I have many thoughts about this. First, I wasn't a fan of the show, so I don't want anyone to say: "You didn't support it!" I like K-pop; I didn't like KPOP enough to recommend it. BUT I wanted it to succeed. And I was surprised during previews it was having such a hard time. 1/?
The off-Broadway show was impressive to me in that it not only appealed to theater folks, but also brought in a new audience. During previews on Broadway, we saw some of that audience but not nearly enough of them. The show was having trouble papering even. 2/?
So the big story to me out of this is not Jesse because, while a positive Times review would have helped, I don't think it would have done enough. That's just my personal opinion, but it's based on many years reporting on this business. 3/?
I'm going to tell a story about loyalty -- because just today someone told me there is no loyalty in the theater. (I'm very loyal but this isn't about me.) Years ago, Donna Lynne Champlin was doing a show, and I decided it would be cute to do a quasi-diary as she learned it. 1/
I asked the press agent for permission and the press agent agreed it was a cute idea and she told me I could set it up myself if I felt comfortable (as I had already run it by DLC). We worked on the story for a while. It came out well. Or so I thought. 2/
The producer did not like the story. The press agent said I went rogue to set it up, that she didn't know about it. I called DLC and said: "Don't try to defend me -- just tell the truth, I came to you, I told you the press agent approved and that's all you know." 3/