Claim your backstage pass and dive inside the high-stakes world of K-pop with this exhilarating new Broadway-bound musical. As global superstars put everything on the line for a special one-night-only concert, one singer's inner struggle threatens to dismantle one of the hottest labels in K-pop. Pulsing with infectious beats, electrifying choreography, and breathtaking joy, KPOP, the Broadway Musical, is an all-consuming multimedia experience that explores the relentless discipline, raw talent, and commercial ambition behind the heart-thumping international phenomenon.
KPOP doesn't stint on concert-style numbers, and that's where this production shines. Directed by Teddy Bergman, the well-drilled young cast performs Helen Park and Max Vernon's exuberant pastiche songs (several of which are new to this version of the show) with panache, executing Jennifer Weber's rigorous choreography with zippy synchronized swagger and verve. Their costumes, by Clint Ramos and Sophia Choi, are spectacular-wild hybrids of patterns, fabrics, textures and international influences-and the performances are appropriately heightened by the show's lighting (by Jiyoun Chang), sound (by Peter Fitzgerald and Andrew Keister) and multipaneled set (by Gabriel Hainer Evansohn).
For this reason–and I can't believe I am writing this–I would have preferred a K-pop revue without the strained narratives. In the concert numbers, the performers are electrifying, and they elicit earned shrieks, squeals, and thunderous applause from the notably young and Asian audience members. Helen Park's and Max Vernon's songs are silly confections that thankfully are accompanied by loud electronic music, so you don't end up with an ear worm consisting of a lyric like, 'This is my Korea/ This is my story-a/ A new category-a/ To make you dance and clap your hands.' Wearing Clint Ramos and Sophia Choi's appropriately gaudy, garish, and fabulous costumes, which include glittering bodysuits, playful dominatrix attire, faux military uniforms, MwE, RTMIS, and F8 put on a sensational show, particularly in the 15-minute finale. Jennifer Weber's thrilling choreography incorporates all the shakes, pops and thrusts one associates with the genre. KPOP will not go down in the Broadway annals as a groundbreaking, or even a very good, musical. But when the company sings the final song, 'Blast Off,' you may realize that you're having too much fun to notice–or care.
2022 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Jennifer Weber |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical | Clint Ramos |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Choreography | Jennifer Weber |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Musical | Clint Ramos |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Helen Park |
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