MAYBE HAPPY ENDING Reviews — Page 21

My take is that the creators and producers want to open the show up to non-white casting so that there can be more regional and school productions in the future. They don’t want to lose money on residuals by making the show harder to cast outside of major cities. If they set the “white actors in these roles is okay!” precedent while the show is on Broadway then it sends a message for the future that their show is not hard to cast and you should absolutely do it at your institution and give them $$$. 

Updated On: 7/24/25 at 11:00 AM

AC126748 said: "This is starting to give off strong "Mandy Patinkin as Pierre" vibes, which is unfortunate. The show was developed with a mix of white, black and Asian actors playing the roles in workshops, and there are no clear references to ethnicity in the script. (And again, they're robots.) There are multiple ways in which having Oliver and Claire be physically distinct from each other makes dramaturgical sense. And casting Feldman doesn't preclude Asian actors from playing the role in the future."

And at the same time, MHE did not shy away from celebrating Darren's (and the rest of the cast) ethnicity, and it hasn't been open a year yet. They easily could have chosen an Asian actor.

pagereynolds said:
And at the same time, MHE did not shy away from celebrating Darren's (and the rest of the cast) ethnicity, and it hasn't been open a year yet. They easily could have chosen an Asian actor."

Unfortunately that’s what productions have to do now - “Look how diverse we are!” - to satisfy the SJWs sitting at home with their Excel spreadsheets just waiting to pounce on some perceived racial employment quota infringement. 

pagereynolds said: "AC126748 said: "This is starting to give off strong "Mandy Patinkin as Pierre" vibes, which is unfortunate. The show was developed with a mix of white, black and Asian actors playing the roles in workshops, and there are no clear references to ethnicity in the script. (And again, they're robots.) There are multiple ways in which having Oliver and Claire be physically distinct from each other makes dramaturgical sense. And casting Feldman doesn't preclude Asian actors from playing the role in the future."

And at the same time, MHE did not shy away from celebrating Darren's (and the rest of the cast) ethnicity, and it hasn't been open a year yet. They easily could have chosen an Asian actor."

Putting aside the non-sequitur -- they could have chosen hundreds of actors. They chose Feldman. That's how casting works.

“They easily could have chosen an Asian actor.“

It’s a disingenuous argument to think casting solely comes down to just that factor.

Yes, finding an Asian actor is easy. Finding an Asian actor who agrees to the schedule, pay negotiations, has marketability or is a name that sells, even cares to do/about the show, has the availability, will keep sales steady, etc. is not as easy as it is implied. 

Now, a big part of that IS due to the fact that Asian actors have been under represented and historically not given as many opportunities as white counterparts - but this is a temporary business decision. You can’t fault them for doing what they can to keep the show afloat. Andrew will sell more tickets during these slow weeks than a relatively unknown Asian actor. I don’t like that, but it’s the truth. It’s not like this temporary casting whitewashes the entire musical indefinitely. 

As mentioned, performers involved with previous iterations of the musical have not all been of Asian decent, as well as the casting notice which calls for all races. Unfortunately (and I do mean that sincerely), the show will have more wide accessibility and longer life if kept open for non-Asian performers to be involved. It’s not ideal, but again, that’s the reality. 

Updated On: 7/24/25 at 11:20 AM

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "“They easily could have chosen an Asian actor.“

It’s a disingenuous argument to think casting solely comes down to just that factor.

Yes, finding an Asian actor is easy. Finding an Asian actor who agrees to the schedule, pay negotiations, has marketability or is aname that sells, even cares to do/about the show, has the availability, will keep sales steady, etc. is not as easy as it is implied.

Now, a big part of that IS due to the fact that Asian actors have been under represented and historically not given as many opportunities as white counterparts - but this is a temporary business decision. You can’t fault them for doing what they can to keep the show afloat. Andrew will sell more tickets during these slow weeks than a relatively unknown Asian actor. I don’t like that, but it’s the truth.It’s not like this temporary casting whitewashes the entire musical indefinitely.

As mentioned, performers involved with previous iterations of the musical have not all been of Asian decent, as well as thecasting notice which calls for all races. Unfortunately (and I do mean that sincerely), the show will have more wide accessibility and longer life if kept open for non-Asian performers to be involved. It’s not ideal, but again, that’s the reality."

Very well said. 

Updated On: 7/24/25 at 11:28 AM

What’s interesting too is I’m sure the harsh realities of just pushing this show through to opening night was such a burden emotionally and financially, they hadn’t considered the longterm ramifications of standing on their platform of Asian representation.

they made it this far and now they have to navigate this really tough spot that they put themselves in. I wonder if they could be more transparent about all of the points they considered when making this decision.

Seeing Zachary Noah Piser as Evan Hansen was an unreal experience for me. I think that was the first time I had seen an Asian man leading a show in a role that Asianness was not inherent to. It was a really special experience.

I don’t know if this was WRONG. But it was special to see the Maybe Happy Ending cast comprised of principles and understudies that were all Asian in the Korea based roles. There’s something special about casting the show this way even when it can be argued that they don’t HAVE to, and it feels  weird that there seemed to be so much intention in the original casting and then have this as the first replacement. I think the pivot is what feels jarring about this moreso than JUST the exact casting. It’s disappointing, especially when selling power is an argument that will no doubt be made against Asian men, and this is the time when the show doesn’t necessarily need someone with selling power. 

I’m disappointed and I don’t like that this happened, but I’d hate to see a big backlash against the show. This is the first replacement and it’s only for 9 weeks. That doesn’t take away everything that feels wrong about it, but I’ll be very interested to see future replacement casting.

Also, the weight of Asian leading men’s careers should not be placed on the show that just won the first Tony. I love to see an Asian show casting Asian actors, but in this situation with this role an entire backlash would be more destructive than constructive. I hope to see a majority Asian casting in these roles in this show, and I hope to see more Asian casting in others

Updated On: 10/9/25 at 11:42 AM

Y'all want to justify this, the fact remains- it's a bad look.

It's bad PR for a show that is still a modest ticket seller.

This is not going to be something that gets waved away.

This show is thriving on youth engagement and online engagement and they're pissed about it rightfully.

 "But he's a robot" this is very intentional white casting. They saw their in with Darren away and went for it.

 

Updated On: 7/24/25 at 12:30 PM

MB124 said: "WiCkEDrOcKS said: "AC126748 said: "This is starting to give off strong "Mandy Patinkin as Pierre" vibes, which is unfortunate. The show was developed with a mix of white, black and Asian actors playing the roles in workshops, and there are no clear references to ethnicity in the script. (And again, they're robots.) There are multiple ways in which having Oliver and Claire be physically distinct from each other makes dramaturgical sense. And casting Feldman doesn't preclude Asian actors from playing the role in the future."

This. Everyone’s so quick to be up in arms about the stupidest sh*t nowadays.


Sweaty Oracle, I’m looking at you. Get a life."

…and a job."

Everytime I see one of his posts I have to brace myself for his highly unnecessary yelling. Like stfu 

Hey, I think we should all be thankful we don’t have to  suffer through Jordan Fisher in this role

BroadwayNYC2 said: "Hey, I think we should all be thankful we don’t have to suffer through Jordan Fisher in this role"

…..yet.