Broadway will soon be home to a new musical about obsolete robots who strike up an unlikely romance. Wall-E the musical? No! Maybe Happy Ending by Will Arnson and Hue Park. See the Broadway-bound musical's stars, Darren Criss and Helen J Shen, sing "When You're in Love" from the score in a newly released music video above.
As previously announced, performances begin at the Belasco Theatre September 18 ahead of an October 17 opening night. Michael Arden is directing.
Criss and Shen will be joined by The Voice star Dez Duron, with further casting to be announced. Criss is also making his Broadway producing debut with the production, alongside fellow lead producers Jeffrey Richards and Hunter Arnold.
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 Aronson and lyrics by Park, and both have collaborated on the book.
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 Atlanta's Alliance Theatre in 2020.
Maybe Happy Ending will feature 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 will serve as production stage manager. Casting is by Telsey & Co's Craig Burns.
Producing alongside Richards, Arnold, and Criss will be Rebecca Gold, Spencer Ross, Adam Zotovich, Kayla Greenspan, M/B/P Productions, Fahs Productions, Ken Greiner, Ruth Hendel, Willette and Manny Klausner, Cody Lassen, Mix and Match Productions, The Nederlander Organization, and Jacob Stuckelman & John Albert Harris. Allan Williams is serving as executive producer.
Visit MaybeHappyEnding.com.
