Korean throughout the show and Korean in the playbill close prematurely. The final performance was nothing less than emotional. I could tell throughout the show all the actors were feeling it and giving it their all for this one last performance.
Towards the end, each of the “groups” had their final two songs and both the girls and the guys were tearing up. This show has a sort of “inception” feel about it to begin with but them talking about how it’s their “debut” and just the beginning, and yet this was the final show really hit me in the feels.
I’m truly hoping Kpop the Musical will go on tour and people in other cities will get to experience the magic and passion of this show. I’m happy I was able to see this twice, although I wish it had been more than that!
I’m happy to share the final bows and speech by Asian-American playwright David Henry Hwang, a touching way to end this journey.
Are you a fan of Kpop music? (If so, who is your favorite group? I like older Kpop like Big Bang, DBSK, and Super Junior!)
Do you plan to listen to this soundtrack when it’s released?
Frayed Books 