Feast your eyes on the first look at Broadway's Maybe Happy Ending, due to open at the Belasco Theatre November 12. Michael Arden is directing.
Darren Criss and Helen J Shen lead the cast as, respectively, Oliver and Claire. The cast also includes Marcus Choi as James and Junseo, Dez Duron as Gil Brentley, Arden Cho as Jiyeon, Young Mazino as Suhan, and Jim Kaplan as Young Junseo. Understudies Steven Hunyh, Christopher James Tamayo, Hannah Kevitt, and Daniel May round out the company. Casting is by Telsey & Co's Craig Burns.
Set in South Korea, the musical 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.
Darren Criss in Maybe Happy Ending
Darren Criss in Maybe Happy Ending
Darren Criss and Helen J Shen in Maybe Happy Ending
Darren Criss and Helen J Shen in Maybe Happy Ending
Dez Duron in Maybe Happy Ending
Dez Duron in Maybe Happy Ending
Helen J Shen in Maybe Happy Ending
Helen J Shen and Darren Criss in Maybe Happy Ending
Helen J Shen and Darren Criss in Maybe Happy Ending
Helen J Shen and Darren Criss in Maybe Happy Ending
Marcus Choi and Darren Criss in Maybe Happy Ending
Maybe Happy Ending also 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 the 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 Atlanta's 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.
