KPOP

"Vibrates with the frenzy of its contradictions...'KPOP' is likely to come across as entertaining and enervating, in fairly equal measures...'KPOP' sometimes works too hard to put itself over. It is least interesting at its most didactic. And it suffers from its own conflicted intentions. The show is best when parody blurs into the already surreal dimensions of what’s being parodied...The pastiche fusion musical numbers...are as synthetically sweet and perversely addictive as the real thing." Full Review

"The most ambitious off-Broadway musical of the year, with pulse-quickening tunes, innovative staging, and just a little bit of disappointment...There's no musical without conflict, but Kim is unfailingly heavy-handed in his approach, underlining each important issue with a thick red line...Luckily, everyone in the cast is very good...Everything comes together for a final concert that has everyone dancing and singing along. 'KPOP' is great fun." Full Review

"The delightful new musical ‘KPOP’ knows what kind of immersive theater it wants to be...Tiny bubbles of pleasure keep floating up and bursting all around us. Pop! Pop! Pop! We’re sold. It isn’t all froth, however...'KPOP' has impressive breadth, even if at times it feels overstretched...But any misgivings are forgotten in the rush of the extended concert finale, which sweeps you up in the thrill of a crowd that can hardly wait to burst into applause." Full Review

"An ambitious new immersive, interactive musical that is often as physically exhausting as it is wildly entertaining...Despite its plethora of incidents, the show's book proves its weakest element, with the overlong proceedings becoming repetitive and meandering. But the paper-thin characterizations and hackneyed dialogue don't prevent ‘KPOP’ from being great fun...The mostly youthful ensemble is terrifically talented, delivering the infectious original score with pulsing energy." Full Review

"An immersive and satirical introduction to Korean pop music at Ars Nova that ends with a legitimately mind-blowing concert...Some of the dialogue and plotting of these scenes are canned and superficial, but the charismatic actors commit fully...Directed with maximum verve and style by Teddy Bergman, and featuring parody-perfect songs by Helen Park and Max Vernon, 'KPOP' benefits most from its youthful, indefatigable ensemble." Full Review

"Wildly (and loudly) entertaining...We are guided through room after room...to listen to musical numbers inserted somewhat willy-nilly; and to witness lots of personal drama...If all the drama seems perhaps less than strictly plausible for a single visit, that is unlikely to spoil the fun that comes from the athletic choreography, inventive scenic design, original music, and the simple joy of being ushered around in a masterstroke of coordination." Full Review

"Cramming in all these scenes is an enormous undertaking, which makes it all the more remarkable that Kim's book is so consistently mordant, to say nothing of Park and Vernon's insanely catchy songs...Following the intermission, the action retreats with unseemly haste from the script's acrid truths in favor of an upbeat concert finale...This wholesale abandonment of what has gone before would be more disconcerting if the medley that follows didn't raise the roof." Full Review

“This ambitious musical occupies a huge amount of space divided into a labyrinth of well-constructed hallways…You're treated to some awesomely performed, dynamically choreographed…K-pop numbers...They're in the hands of a sensational company of singer-dancer-actors...The scenes themselves, in their attempt to seem spontaneous…are too self-consciously artificial…Putting its length, physical discomfort, and shallow dramatics aside, this is a show that's bound to appeal to a younger demographic.” Full Review

"Director Bergman is amazing at how he has managed to keep things running like clockwork, it is truly a remarkable feat. What is the weak link here is Jason Kim’s script, which is hokey and belies what it is trying to say...The finale is an off-the-hook concert that shows the talent of everyone involved. This spectacular cast gives their all...'KPOP' may miss the mark in trying to make us understand the cultural problems, but it is electric, thrilling and one great dance party." Full Review

"A bittersweet cocktail of superficial jauntiness cut with ruthless exploitation...There lies the problem. For once we learn where the music comes from, the numbers themselves tend to sound mechanical. Dramatic tension also dissipates as the secrets of the miserable reality within the gilded cage are revealed too quickly. And attempts at getting the audience involved never quite come off. Yet 'KPOP' does occasionally burst into life...The tyrannized pop idols all go out with a bang." Full Review

"The banal script doesn't go in any direction that hasn't been pursued more interestingly before. But the scenes are competently crafted and, under Teddy Bergman's superb direction, they're performed with such conviction and velocity that the derivative nature of the enterprise is unobjectionable. And the tunes, most of them jumpy and melodically appealing, lend freshness and dazzle to the enterprise. A well-constructed immersive production...As a total package, it's pretty hard to resist." Full Review

"Consisting of many 'empty calories,' this immersive musical is still irresistibly delicious...At its best when playing on the contrast of 'true' versus 'constructed,' emphasized most successfully in MwE’s story...Though the show is billed as a musical, most of the songs we hear on our tour are not performed live...This strange decision seems like a waste of catchy K-pop hits...'KPOP' picks up steam in the finale, with a full-blown pop concert. But its didactic conclusion is suspiciously easy." Full Review

"An expansive, catchy, and cunning immersive performance...'KPOP's' exuberant young ensemble make this show difficult to resist...'KPOP' is a delicious spectacle...But 'KPOP' is no mere sugar bomb. Underneath the glam and the (highly enjoyable) gimmickry, the show is a candid and increasingly discomfiting look at the struggles faced by Asian artists trying to break into an American market...It’s not subtle, but it works." Full Review

"The level of precision and craft involved on every level of this production...are mind-boggling...The resolution may feel a bit sentimental and overly pat...But when the closing concert starts, it’s almost impossible to resist the infectious energy of the music itself, and of the mix of enthusiasm and precision in the performances...Thoroughly fun and beautifully executed...You walk out feeling energized, thoroughly entertained, and humming a line of the chorus." Full Review

"'KPOP' has to be one of the best musicals currently in NYC...I love K-pop, and laughed hard at 'KPOP’s' perfect rendering of this magnificently machined world...With so much phenomenal dancing and music that embodies happiness, 'KPOP' succeeds in turning all corners, no matter what, back to the most important topic today: race..It is revitalizing in both sound, style, and approach of tense topics." Full Review

"It’s the special moments, and this terrific ensemble of actors, that give 'KPOP' such incredible heart even in moments that might otherwise feel a little bit trite. Park and Vernon’s songs are fun, upbeat and full of delicious rhymes...Are we meant to believe...that the blood, sweat and tears are all worth it?...Maybe, but most people didn’t seem to be thinking too hard about any of that, they were having too much fun. And fun is definitely one thing 'KPOP' does not fail to deliver." Full Review

"'KPOP' provides a mind-blowing concert experience despite its less-polished participatory moments...The 'KPOP' experience approaches perfection during its moments of 'musical theater,' which open and close this behemoth, nearly three-hour production...'KPOP' is a big, brave undertaking that promises to wow many more audience members with its undeniably charming spectacle. While some of its immersive and interactive wheels need oiling, the general experience is unforgettable." Full Review

"An immersive musical that takes us behind the scenes of one label’s music factory...Along the way, hot-button issues are confronted...Speaking before the high-octane concert that ends the evening, the head of the label confesses that the company was misguided in its attempt to Americanize the Korean sound. 'We don’t need to cross over to you. You need to cross over to us,' he says, focusing on the importance of understanding each other’s cultures. In these times, those words resonate." Full Review