Broadway musical 'KPOP' to feature star-studded cast

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Broadway musical 'KPOP' to feature star-studded cast

Published: 05 Apr. 2022, 14:45 Updated: 05 Apr. 2022, 17:15

From left, Kim Bo-hyung, Lee Min-young and Kevin Woo [FCENM ENTERTAINMENT, SCREEN SHOT, ILGAN SPORTS]

Several more K-pop stars have been cast in the upcoming Broadway musical "KPOP," according to Korean Cultural Center New York on Monday.

In addition to f(x)'s Luna, Kim Bo-hyung, a former member of girl group Spica; Lee Min-young or Min, a former member of girl group Miss A; and Kevin Woo, a former member of the boy band U-Kiss will all star in the upcoming musical.

It will mark all four cast members' Broadway debut.

"KPOP" is about the glamor and hardships that global K-pop stars face. Previews will begin on Oct. 13 at Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre.

The book is by Jason Kim, best-known as a writer for the HBO series "Girls" (2015-17). The music and lyrics are by composers Helen Park and Max Vernon.

“The driving force of this production of ‘KPOP’ has always been to fuse the vibrant, joyful, and wildly entertaining world of K-pop with the powerful storytelling of a Broadway musical,” producers Tim Forbes and Joey Parnes said in a joint statement last week.

Kim's Spica originally made its debut in 2012 with the EP “Russian Roulette.” Despite being well-regarded for its vocal talent, the girl group was ultimately unable to find mainstream success and disbanded in 2017.

Kim, 33, was a main vocalist in Spica. She won the JTBC reality show “Girl Spirit” in 2016, which was a singing contest featuring members of lesser popular girl groups.

Lee's Miss A debuted in 2010 under one of the country's K-pop powerhouses, JYP Entertainment. The group quickly rose to stardom with hits including singles "Bad Girl Good Girl" (2010), "Breathe" (2010) and "Hush" (2013). In 2017, Billboard ranked Miss A at number ten on their "Top 10 K-pop Girl Groups of the Past Decade" list. JYP announced that the group would disband in 2017 after two of the four members of Miss A did not renew their contracts with the agency.

Lee, 31, was one of the members who left the agency. She did not specify her reason for not renewing her contract.

Woo's U-Kiss debuted in 2008. The band rose to popularity thanks to the song "Man Man Ha Ni" in 2009. Seeing success outside Korea as well, U-Kiss had six of its songs placed on Billboard's World Albums chart.

Though the band disbanded in 2017, Woo, 31, continued on with his K-pop career as a soloist, releasing his first single "Ride Along" in 2018. Woo is a Korean-American who was born in California.

Luna, who attended the show's press conference as the lead actor of the show last week expressed her anticipation for the musical.

“Anyone who has followed my career knows that musical theatre has always been a driving passion of mine,” Luna said. “Broadway represents the pinnacle of achievement in my profession, so being able to bring my culture — this Korean artform — to the fans who flock here from all over the world to see a Broadway show is the honor of my life.”

Luna, 28, debuted as a member of girl group f(x) in 2009 and released hit songs such as “La Cha Ta” (2009), “Hot Summer” (2011) and “Electric Shock” (2012). She has starred in various Korean musical productions such as “Legally Blonde” (2011) “In the Heights” (2015) and “Gone with The Wind" (2018).

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]