MAYBE HAPPY ENDING Previews

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 10/15/24 at 12:00am

It’s not the end.

Four years after its North American premiere at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, the new, original musical Maybe Happy Ending arrives at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway tomorrow night (October 16), prior to a November 12 official opening. The futuristic romcom stars Darren Criss and Helen J Shen as neighboring robots; the two are joined onstage by Dez Duron and Marcus Choi. Music, lyrics, and book for Maybe Happy Ending are by Will Aronson and Hue Park; Michael Arden directs.

“Inside a one-room apartment on the outskirts of Seoul, Oliver 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 asks to borrow his charger, what starts as an awkward encounter leads to a unique friendship, a surprising adventure, and maybe even… love?”

Who’s making the trek to South Korea?

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 10/15/24 at 12:43am

Updated On: 11/3/24 at 12:43 AM

[inception]

Posted: 10/15/24 at 9:28am

Re: is it new or a revival...

Was Les Miz considered new or a revival when the English translation of the French musical was first produced, in a version that came from London?

This was on my longlist to see during my November visit from the West Coast, but got knocked off for a few reasons.  The main being a 7pm start time that I doubt will work on a three show day after see the Jamboree thing.  Alex Moffat for under $100 off-Bwy sold me over Darren Criss. The marketing overall for this has been poor.  Hopefully they push & get onto some of the daytime shows like Kelly Clarkson or Kelly Rippa or Drew Barrymore.

[quizking101]

Posted: 10/15/24 at 10:24am

I do have my concerns about the potential longevity. Darren Criss is a draw for many, but the lack of marketing (beyond a logo) makes this one of the many shows competing for space that aren’t making the effort they need to stand out. SWEPT AWAY and TAMMY FAYE are the others.

It really says something that I’m continuing to be bombarded by GATSBY ads on YouTube multiple times every day (to the point of beyond annoyance), but to a lay person, it’s advertised like it’s the only show on Broadway.

[Wick3]

Posted: 10/15/24 at 2:54pm

I’ve been seeing so many ads for this show. I haven’t seen any Gatsby ads at all. 
I hope the dress rehearsal goes well this evening.

[dwwst12]

Posted: 10/16/24 at 1:47pm

Looking forward to reading thoughts from anyone going in the next few nights!

Debating about this and a couple others for a Thanksgiving week trip.

[merle57]

Posted: 10/16/24 at 1:54pm

BREAK A LEG for the company of Maybe Happy Ending. Finally, an original musical, not another revival, or a weakly plotted  jukebox retread,  or a movie desecrated with a generic mediocre score. Great to see Darren Criss originating a role.  Broadway needs more original new musicals. Last season had several good ones from Outsiders to Suffs to Gatsy and Sondheim's final show.  We need more new shows, so good luck to this season's newest show. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 10/16/24 at 2:27pm

100 minutes and no intermission, per Telecharge

[berniesb!tch]

Posted: 10/16/24 at 2:44pm

merle57 said: "BREAK A LEG for the company of Maybe Happy Ending. Finally, an original musical,not another revival, or a weakly plottedjukebox retread,or amoviedesecrated with a generic mediocre score. Great to see Darren Criss originating a role. Broadway needs more original new musicals. Last season had several good ones from Outsiders to Suffs to Gatsy and Sondheim's final show. We need more new shows, so good luck to this season's newest show."

Almost everything you listed is an adaptation.

[BETTY22]

Posted: 10/16/24 at 2:46pm

Cannot wait to see this charming show. Going to give it a few weeks before i purchase a ticket.

Best of luck....

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 10/16/24 at 3:06pm

The clip they posted on their socials of what looks like tech rehearsals looks very charming and like a blend of modern design with throwback rom-com musical energy. I’m even more interested in seeing it now.

I would very much like for a genuinely original musical to get good word of mouth and grow to be a success story, but they’ll definitely have an uphill battle with this one.

Updated On: 10/16/24 at 03:06 PM

[Bwaygurl2]

Posted: 10/16/24 at 4:20pm

The clips look really good! While the song isn't the greatest it's not at all bad either. 

[jpbran]

Posted: 10/16/24 at 4:59pm

Looking forward to seeing it next weekend, tho I'm definitely getting "Heartbeeps" vibes from the plot. I'm sure Bernadette is thinking, "this is familiar somehow." 😅

[inception]

Posted: 10/16/24 at 7:32pm

Andy Kaufman offered to refund the ticket price for anyone who paid to see Heartbeeps on an episode of Letterman. 

