"Maybe Happy Ending" is the most charming musical to come to Broadway in a long time. Is it perfect? No. But what a breath of fresh air to have a beautiful, fully original new musical with a fantastic score that's sure to become a musical theater staple. It find it telling that, more and more, the best new musicals are no longer coming from the U.S., but from overseas. "Maybe Happy Ending", written by Will Aronson and Hue Park. Though Aronson is American, and Park was in America when he first got the idea for the show, it was originally produced in South Korea, in Korean (one wonders if, in the bureaucracy that is American commercial musical theater if such a gem ever would have gotten out of the development stage, as many brilliant shows never do.) Becoming a huge hit it is now on Broadway at the Belasco Theater starring Darren Criss and fantastic newcomer Helen J. Shen (I have to say, as much as I loved Shen's performance I absolutely adore the original South Korean Claire - Jeon Mi Do, especially her physicality. I highly recommend checking out her performance on YouTube.) Michael Arden's direction, as always, is pitch perfect - I especially loved how he combines projection and high tech scenic design (finally used well! Not just as a crutch) with traditional storytelling techniques (fireflies, anyone?)
"Maybe Happy Ending" is like if Pixar adapted "Never Let Me Go" or "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Set in a not so distant future in Seoul where A.I. has advanced to the level of human passing full time personal assistants (with competing models, not unlike iPhones) called Helperbots. The story follows a model 3 Helperbot, Oliver (Criss) and a model 5, Claire (Shen) who live at a facility for "retired" (read: abandoned) Helperbots to live out the rest of their days until they eventually stop working (we watch a montage wherein Oliver discovers replacement parts for his model have been discontinued, and Claire discovers that her battery is failing - barely holding any sort of charge anymore.) Oliver, reminiscent of little orphan Annie, believes that his owner is coming back for him and flat out dismisses the idea that he's been "retired." Never mind the fact that it's been over a decade since his owner left...
His stable, routine world is upended one day when Claire knocks on his door desperate to borrow his charger before she "dies." He ultimately decides to lend it to her, letting Claire into his life and beginning to raise all sorts of questions for both of them about the meaning of their lives and how much emotion they might be capable of. Oliver has been collecting cans at night to trade for money (which Helperbots are not allowed to have) to save up to take a trip to Jeju island where his owner is, theoretically, waiting for him. Claire, realizing that her "death" is imminent, and remembering the beauty of seeing fireflies with her owner on Jeju island, points out several flaws in Oliver's plan, and offers to help by driving them to the island (unlike model 3s, model 5s can drive, and Claire's owner, guilty about abandoning Claire, has left her her car.)
Claire, who had intended to let herself "die" alone amongst the fireflies, instead goes back to Seul with Oliver... and the two discover that they've fallen in love with each other.
If it sounds like I'm giving away a lot... I'm not, really. Because the heart of the show comes into play once the two characters have fallen in love. See, their story, like all love stories, really, is, in a way, doomed the moment it starts. Both Claire and Oliver know with exact precision the moment they will stop functioning... Claire has, maybe, a year... Oliver, possibly three. Which means that Oliver will have to watch Claire die... and then live on without her. And the ultimate question becomes - is it worth it? Both Claire and Oliver end up in possession of their passwords, which gives them the ability to edit their software. They can erase each other from their minds. And, really, wouldn't that be better?
The title of the show comes from the eleven o'clock number of the same name. The lyrics are:
But as endings go, ours is not so bad
What is most interesting about the show is what happens AFTER that song is sung.
The show does a beautiful job of weaving in questions about our relationship with technology and the idea that we are maybe turning ourselves into machines and ignoring our humanity.
Criss and Shen have a monumental job performing this show eight times a week. Both are onstage practically the entire time (I started to get concerned for them going number after number after number with not so much as half a second offstage to get a quick sip of water.) They are joined by a small ensemble who play all the other roles in the show, but it is heavy lifting for Criss and Shen. Chriss' physicality is especially impressive and he's now my personal odds on favorite to win the Tony this year, as is the score of this show, and possibly Arden's direction.
All the design elements are home runs, and special props must be given to the orchestra who appear onstage for just one number, complete with a turn table and those beautiful fireflies, and then must get back in the pit in time for the next song.
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