Maybe Happy Ending is currently in previews at Broadway's Belasco Theatre, headed for a November 12 opening night. Though the musical may follow two robots, the cast says the show's humanity shines through. See them talk about the show in the video above.
Set in South Korea, the work follows a Helperbot 3 that has been deemed obsolete. When his Helperbot neighbor drops by to borrow a charger, a bond is formed, the beginning of a surprising and romantic adventure. The original work features music by Will Aronson and lyrics by Hue Park, and both have collaborated on the book. The musical was previously forced to postpone its Broadway start due to supply chain issues related to the show's scenic design, which uses specialty projection technology.
Darren Criss and Helen J Shen lead the company as Oliver and Claire, respectively. "[Maybe Happy Ending] felt like such a human story, which sounds really counter intuitive when you think about the fact that it's two robots," Shen says. "But it's so human. It's about...why do we continue to love, why do we decide to enter into that, when we know at the other side it could be loss, it could be pain...and is it still worth it to do so?"
The musical made its English-language debut at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre in early 2020, just about a month before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted human connection as we knew it. Aronson and Park said that after the most intense stages of quarantine had passed, it appeared as if they had intentionally written Maybe Happy Ending specifically for the isolating circumstances. Now, the company says the musical has continued to reflect the human condition even in changing times.
"I call it an analog story in a digital world," Choi says. "It just feels so pure at its essence. What it does is it explores love, and friendship, and sorrow, and regret."
READ: Darren Criss Says Maybe Happy Ending Is a ‘Phantom-Level’ Spectacle
The cast also includes Marcus Choi as James and Junseo, Dez Duron as Gil Brentley, Arden Cho as Jiyeon, Young Mazino as Suhan, Jim Kaplan as Young Junseo, and HwaBoon as HwaBoon. Understudies Steven Hunyh, Christopher James Tamayo, Hannah Kevitt, and Daniel May round out the company. Casting is by Telsey & Co's Craig Burns.
Helen J Shen and Darren Criss
Hannah Kevitt and Steven Huynh
Michael Arden
Dez Duron
Helen J Shen
Dez Duron, Steven Huynh, Michael Arden, Christopher James Tamayo, Marcus Choi, Helen J Shen, Will Aronson, Darren Criss, Hue Park, Hannah Kevitt, and Daniel May
Dez Duron, Helen J Shen, Michael Arden, Marcus Choi, Will Aronson, and Hue Park
Dez Duron, Helen J Shen, Darren Criss, and Marcus Choi
Dez Duron, Helen J Shen, Darren Criss, and Marcus Choi
Dez Duron
Helen J Shen and Darren Criss
Darren Criss
Darren Criss
Helen J Shen
Michael Arden
Daniel May
Hue Park and Will Aronson
Marcus Choi
Hannah Kevitt
Steven Huynh
Christopher James Tamayo
Directed by Michael Arden, Maybe Happy Ending features scenic and additional video design by Dane Laffrey, costume design by Clint Ramos, lighting design by Ben Stanton, sound design by Peter Hylenski, video design by George Reeve, music supervision by Deborah Abramson, and music direction by John Yun. Justin Scribner is serving as as production stage manager.
Park is a former K-Pop lyricist, working with Music Cube as a college student. Later attending New York University, Park met Aronson, and a musical theatre collaboration was born. Working mostly in Korea, the pair has previously written musicals Bungee Jump (based on the Korean film) and Il Tenore, and will premiere Ghost Bakery at Seoul's Doosan Arts Center later this year.
Aronson and Park have written both English- and Korean-language versions of Maybe Happy Ending, with the latter having premiered in 2016 in Seoul. The English version won the 2017 Richard Rodgers Production Award, playing the Alliance Theatre in 2020.
Jeffrey Richards and Hunter Arnold are leading the producing team alongside Criss and Pamela and Stephen Della Pietra.
Visit MaybeHappyEnding.com.
Darren Criss in Maybe Happy Ending
Helen J Shen and Darren Criss in Maybe Happy Ending
Helen J Shen in Maybe Happy Ending
