Break Out: Another Korean B-Boy Show

After enjoying Jump!, a comedic martial arts "sitcom," we decided to see Break Out, also featured in the IBK Theater in Jong-No.

Here's the premise: A ragtag group of prisoners are fixing up an old car in the prison yard when a mysterious glowing object falls from the sky. This object turns out to be an unearthly book that impels all in its vicinity to burst into spontaneous dance or beat box. (No, I am not making this up). This fallen object leads to a huge explosion that allows the five convicts to escape. Thus, the show follows the convicts as they try to evade the relentless prison guards.

Had I known the storyline beforehand, I would have thought twice about seeing the show. Unfortunately, the brochure was deceptively vague, so all I knew was that the hip hop infused show was about prisoners on the run.

I'm just going to cut to the chase and say that the show was disappointing. Unlike Jump!, which had a consistently entertaining albeit cheesy story line, Break Out is all over the place. There were a few entertaining gags (I especially liked the bit involving puppets), but the humor was sporadic and gimmicky. The show also tried to get more profound in the last act, but the drama and emotion felt forced.

I probably could have excused the ridiculous storyline, if they delivered on the hip hop. The generic 90s hip hop beats were also pretty awful. If you want a taste of what I mean, just check out the music on the show's website. I'm not an expert on dancing, but after watching America's Next Best Dance Crew the choreography in Break Out seemed lackluster and amateur. The beat boxing also seemed monotonous and interminable.

We took a couple of visitors to Break Out and they seemed to enjoy the show, so I think I'm being overly critical.

I highly recommend Jump!, but if you are still curious to see Break Out, you should note the following discounts:

• Students with a valid school i.d. get a 50% discount off of shows on weekdays
• If you wear stripes, you get a 10% discount.
• If you have your ticket stub from Jump!, you are entitled to a 20% discount.