Let's hope this doesn't go down as badly.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 10/16/24 at 10:47pm

How was the show, folx?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/16/24 at 10:53pm

I was dreading this all day. Just not a show I’d been looking forward to but damnit if that wasn’t one of the sweetest musicals I’ve seen in a loooong time. Just a joy from start to finish with excellent performances all around (and Criss is doing the best acting I’ve ever seen him do). Set is phenomenal and Arden’s direction is pretty special, too. The score (on first listen) is “alright but I have a feeling some of it has the potential to really grow on me with time. 

As of tonight, the show seems to have something like six different endings so that needs to be condensed and worked on. But I shocked myself with how much I liked this one. 
Side note - if you’re looking for a set of the Playbills I wish you good luck. The ushers there make damn sure ONE PER PERSON and lock them up in a closet near the street exit when the show starts. 

Updated On: 10/16/24 at 10:53 PM

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 10/16/24 at 11:04pm

Nothing to dread.  It's a cute show no matter the production.  We just wished it was directed in a better and different way than the Korean version - or a new vision with newer design.  It's so similar it feels like the opposite of Close revival of Sunset - same thing, more money in the set.  After this, and Versailles, this cemented Arden as a revival director for us, knowing the previous incarnations of MHE.

This is Criss' best for Broadway, as H2$ wasn't a prefect match and did not see his Hedwig.   The score may be the best part....  but the newer crowd will enjoy not knowing the previous similar incarnations.

Updated On: 10/16/24 at 11:04 PM

[labellaragazza1]

Posted: 10/16/24 at 11:19pm

As with most first previews, some of the pacing needs to be adjusted (but the drag was also in part due to a mid-song pause for a tech issue), but wowza was this heartfelt and emotional. I’d have to listen to the music again, it was very pretty but wasn’t the type of score I’ll be whistling on the way out.
 

Darren and Helen were fabulous, but I think she was the standout vocally. Darren had great mannerisms to show he was an “older” model and was adorably charming.
 

Overall, really enjoyed this show and hope to see it again to see what ending they settle on. 

[dwwst12]

Posted: 10/17/24 at 10:52am

Bunch of positive takes @ Reddit r/Broadway. Good to hear.

[60'splayoff]

Posted: 10/17/24 at 1:26pm

Oh dear... I did not care for this. I was there last night and found the pause for the set the most exciting part of the evening. It reminded me a lot of Two Strangers Carry a Cake... but with a less memorable score and robots lol. It just didn't grab my attention and after so much hype, the technical aspect was a let down. I second the 6 false endings... made me lose any emotional investment I had (which was not much...)

I did find Helen to be the standout, Dez is such a cutie and I thought the World Within My Room motif was sweet.

[TheatreMonkey]

Posted: 10/17/24 at 1:49pm

So, did the show end up having any big, spectacular moments that were often talked about by the cast? Genuinely curious -- it seems, if anything, that the show certainly has heart, but to promote a sweet show with an emphasis on technical "wow" always seemed an odd combination to me. 

[60'splayoff]

Posted: 10/17/24 at 2:07pm

The set is reminiscent to the Company revival and I guess the projections were impressive... but not used in a way we haven't seen before.

[GottaGetAGimmick420]

Posted: 10/17/24 at 2:10pm

TheatreMonkey said: "So, did the show end up having any big, spectacular moments that were often talked about by the cast? Genuinely curious -- it seems, if anything, that the show certainly has heart, but to promote a sweet show with an emphasis on technical "wow" always seemed an odd combination to me."

There was a cool projection moment that hit later in Act One that made me wonder... why haven't they been using this the entire show? Other than that it's a bunch of flats moving around and some neon trimming. Nothing like the BTTF car or the POTO chandelier... so no idea what Darren was talking about. 

Updated On: 10/18/24 at 02:10 PM

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 10/18/24 at 12:36am

Darren was talking about moving tickets for a seriously undersold show. I do think the clips from their dress and tech they released look cool. I'm excited to see this next weekend. 

[dwwst12]

Posted: 10/18/24 at 9:27am

This may be a stupid question, but why do so many "seriously undersold" shows now not use discount codes? Compared to when I first started making regular trips to NYC and following all of this closely in the late 2000's, discount codes seem far less common.