Maybe Happy Ending Review

What do you get when you mix Pixar’s Wall.E, Black Mirror, Her, The Last Five Years, Hadestown, 50 First Dates, the set design from the 2022 revival of Company, and a jazz score? You get the six-time Tony award-winning, critical darling, epic musical, Maybe Happy Ending.

Originally conceived in Korea in 2014, Maybe Happy Ending is an original musical that tells the story of two “Helperbots”—humanoid robots designed to serve humans, and fulfill their every need—named Oliver and Claire, living in a “retirement home” in a dystopian, futuristic Seoul, South Korea. The two meet and go on a road trip for Oliver to find his owner and for Claire to visit the last remaining firefly colony.  

The musical asks the questions “why love? Why fall in love when we all have an expiration date? Why love when it will ultimately end in heartbreak when your partner either leaves you or dies? Is the joy of love worth the pain?” 

Darren Criss, whom you may recognize as the charming Blane “Warbler” Anderson from the TV show Glee, plays Oliver. A Helperbot who is waiting for his owner, James, to return. Oliver spends his days caring for his potted plant, HwaBoon, listening to jazz records (which James gifted him with), reading a monthly jazz magazine (another gift from James), and relaxing. Criss’ performance (which won the Tony) can only be described in one word…FLAWLESS! His portrayal of Oliver is naive, sweet, and funny. Right off the bat, the first comparison I made was to Margot Robbie in Barbie, both in his physicality and his initial naïveté. Criss nails the physicality of being a robot, with movements that are sharp, quick, but smooth.

Oliver’s naïveté made me connect to his character all the more. Some critics have pointed out that Criss’ performance in particular feels very “neurodiverse.” As someone in the neurodivergent community, I wholeheartedly agree; specifically, there’s a scene where Oliver and Claire are forced to pull over and check into a seedy “love hotel,” in which the two are trying, a little too hard, to convince the bellhop that they aren’t Helperbots, since it’s illegal for retired Helperbots to be out of the home on their own. The scene reminded me of what’s known in the neurodivergent community as “masking.” Masking is a strategy used by some people in the neurodivergent community, to make themselves appear less neurodivergent, and more how they believe society wants them to appear. Oliver then takes a comment about “charging” Claire a little too seriously, not unlike how I sometimes find myself taking things too literally, and he shrieks at the bellhop “CHARGE HER?…SIR. THIS. IS. MY. WIFE.” This is totally something I would have done, so I found it hysterically funny while also cringingly relatable. Many compare Criss’ performance, specifically his line delivery, to that of Jim Parsons' performance of Sheldon Cooper on “The Big Bang Theory.” Like Sheldon, Oliver can rant and rave about his special interests, is socially awkward, and isn’t aware of human social cues, thus sometimes coming off as either blunt, teetering on rudeness, or awkwardly unaware. Oliver also becomes nervous around the idea of his routine changing; when Claire knocks on Oliver’s door, it physically scares him a little, and he reacts similarly to the way some of my autistic students may react when their routines are thrown out of whack.

Criss’ interactions with, of all things, Oliver’s plant HwaBoon, were some of the sweetest and funniest moments of the show. Criss has a very natural and sweet chemistry with Helen J Shen’s Claire. Although the relationship never becomes sexual, presumably because they are robots, it is clear that these two care deeply for one another. 

Helen J Shen plays Claire, a slightly newer Helperbot model, who, despite being a newer model, has a lot of technological glitches and a broken charger. She meets Oliver when she knocks on his door, desperate for a working charger. Shen plays the character of Claire as more worldly than Oliver; where Oliver is naïve, Claire is rational, where Oliver is optimistic, almost to the point of being childlike, Claire is grounded in reality. Where Oliver’s portrayal was more robotic, Claire’s was more human, specifically because she showed a broader range of emotions beyond happiness and joy, including sadness, guilt, anger, and regret. Claire has seen the pain that love can cause after witnessing the breakdown of her owner's marriage.

Dez Geron played a jazz singer named Gilt Brently, who had the swagger, the look, and a voice like Frank Sinatra that made me swoon. (I had the opportunity to tell him as much at the stage door after my first time seeing the show, and he was very flattered.) While he wasn’t part of the plot, or used to move the plot forward, Geron’s vocals were used many times. He both opens and closes the show with the song “Why Love?” His character reminded me a little of Hermes in Hadestown, in that he uses music to provide commentary on what’s happening.

There are four human characters, but only two appear on stage, and they are played by the same actor. Marcus ChoI plays Oliver’s owner James and James’ son, Jinsu. The other humans are played by Arden Cho and Young Mazino. Cho and Mazino appear via video screens in flashbacks. Although many shows on Broadway have been overusing video screens (looking at you, Redwood), here they added to the spectacle. The screens kept the actors at a remove, creating a veil between them and the audience. HwaBoon, the plant, showed more chemistry with the robots than the human characters.

Maybe Happy Ending’s music felt like a character of its own. The songs, especially “Why Love?”, are sweeping, grand, and romantic, while exploring deep themes and asking thought-provoking questions. In the context of many modern musicals employing genres such as ballads and folk, having a show with a 100% jazz score was such a treat. This is the type of music I love listening to when I'm on a walk, or when I'm baking.

The scenic and technical design in this show is next-level. The first word that comes to mind is “spectacle,” albeit not in the same way that Phantom of the Opera or Stranger Things is a spectacle. While there’s no giant Mind Flayer puppet or chandelier careening above the audience, this show’s scenes are displayed beautifully. The sets, while simple, are quite impressive, with the sliding set revealing the sleek, crisp, and sharp angles, and bright colors that reminded me of the scenic design from the revival of Company. There were also clear K-Pop music video influences, which is fitting because this is a Korean show that takes place in Korea. There are two moments in particular that really blew my mind. The first is a gorgeous firefly scene that reminded me a little of “Wait For Me” from Hadestown. Both times I saw the show, it made me gasp. The second scene is a gorgeous and heartbreaking memory sequence that uses the giant screens, sweeping orchestrals, incredible lighting cues, and simple choreography. The way it all came together was gorgeous and made me tear up, especially the second time because I knew what was happening. 

I usually have one or two small nitpicks, but I struggled to find any in this show, and it’s easy to see why both audiences and critics adore Maybe Happy Ending. I hope that this show has a long and healthy run, even after Criss leaves in August, because it is so unique, charming, and sweet. Broadway needs shows like Maybe Happy Ending to remind us to love, to live, and to not take love for granted. Oliver’s makeup (which makes it look like Criss had plastic surgery) notwithstanding, perhaps my only critique is that the merch stand doesn’t sell individual HwaBoon plants. 

I originally went into this show to see Darren Criss after missing him in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and “Little Shop of Horrors.” I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I walked away loving it, as well as confident that Criss and the show would win many Tony awards. And i was right!