New York City

Sudden Broadway Closures of Brand New Shows Raise Uproar, Diversity Concerns

A pair of exciting new productions are lowering their stage curtains for the final time, only weeks after premiering

NBC Universal, Inc.

December is typically a boon for Broadway. The familiar sight of theaters packed to the brim and tourists clutching their playbills and keepsake mementos from the Big Apple are telltale signs of the holiday season.

Instead, this season a pair of exciting new productions are lowering their stage curtains for the final time, only weeks after premiering on "The Great White Way."

"KPOP," the first Broadway musical featuring Korean pop songs, takes its final bow Sunday, exactly two weeks after its opening night at the Circle in the Square Theatre. Its cast will have completed 44 preview shows and 17 performances by the end of its run.

After weeks of low ticket sales and mixed reviews, the first-of-its-kind Broadway show shocked audiences when the announcement came days before the final performance. Its songwriter, Helen Park, was the first female Asian composer on Broadway.

"I think we are making history even though our show is short-lived," Park said Saturday at a Broadway rally.

"It starts with the gatekeepers. It starts with who books the shows, who produces the shows, who backs the shows. So the whole system needs to support diverse stories," said Lisa Gold, of the Asian American Arts Alliance.

Outside of the Gershwin Theater, performers from other productions and "KPOP" fans gathered to celebrate the cast and demand more diversity among shows.

"I know what we've achieved and I know what we're going to have our future because of this whole community -- look at this, this is crazy," cast member Lina Rose Lee said.

"We need to make more space for shows like this," "Almost Famous" performer Matthew Yee said.

Another Broadway show is abruptly closing: "Ain't No Mo." The provocative comedy poses the question -- What would happen if the United States tried to end racism by offering to send Black Americans to Africa?

(L-R) Fedna Jacquet, Shannon Matesky, Jordan E. Cooper, Ebony Marshall-Oliver, and Crystal Lucas-Perry during the opening night curtain call for the new play "Ain't No Mo'" on Broadway at The Belasco Theatre on December 1, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/WireImage)

Jordan E. Cooper, the show's playwright, took to Instagram on Friday sharing the news of the play's "eviction notice."

“People are coming, loving the show and calling it the best theatrical experience of their life, but traditional Broadway marketing doesn’t work for this kind of show,” Cooper, the youngest Black American playwright in Broadway's history, said.

By the production's close on Dec. 18, its cast will have completed 22 previews and 21 performances.

Cooper, the youngest Black American playwright in Broadway’s history, took to his personal Instagram page on Friday evening to share the news of the play’s “eviction notice.”

He also announced on his Instagram a surprise boost from Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, who bought out an entire performance in an effort to get more fans to enjoy the play before it closes for good.

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