As SHINee fans gear up for the group's third album release this year, member Key had to adjust his schedule to work on promotions, and that is not going over too well with a lot of people.

Key is currently appearing in the musical Bonnie and Clyde but due to SHINee's upcoming mini-album release and promotion schedule, he was forced to cancel the performance on October 10.

A rep from the musical's production team expressed regret and told Korean media outlet MBN Star, "Because of SHINee's comeback, we had no choice but to cancel the musical performance. We refunded the audience members who requested it and have rescheduled the performance for October 25."

Even though there are several other actors cast in the lead role of Clyde in the musical, the staff recognize that the ticket sales for the October 10 performance were largely from Key's fans, so substituting was not an option.

This issue, at first glance does not seem like a big deal considering the alternative performance date, but it has spurred a bit of controversy stemming from a bigger concern about idol actors in general.

As more and more K-Pop stars are getting involved in acting roles, not just on stage but also in movies and TV dramas, conflicts in schedules with their group activities are increasingly more commonplace.

Many critics have complained that idol stars are not reliable actors due to their busy schedules and concern is often raised when the idol actors miss or are late to rehearsals, or in the case of Key, cause an entire performance to be cancelled.

"As a musical cast includes 20 or so actors, there are some schedule changes between one or two members of the cast, but it is extremely rare for an entire day's performance to be canceled," explained another rep from Bonnie and Clyde.

"There seems to have been an issue of balance between [Key's] company and the producers."

While many are quick to criticize the idol for the mishap, the musical producers are laying the blame on his agency SM Entertainment, stating the company had more than enough time to work around the performance schedule and avoid a situation like this one.

SM Entertainment offered little by way of explanation, but did post a message on their homepage apologizing for the show's cancellation and asking for SHINee fans' understanding.

On the whole, it is unlikely that Key's unfortunate position will have any long-term effects on his career or the continued casting of other idols in acting roles, but it probably does mean that producers will continue to be cautious and weary of hiring idols with busy promotion schedules in the future.