Darren Criss, whose breakout role on “Glee'' led to a multifaceted career in television, theater and music, is starring in this new musical, nominally about robots but also about life, love and loss. It will return to Broadway in the fall.
The show “Maybe Happy Endings” is a rarity on Broadway: it is a completely original musical, rather than an adaptation of an existing story or song catalog. The musical, in which Chris co-stars with Helen J. Shen and two other actors, is set in late 21st century Seoul, where two obsolete helper bots meet at a robotic nursing home and decide that their obsolete and The story is about building relationships through struggle.
The musical by Will Aronson and Hue Park had its first Korean-language performance in Seoul in 2016, followed by an English-language production at Atlanta's Alliance Theater in 2020, and was named the New York Times Chief Theater Critic. Jesse Green performed there. described the film as “a charming new Broadway-ready musical about robots in love.”
The Broadway production, announced Tuesday, will be directed by Michael Arden, who also directed the Atlanta production and won a Tony Award last year for directing the revival of “Parade.” “Maybe Happy Ending” begins previews on September 18th at the Belasco Theater and is scheduled to open on October 17th.
“It's a weird, futuristic take on love, and it's beautiful music that feels very classical,” Arden said in a phone interview. “When I first read it, I found it truly shocking, heartbreaking, and beautiful. Even though the main character wasn't human, it was one of the most human stories I've ever come across. did.”
Chris, who won an Emmy Award for his role in “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,'' last appeared on Broadway in the 2022 revival of “American Buffalo.'' He previously appeared in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.''
“Maybe Happy Endings'' will be Shen's first Broadway performance, currently appearing in “The Lonely Few'' at Off-Broadway's MCC Theater. Chris and Shen play robots. The cast also includes former “The Voice” contestant Dez Duron.
Maybe Happy Endings is being funded for $18.25 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The musical's lead producers are Jeffrey Richards and Hunter Arnold, who announced Friday that they are also producing the new Off-Broadway production of N/A, starring Holland Taylor and Anna Villafani. The play, written by Mario Correa and directed by Diane Paulus, began previews June 11 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater and is scheduled to open June 23. The play is inspired by real people and events and depicts the tension between the first female speaker of the House of Representatives and the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, according to a news release. The characters resemble Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.