New York –KPOP, broadway The musical that broke barriers in the Asian community comes to an abrupt end just two weeks after opening on Broadway.
There were tears, screams and lots of singing at the “Broadway Community Empowers Asians on Broadway” rally at Gershwin Alley on Saturday night. The cast member put on an impromptu performance for fans and supporters just one day before his final performance on Broadway.
“I’m so proud of all of you for what we’ve achieved,” said actress Lina Rose Lee.
KPOP composer Helen Park, the first Asian female composer on Broadway, said, “Even if the show is short-lived, I think we’re making history.
Celebrating a musical phenomenon that began in South Korea and spread around the world, the musical concludes on Sunday, just two weeks after opening.
“In general, Asians traditionally don’t tell their stories on Broadway. It’s really disappointing that ticket sales didn’t pick up when Broadway finally came out and all these things are really disappointing.” , we know there is a community out there who wants to love Broadway.This kind of support means we are taking another step towards voices in Asia for our upcoming Broadway shows,” said the rally. organizer Grace Aki said.
A crowd of people, including ticket holders, gathered outside the Circle in the Square theater before Saturday night’s show, saying it was too early.
Actor Abraham Lim said, “It’s so special to be here with all of you at this moment, and it makes the heartbreaking ending so much fun.”
Fan Howard Hu said, “This…we just created something very new, and we just didn’t know how to get people into the seats.”
“These shows have just landed on Broadway, so they need time to find an audience,” said fan Salome Merzia.
The producers hoped that K-pop music’s global fan base would lead to a strong audience, but ticket sales were lower than the cost of running a Broadway musical.
Actor Kevin Wu said, “There are so many stories to tell on Broadway, and if you can see it tonight alone, you can see how many diverse people are coming together to see us on Broadway. This is very important.
This musical has a predominantly Asian and Asian American cast. Cast members, including Woo, former member of the K-pop boy band U-KISS, say it brought diversity and representation to Broadway.
“We will stay. We love this show so much that I’m sure the fans will come back to us,” Wu said.
“We support BIPOC stories and diverse stories. Stop talking about it. Talk to our wallets,” Lim said.
KPOP’s final performance is Sunday at 3pm.