MAYBE HAPPY ENDING Reviews- Page 23

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 7/24/25 at 8:28pm

ER765 said: "Everyone is losing it in the comments on the social media announcement posts.

People need to get LIVES. Not every issue is a social justice battlethat you need to fight in the commentsection.

Exhausting."

You said it. I can usually make it all the way through those comment sections on other issues or causes. I had to give up early this time. The horses have well and truly left the barn. 

[abcd12]

Posted: 7/24/25 at 8:38pm

ER765 said: "Everyone is losing it in the comments on the social media announcement posts.

People need to get LIVES. Not every issue is a social justice battlethat you need to fight in the commentsection.

Exhausting."

it’s ridiculous. we get it. You’re progressive.

You’re fighting in a comment section about someone playing a fictional robot. Do something more productive with your time. 

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 7/24/25 at 9:34pm

There is zero chances that he plays this role after all this social media craziness.

[Ptero2]

Posted: 7/24/25 at 9:39pm

I feel like this is a very online thing and will not impact the show at the box office in any way (other than the unrelated impact of losing Criss). How many people who see any given performance of MHE are even aware Darren Criss is Asian?

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/24/25 at 9:43pm

MadsonMelo said: "There is zero chance that he plays this role after all this social media craziness."

Lolz. Youre delusional and clearly don't understand how contracts work. Grow up.

I feel like this is a very online thing and will not impact the show at the box office in any way

Correct. People without real problems bitching about a two-month casting in a.....musical. Maybe they should read the actual news? Just a thought.

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 7/24/25 at 9:48pm

Ptero2 said: "I feel like this is a very online thing and will not impact the show at the box office in any way (other than the unrelated impact of losing Criss). How many people who see any given performance of MHE are even aware Darren Criss is Asian?"

Right. Anyone complaining has either seen the show and wasn’t going to see it again anyway, or is too far away to see it, or is nearby and had no intention of seeing it. Ticket buyers are going to see Maybe Happy Ending the musical, not Make Sure Everyone’s Racially Appropriate the musical. 

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 12:08am

“There is zero chances that he plays this role after all this social media craziness.”


Broadway fans never beating the “I have zero clue how any of this works” allegations. 
 

let’s just merge the Billy porter comment thread with this one

Updated On: 7/25/25 at 12:08 AM

[Ensemble1698878795]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 12:52am

BorisTomashevsky said: "Ensemble1698878795 said: "Asian actors have less than a handful of new musical theater shows to audition for. If I am correct, most, if not all, of the off stage covers are Asian. This was lazy casting in so many ways. Put in the work, find the talent, dig deeper. People are out there, but not if you don’t make it your mission."

Asian actors aren’t limited in the roles they’re considered for. Tons of Asians have worked on Broadway recently and continue to. Don’t pretend there’s an issue when there isn’t one.

Copy/pasting the below from a previous reply I posted:

I saw an Asian Aaron Burr. I saw an Asian Christine Daae. I saw Sara Porkalob in 1776. I saw multiple Asians leading Here Lies Love. I saw Asians leading Miss Saigon less than a decade ago. I saw Asians in Godspell in 2012. I saw an Asian in Come From Away. I saw an Asian as Princess Jasmine. I saw an Asian as Aladdin. I saw an Asian cover as Velma Kelly while an Asian played Amos Hart. I saw an Asian Abe Lincoln in Oh Mary.And an Asian just won a Tony Award for playingNorma Desmond."

Tone deaf as hell. But many of you are white supremacist robots on these threads, so your humanity goes as deep as your research. You will always find an excuse or example to refute things you don’t live. I don’t care how many roles Asians are cast in. There is a disproportionate amount of roles in new musicals that says people are seeking Asian actors to play Asian roles and this show finally offered that possibility; sadly the first replacement is a white guy. I’ll wait for your piss poor excuse of a response or your attempt to blame me for mentioning white supremacy (when that’s exactly what your responses are based in.)

[binau]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 3:01am

Did anyone know that Andrew and Helen are apparently dating in real life? That does make the dynamics more interesting and I wonder if was part of the decision (eg onstage chemistry). 

Anyway, if I were the producers I would release a statement saying something like Andrew is a temporary short stint and although robots don't have races they look forward to using their show to provide more opportunities for Asian actors in the future. Then can someone call Zachary Noah Piser who seems to be quickly becoming the next big thing. 

It's a little surprising they went in this direction especially with today's climate.  

