Great news to share for fans of Happy Ending, the new musical starring Darren Criss and Helen J Shen. On social media, the show revealed this evening that a cast recording is in the works.The show features music by Will Aronson, lyrics by Hue Park, book by both Aronson and Park, and direction by Tony Award-winner Michael Arden.
Maybe Happy Ending opened on Broadway on November 12, 2024 at the Belasco Theatre. Maybe Happy Ending stars Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winner Darren Criss, Helen J Shen, Dez Duron, and Marcus Choi. The cast also includes: Steven Huynh, Hannah Kevitt, Daniel May, and Christopher James Tamayo who round out the production as the understudies.
Inside a one-room apartment on the outskirts of Seoul, Oliver (Criss) lives a happily quiet life listening to jazz records and caring for his favorite plant. But what else is there to do when you’re a HelperBot 3, a robot that has long been retired and considered obsolete? When his fellow HelperBot neighbor Claire (Shen) asks to borrow his charger, what starts as an awkward encounter leads to a unique friendship, a surprising adventure, and maybe even…love? Winner of the Richard Rodgers Award, Maybe Happy Ending is the offbeat and captivating story of two outcasts near the end of their warranty who discover that even robots can be swept off their feet. Helmed by visionary director and Tony Award winner Michael Arden (Parade, Once on This Island), with a dazzling scenic design by Dane Laffrey (A Christmas Carol) and book, music, and lyrics by the internationally acclaimed duo Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending is a fresh, original musical about the small things that make any life worth living.
Maybe Happy Ending was written in both Korean and English-language versions. The Korean-language version opened in December of 2016 at DaeMyung Culture Factory in Seoul and subsequently won six Korean Musical Awards including Best Musical. The English-language version was awarded the 2017 Richard Rodgers Production Award and had its U.S. premiere at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta in the 2019-2020 season under the direction of Michael Arden.