Ben
Brantley

September 22, 2017

So just how do you define the phenomenon known as K-pop — or, for that matter, the new multistranded, multichambered immersive performance piece called “KPOP,” which occupies two floors of a building in Hell’s Kitchen?

Jerry, a self-styled cultural ambassador in this sprawling show, tells us that according to “my team,” K-pop is “comprised of various styles, tropes and audiovisual elements” that include pop, rock, hip-hop, R&B, jazz, funk, reggae, folk, electronica, rave, techno and nu metal … and the list goes on. Jerry adds as a footnote that he has now fired his team.

It’s understandable that even a slick huckster like Jerry, played with an anxious smile by James Seol, has been led to the brink of a nervous breakdown in trying to come to terms with the nature of K-pop. Similarly, “KPOP” the show — an Ars Nova production in collaboration with Ma-Yi Theater Company and Woodshed Collective, which opened on Friday night at A.R.T./New York — vibrates with the frenzy of its contradictions.