KPOP Announces Final Performance on Broadway

Today, the producers of KPOP announced that the groundbreaking new musical will have its final Broadway performance on Sunday, December 11 at Circle in the Square Theatre. The final performance will be host to a special Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Community Event and panel discussion to celebrate and reflect on AAPI representation on Broadway and beyond. KPOP will have played 44 preview performances and 17 regular performances.

200 complimentary tickets are being offered to AAPI community members and youth for the final performance, followed by a panel discussion with top AAPI theatre artists. Panelists will include the first Asian American playwright to win a Tony Award, David Henry Hwang; the first Asian female composer in Broadway history, KPOP's Helen Park; Korean playwright Hansol Jung; and actor Pun Bandhu. This performance is supported by TAAF (The Asian American Foundation) in collaboration with Gold House, AAPAC (Asian American Performers Action Coalition), and Ma-Yi Theater Company. KPOP is making history by being the first Broadway production to feature Korean stories written by Korean American creatives, along with 18 cast members, all of AAPI descent, making their Broadway debuts.

Tickets for the matinee performance and panel discussion - open to all - are available at www.telecharge.com (212-947-8844) or Circle in the Square Theatre Box Office starting at $49.50.

KPOP is directed by Teddy Bergman; book by Jason Kim; music, lyrics, music production and arrangements by Helen Park; music and lyrics by Max Vernon; and choreography by Jennifer Weber

The production stars Luna, Julia Abueva, BoHyung, Major Curda, Jinwoo Jung, Jiho Kang, Amy Keum, James Kho, Marina Kondo, Eddy Lee, Joshua Lee, Jully Lee, Lina Rose Lee, Timothy H. Lee, Abraham Lim, Min, Kate Mina Lin, Aubie Merrylees, Patrick Park, Zachary Noah Piser, Kevin Woo, and John Yi.

KPOP - Original Broadway Cast Recording will be released on February 24, 2023 via Sony Masterworks Broadway, and is available for preorder HERE. The recording is produced by Harvey Mason Jr.

KPOP is produced by Tim Forbes, Joey Parnes, Jay Alix & Una Jackman, Hunter Arnold, Kayla Greenspan, Ad Hoc Live Entertainment, Sony Music Masterworks, James L. Nederlander, John Gore Organization, Ira Pittelman, Salman Al-Rashid, Gideon Friedman, Dodge Hall Productions & Courage the Producer, Jamie deRoy & Dawn Smalberg, Eric Falkenstein, Suzanne Grant, John Paterakis, Susan Vargo, Miranda Gohh and Hui-Dress and was conceived by Woodshed Collective and Jason Kim. Music Direction by Sujin Kim-Ramsey, Scenic Design by Gabriel Hainer Evansohn, Costume Design by Clint Ramos; Sophia Choi, Lighting Design by Jiyoun Chang, Sound Design by Peter Fitzgerald; Andrew Keister, Projection Design by Peter Nigrini, Hair & Wig Design by Mia M. Neal, Makeup Design by Joe Dulude II; Suki Tsujimoto, Casting by Tara Rubin Casting and the Production Stage Manager is Cherie B. Tay.

BIOGRAPHIES

The Asian American Foundation is a convener, incubator, and funder committed to accelerating opportunity and prosperity for AAPI communities. TAAF supports advocates and organizations committed to AAPI causes so that together we can more effectively take action against hate and violence, and build the infrastructure needed to improve AAPI advocacy, power, and representation across American society. We were founded to solve for the longstanding lack of investment and resources provided to AAPI communities and we strive to be a catalyzing force for creating a permanent and irrevocable sense of belonging for the 23 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders living in the United States. For additional information about TAAF, please visit www.taaf.org.

Gold House is the leading organization and network of Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) changemakers. Through a suite of innovative programs and platforms, Gold House powers culture change by uniting, investing in, and elevating API creators and companies.

