by Ben Togut
Following his stint in the 2022 revival of American Buffalo, Darren Criss is returning to Broadway in the new musical Maybe Happy Ending, coming to the Belasco Theatre in September. Written by Will Aronson and Hue Park, this one-act original musical tells the story of Oliver, an obsolete life-like robot living out the rest of his days in the suburbs of Seoul. A romantic comedy, the musical follows Oliver’s unexpected relationship with robot neighbor Claire as it blossoms from a friendship into something more.
Maybe Happy Ending originally premiered in South Korea in 2016 at the Daemyung Cultural Factory in its original Korean-language form. It has since been revived in Seoul four times, receiving six Korean Musical Awards including Musical of the Year and Best Composer. Maybe Happy Ending made its English-language premiere in 2020 at Atlanta’s Alliance Theater, where it was directed by Michael Arden, who is set to direct the upcoming Broadway production. New York Times theater critic Jesse Green praised the production, calling Maybe Happy Ending “a charming, Broadway-ready new musical about robots in love.”
Helen J. Shen, most recently seen on the New York stage in MCC’s The Lonely Few, will be making her Broadway debut as Claire alongside Criss. Dez Duron will be reprising the role of Gil, which he played in the Atlanta production.
Ahead of Maybe Happy Ending’s Broadway beginning, Criss has provided sneak peeks from the production on social media, including a cover of the title song ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ and a music video with Shen of the number ‘When You’re in Love.’