Wednesday, March 19, 2025

"Do you think it'll be okay?" - My Review of MAYBE HAPPY ENDING


I don't talk about theatre much anymore. There was a period of my life where I actually stopped talking about film and became very focused on following the NY Theatre scene instead, especially when I moved to the city over a decade ago. 

I still do love the theatre whether it be as an audience member or if I am standing on the stage myself. 

I think the real issue with Broadway at the moment is that it isn't as easily accessible as it used to be. Back in my college days, I could rush a show for as low as $20-30. Nowadays, you are lucky if you can score a ticket for as low as $50. There was a solid period from about 2013-2018 when I saw the majority of the shows that would open on Broadway (and quite a few off-Broadway), and perhaps that did lead me to watching productions I ended up not being super fond of; I still loved the experience regardless of that.

I find myself feeling very disconnected from the theatre scene these days and that doesn't just relate to the prices but feeling musicals in particular have become unoriginal. For the last 25 years, we have seen an uptick in movies being adapted to musicals or perhaps even more frustrating, a countless swirl of jukebox biopic musicals.

When we do get an original show that breaks through barrier and manages to capture excitement, it feels like more of an event. This season, we have musicals like Dead Outlaw and Operation Mincemeat coming to Broadway that take subject matters that are very unique and fresh and unassuming for the artform.

A bittersweet romantic comedy as a genre might seem more in line with a musical...but what about if the two leads are playing robots?


I have seen dozens upon dozens of musicals here in NY, and I will make the claim that I can't think of the last time a musical left me feeling so utterly delighted and sentimental as Maybe Happy Ending.

This one-act musical that first found a life in South Korea about two robots falling in love is perhaps the most charming musical I have seen in quite some time...and reducing it to "two robots falling in love" is not helpful, but in of itself, it is an intriguing concept. It is certainly a concept that could fail, but as we have seen, some of the most enduring musicals have come from the most unexpected source material (i.e. Little Shop of Horrors).

I've been debating how much I want to discuss in this review as I do want to encourage people to go see this show if they are in NY as I think it manages to say something so beautiful and profound but in a way that is also accessible to a general audience who might not be looking for something dark and brooding.

I saw the show on March 14th, and I bought the tickets back in January with the intention of them being a birthday gift for my boyfriend Jesse. 

Turns out this was very convenient in hindsight because that very same day, the digital cast recording was released. In the few days since seeing the show, both Jesse and I have found ourselves listening to the recording multiple times. In fact, as I was doing my early morning rounds at the office, the score was keeping me company.

I will get back to the score in a moment as I want to talk about a quick synopsis of the musical itself and its development. South Korean writer Hue Park said in an interview that he was sitting in a cafe in Brooklyn when he heard the song "Everyday Robots" by Damon Albarn and while listening to it, he began thinking about a world of human-like robots that live a life that is somewhat similar to humans. When he suggested the idea to his friend and fellow writer Will Aronson, he took a lot of interest in the idea and the two of them began developing the story. 

This led to a 2016 workshop and a production in Seoul and a tour of Japan where it was met with great acclaim. It made its US debut in Atlanta back in January 2020 where it ran for a month or so right before the COVID quarantine which brought the theatre scene...and pretty much everything...to a halt.

The musical is set in a futuristic Seoul. While not explicitly said in the show, Aronson has said he envisioned it as occurring in the 2060s.


Oliver is a HelperBot-3 and he lives in an apartment complex with other HelperBots who were abandoned by their owners. While his model is still considered extremely sturdy and durable, he also lacks a lot of advanced functions. This is particularly noticeable when we meet Claire, a HelperBot-5 who lacks the sustainability of a 3 but also has advanced features such as being able to drive. She also appears more human-like in her demeanor, whereas Oliver is a bit more stilted.

They each have their own charging devices (his works better than hers) and they basically will live out their existence until technology ceases to allow them to do so. When Claire comes over in a panic begging to use his charger and interrupts Oliver's daily routine, which consists of reading Jazz magazines and listening to old records that his owner James left him and tending to his plant HwaBoon, you already know where this is going...but thankfully, the story isn't necessarily just a cliche beat-by-beat romance.

You get the romantic comedy, you get the drama, it has whimsical sci-fi/fantasy elements that almost make it feel like a Pixar movie being done onstage, and on top of all that, it fits the mold of a classic musical by having a jazzy "Great American Songbook" infused score. 


Words cannot begin to express how much I love this score as I keep listening to it. 

Much like the aesthetic of romantic comedies of the Nora Ephron world, the throughline is that Oliver's records influence the score complete with a fictional crooner by the name of Gil Brantley who sings a few songs throughout the show that comment on the themes at play. When not delving into that directly, the score's style toys with sort of a playful futuristic tone. I would almost compare some of the more dramatic songs to that of William Finn's works in that there is a quirky and fanciful feel that even makes the more bittersweet moments truly grab at your heartstrings.

Some of the instrumental moments in the show, particularly "Chasing Fireflies", "Why Love? - Piano Solo" and "Memory Sequence" are gorgeous (particularly how they are presented onstage as well) and I am very glad that the cast recording keeps a lot of these moments intact. 

The actual staging of the show, complete with sliding box sets with neon lights and black screens and video projection is quite a marvel to behold. Some have compared it to that of the Marianne Elliott-directed revival of Company and while I do see the comparisons, I think the logistics of how it works for this production are on a whole other level. 

The scene revolving around the song "Where You Belong" plays out with a set that rotates like a pop-up children's book or if it is its own rotating music box...which is especially fitting with the quietly peppy melody of the song. 

The aforementioned "Chasing Fireflies" scene is visually stunning and even incorporates the orchestra being brought to stage level, which leads to such a charming little duet between Oliver and Claire called "Never Fly Away".

The cast itself is also just as delightful.


Darren Criss is the "get" of the show in terms of the closest thing to a box office draw, and he is doing lovely work as Oliver. His physicality and charisma truly make you feel for him as the show progresses. I would say he is easily the heart of the show.

That would make Helen J. Shen the soul of the show. Prior to seeing this, I had no idea who she was, and I left the show a huge fan.

With Criss' demeanor being a bit more perky and hopeful, Shen's is more caustic and drier; a classic tale of "opposites attract". Her Claire is more negatively affected by life, and it is that experience that makes her sort of weary of Oliver and how eagerly he wants to return to James.


Then you have Dez Duron who plays the fictional crooner Gil Brantley, who interjects songs throughout the show. Him singing "Why Love?" is the show's brisk opening number and it immediately made me beam with a smile on my face as I knew I would be in for a lovely evening. I am so glad they kept him with the show as he portrayed the role in the 2020 Atlanta staging.

If I were to give the show any kind of criticism, I do think it perhaps suffers from the "is this the ending?" trope that I always remember as being linked to Return of the King and how it seems like what you are watching is about to end and then it just keeps going.

*MAJOR SPOILER*

 In fact, there is one moment where the stage goes dark after "Memory Sequence" when we are led to believe that Oliver and Claire have successfully erased their memories of one another. While a bit darker, it did give off such a grand finale that it seemed like it would've been a bold way to end the show.

*END OF SPOILER*


I think with a little more tightening in the final 20 minutes, this would've flowed a lot better, but I consider that a mostly minor nitpick in the end as this still remains a truly wonderful and joyous production of such a whimsical and heartfelt show that tackles the ideas of love, connection, death, and life without breaking much of a sweat.

...and thankfully for these robots, they don't sweat anyways...

...see what I did there?

Thank you very much! And that's the end of my review!


MY RATING: 4.5/5



No comments:

Post a Comment