See it if A dark, moving musical that effectively tells the story of Korean women who were tricked or forced in sexual slavery during WW2. Well done.
Don't see it if Can't handle the disturbing topic of sexual slavery, don't like history, not open to seeing a difficult subject covered in a new way.
See it if you like history related stories, especially those happened during WWW II in Asia and which are thought-provoking
Don't see it if you don't like shows involving serious topics, like sex-slaves, gun violence.
See it if you are open to a historical show about Korean women enslaved by Japanese soldiers for sexual purposes during WW2, while being set to music
Don't see it if you are so critical that you demand Broadway Tony winning actors to entertain you. The cast is young and did a really fine job. Read more
See it if The very talented all-Asian cast and crew used song, dance, and mannerisms to depict stylistically the brutal mistreatment of Korean comfort
Don't see it if You are not interested in history, or/and you like light-hearted musicals Read more
See it if You enjoy musical in general. Although the story is intense and historical, there was not a dull moment. Kudos to the production team!
Don't see it if You genuinely won't enjoy the sad story based on WW II. It's hard to appreciate the good acting & production for the sadness of the history
See it if want to see a wonderful and moving depiction of a complicated aspect of history, with a huge and talented cast--odd and unexpected.
Don't see it if you don't like a huge cast with complex interwoven stories and threads.
See it if you like original musicals that does not have a melody you can hum on the way out, but rather does have subject matter to discuss.
Don't see it if you don't enjoy a difficult and heartbreaking plot based on true stories. and if your only kind of musical is a big Broadway show.
See it if It is a story that needs to be told and it's interesting because a lot of people don't know that it happened.
Don't see it if Violence and abusing women these are the topics, but it also has to do with strength to stay alive. Read more
“The subject is certainly worth exploring, though it's hardly conventional musical material...The young cast's relative inexperience is at times glaringly obvious...Like watching a competent college production...Generic musical-theater idiom in their score...Melodramatic book...This banal and forgettable musical leaves you thinking less about the historical atrocities it dramatizes than about how much more illuminating a Wikipedia page on the subject would be.”
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"Trying to portray the violence subtly, an oxymoronic idea, blunts viewers from the horror of experiencing the victims' pain and also limits their sympathy...The music has a sameness making you wonder why this disturbing story must even include music...On the upside, the large cast offers roles to many talented Asian actors...Unfortunately, this lightweight production and musical score does not come close to packing the necessary emotional and dramatic punch."
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"In telling the rest of this shattering story, the creators of 'Comfort Women,' inexplicably, rely heavily on musical theater conventions that result in wrongheaded, if not downright offensive, choices. The most cringeworthy is the choreographed sequence of a Korean woman being gang raped by Japanese soldiers. At some point, in their effort to visualize this atrocity, director Dimo Hyun Jun Kim and choreographer Natanal Hyun Kim should have realized that they were, in fact, trivializing it."
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“The production shows a noteworthy attention to detail...The scenes of sexual assault are delicately handled, depicted through interpretive dance...Although the show gets off to a rough start, these young actors eventually prove their depth (though some are stronger than others)...Too many songs, that at times one seems to blur into the next, but overall the production is strong with varied and compelling characters, beautiful lyrics, and quality stage combat.”
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"The current revival of 'Comfort Women' is difficult to watch, think about, and certainly sing about...It’s hard to imagine that a tragedy of this depth and these dimensions could be regarded as the basis for entertainment. Good intentions are not enough. Everything has to have artistic coherence...It just didn’t work for me...All I could think of during and since the play was the horror the women suffered. This subject needs to be shown, not in a musical, but as a film documentary."
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"'Comfort Women: A Musical' is poised to take its place in musical theatre history besides iconic shows like 'Miss Saigon' and 'Les Miserables'. All these shows tell the story of people who have fallen (or, more accurately, have been pushed down) by the wayside of war but are nevertheless important and deserve to be heard...The choreography is imaginative and fantastic...Highly recommended."
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"A regrettable misfire...The scattershot sequence of scenes is often weakly integrated, and long, static passages with little dramatic progress are frequent…A superior score would have helped, but…the music is barely tuneful…Too many lyrics are bogged down in clunky, pompous verbosity…Perhaps the greatest problem is the cast, an eager but largely inexperienced…group of young actors who appear more like a group of college students than a company of professionals."
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“Although some of the text is drawn out, the overall production is dramatically moving, as the important concept is fleshed out by an excellent cast...One comes away appreciative of all the work that has gone into ‘Comfort Women’, and even if it hardly rises to the level of a great musical, it boasts a reasonably good score and is indeed often moving, enlightening and dramatic in remembering the sad fate of so many Korean women who fell prey to the Imperial Japanese Army."
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