The new Broadway musical starring Darren Criss and Helen J Shen is a refreshing comedy merging robots and romance.
“Maybe Happy Ending” is a tale as old as time — boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl also happen to be robots. The new musical playing at the Belasco Theatre is a classic boy-next-door romance with a technological twist, and is one of the most refreshing shows on Broadway.
Set in a futuristic Seoul, the new Broadway musical is a romantic comedy following Oliver (Darren Criss) and Claire (Helen J Shen), two robotic assistants called Helperbots — machines that are kind of like if Alexa and Siri had realistic, humanoid bodies. The two are next-door neighbors in an apartment complex for Helperbots left behind by their owners. They struggle to find replacement parts for outdated models like themselves, and grow close as they embark on an adventure outside their lonely rooms.
In director Michael Arden’s capable hands, “Maybe Happy Ending” oozes charm with its stylish staging and characters’ robotic quirkiness. The musical is a celebration of the everyday things that make life worth living.
A Tony Award-winning director, Arden is known for his innovative reinvention of modern classics. His groundbreaking revivals of “Spring Awakening,” “Once on This Island” and “Parade” were all met with critical acclaim.
While “Maybe Happy Ending” is the first original show he has directed on Broadway, the show itself is not entirely new. It first premiered in Seoul in 2016, and this Korean-language version saw productions in South Korea, Japan and China.
Still, it’s hard to imagine a version of the show more polished than Arden’s. He first worked with “Maybe Happy Ending” in a 2020 production in Atlanta — the show’s English-language debut. His bold staging and visuals elevate the writing, taking Oliver and Claire’s love story to another level.
The set design of “Maybe Happy Ending” features colorful strips of light that frame the action of the stage. As Oliver sits alone in his apartment, his whole room is enclosed in the neon glow of the lights forming a small box around his personal space. But when Claire knocks on his door to borrow his charger, his world expands and so do the shining lights around him. The resulting visuals are striking, perfectly blending the futuristic setting with the emotional state of the characters. Dane Laffrey’s stage design and aesthetic pairs well with Arden’s arrangement of actors in the scenes, giving the show a distinct visual identity and charm.
The production masterfully mixes video projections into the live performance. Claire’s former owners Jiyeon and Suhan played by Arden Cho and Young Mazino, for instance, appear only through these prerecorded videos as she relives certain memories. These video projections give us a glimpse into Claire’s programming and the life she lived before she met Oliver. The use of videos heightens the show’s storytelling, creating a technological barrier between the past and the present. It’s a visually captivating way of showing the digital interiority of the robot protagonists.
With that being said, “Maybe Happy Ending” doesn’t always stick the landing in climactic scenes. While the show builds up the mystery of Oliver and Claire’s pasts, their reveals are ultimately very predictable. It’s revealed that James, Oliver’s owner, left him to repair his relationship with his son, who tells Oliver that it was hard being constantly compared to his father’s Helperbot. Meanwhile, Claire’s owners let her go after one of them starts developing romantic feelings for her instead of his partner. Both reveals are rooted in cliches of jealousy that are a little too melodramatic, undermining what is an otherwise emotionally grounded story.
However, the show’s simple, intimate moments make up for its weak dramatic scenes. “Maybe Happy Ending” hits you the hardest in the quiet moments of true connection between its awkward, endearing protagonists. Oliver and Claire are utterly adorable as they find joy in the simplest things. At one point, Oliver and Claire sit quietly together, watching a pack of fireflies in the forest with complete wonder. It’s the beautiful picture of companionship that moved me close to tears.
While many shows on Broadway are big spectacles, “Maybe Happy Ending” provides a refreshing perspective with its embrace of small, everyday interactions. The musical stuns with its unique and innovative staging, but at its core, it is a portrait of two people — two robots, rather — learning, as Claire puts it in the show, how to not be alone.
Contact Ella Sabrina Malabanan at [emailprotected].