The mission of the Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC) is to expand the perception of Asian American performers in order to increase their access to and representation on New York City's stages. AAPAC publishes the only publicly available annual statistics report on racial representation in the NYC area of its kind and has been a leader in discussions and forums on diversity with artistic institutions and the Broadway community including partnering with allies on national initiatives. The group was awarded an Obie Award and a Tony Honor in recognition of their impact on representation in the greater American theatre. www.aapacnyc.org

Ma-Yi Theater Company is a Drama Desk and OBIE Award-winning, Off-Broadway not-for-profit organization whose primary mission is to develop and produce new and innovative plays by Asian American writers. The Ma-Yi Writers Lab houses the largest group of Asian American Playwrights ever assembled. Founded in 1989, Ma-Yi recently enjoyed great critical and popular success with Mike Lew's TEENAGE DICK, Jason Kim's KPOP, Michi Barall's Peer Gynt and The Norwegian Hapa Band, and Hansol Jung's Among The Dead. Theater is under the direction of Producing Artistic Director Ralph B. Peña, and is entering its 30th anniversary.

ABOUT THE PANELISTS

David Henry Hwang's shows include the plays M. Butterfly, Chinglish, Yellow Face, Golden Child, and FOB, as well as the musicals Soft Power, Aida, Flower Drum Song and Disney's Tarzan. Hwang has written thirteen operas and co-wrote the song "Solo" with late pop icon Prince. His film/TV work includes the TV series The Affair. Hwang is a Tony Award winner and three-time nominee, a Grammy Award winner and two-time nominee, and a three-time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama.

Hansol Jung is a playwright and director from South Korea. Productions include Wolf Play (Artist Rep, Soho Rep), Wild Goose Dreams (Public Theater, La Jolla Playhouse), Cardboard Piano (Humana Festival), Among the Dead (Ma-Yi), and No More Sad Things (Sideshow, Boise Contemporary). Commissions from Public Theater (NY), Kennedy Center, Playwrights Horizons, La Jolla Playhouse. She has received residencies and fellowships from Hodder Fellowship, Royal Court, NYTW 2050 Fellowship, Berkeley Repertory, MacDowell, Hedgebrook, Sundance Theatre Lab, and Page 73. Awards include the Steinberg Award, Whiting Award, DGF Award and the Helen Merrill Award. She has written for Tales of the City (Netflix), Pachinko (Apple +) and is currently developing projects with Bad Robot, Amazon Studios, and Kindred Spirit/Ink Factory/Endeavor Content. Hansol is a proud member of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab, NYTW's Usual Suspects, and The Kilroys. MFA: Yale School of Drama.

Helen Park is best known for her work as composer-lyricist and music producer for the upcoming Broadway musical, KPOP, for which she is a three-time Drama Desk nominee and recipient of a Lucille Lortel Award and a Richard Rodgers Award. Additionally, Park co-wrote songs for the Oscar-nominated Netflix animated musical film Over the Moon, directed by Academy Award-winning animator Glen Keane. She holds an MFA from NYU's Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program and is an alumna of the advanced BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop.

Pun Bandhu is an award-winning actor who has worked on Broadway, Off Broadway, in TV and Film. A graduate of the MFA Acting program at the Yale School of Drama, Pun made his Broadway debut in the revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Wit" by Margaret Edson starring Cynthia Nixon. As an advocate, Pun started the AA Filmlab's Asian American 72 Hour Film Shoot Out, a shorts competition to encourage Asian American stories which has since been sponsored by companies such as MTV on a national level. He also co-founded the Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC), an advocacy group for Asian artists that publishes the only publicly available statistics on racial representation on stage. Pun also produces theatre and film through his company ZenDog Productions. He has spoken on numerous panels, served as an adjudicator for playwriting and festival competitions, and has been featured in periodicals such as The New York Times, Variety, Fast Company and American Theatre Magazine as well as being listed in Playbill's Who's Who on Broadway.

A moderator will be announced at a later date.