 

Updated On: 7/25/25 at 03:01 AM

[jazzicat]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 3:34am

THIS - I think the stunt casting was purely because of their real life romance. Helen herself probably agreed to this option. She is the one they honestly can’t lose at this point… and not brushing any of this under the rug, but this is an act of desperation. Unfortunately this might just be enough to close the show this feels very similar to Jagged Little Pill at the moment. 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 5:03am

“There is a disproportionate amount of roles in new musicals that says people are seeking Asian actors to play Asian roles”

You say Disproportionate. So what is the correct proportion? Your word, not mine. Productions are obviously auditioning and casting Asian people but you say it’s not enough. So what IS enough?

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 7:44am

Fwiw, neither Helen nor Darren are Korean in this Korea-set musical. Asia is not a monolith and there are huge cultural differences between Korea, China, and the Philippines; not to mention between Asian and Asian-American cultures.

Andrew is Helen’s boyfriend. That’s why he was cast. That is the reason.

Updated On: 7/25/25 at 07:44 AM

[witchoftheeast2]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 8:32am

"There weren't other Asian actors you could have cast?"

Oh so many factors to consider here. Scheduling, Contracts. Wanting to do the show in the first place. They could have turned it down. Unless you were in that room, you have no idea what steps led to him being cast. 

Asking ABF to step down, blaming this on "Trumps America"- yes, I actually saw that as a comment on one post about this casting- that is not it. 

[Ensemble1698878795]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 9:03am

BorisTomashevsky said: "“There is a disproportionate amount of roles in new musicals that says people are seeking Asian actors to play Asian roles”

You say Disproportionate. So what is the correct proportion? Your word, not mine. Productions are obviously auditioning and casting Asian people but you say it’s not enough. So what IS enough?"

Honey, look at history. Flip through the playbills of the past 2-3 decades. The go to casting in theater is white - whether the role calls for it or not. Perhaps Asian actors are tired of only doing the King and I, Flower Drum Song and South Pacific. Perhaps they were excited to finally do something contemporary and fresh. MHE is that offering. 
 

I’ll ask you, when is casting white people as the go to enough? Is already having the majority of roles not enough? Asian Actors who make a living auditioning and acting in theater have a right to be upset and their allies have a right to speak up in annoyance of this casting. You don’t quantify what is or isn’t enough. The people living it do. 

[CJRochester]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 9:07am

binau said: "Did anyone know that Andrew and Helen are apparently dating in real life? That does make the dynamics more interesting and I wonder if was part of the decision (eg onstage chemistry).
"

It's been public on Andrew's Instagram for the past couple of years. I agree this might enhance the onstage chemistry. 

[Owen22]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 9:08am

binau said: "Don’t you have to be a ‘name’ to stunt cast? Maybe I continue to be ‘out of touch’ but I predict barely anyone knows who he is and he will sell a handful of tickets at most."

I am so over this thread, but since no one answered you:

Andrew starred in a movie that no one saw in theatres called "No Hard Feelings".  However it did star Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence and may have been seen a lot when it streamed for free.  So he is a bit of a "name" in the US at large. Theatre-wise, he has made a somewhat impressive career since winning the Jimmy award, including actually being in high school (I think) when he played Evan Hansen and recently got raves in the new Joshua Harmon play We Had a World.

Updated On: 7/25/25 at 09:08 AM

[ER765]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 9:12am

Ensemble1698878795 said: "BorisTomashevsky said: "Ensemble1698878795 said: "Asian actors have less than a handful of new musical theater shows to audition for. If I am correct, most, if not all, of the off stage covers are Asian. This was lazy casting in so many ways. Put in the work, find the talent, dig deeper. People are out there, but not if you don’t make it your mission."

Asian actors aren’t limited in the roles they’re considered for. Tons of Asians have worked on Broadway recently and continue to. Don’t pretend there’s an issue when there isn’t one.

Copy/pasting the below from a previous reply I posted:

I saw an Asian Aaron Burr. I saw an Asian Christine Daae. I saw Sara Porkalob in 1776. I saw multiple Asians leading Here Lies Love. I saw Asians leading Miss Saigon less than a decade ago. I saw Asians in Godspell in 2012. I saw an Asian in Come From Away. I saw an Asian as Princess Jasmine. I saw an Asian as Aladdin. I saw an Asian cover as Velma Kelly while an Asian played Amos Hart. I saw an Asian Abe Lincoln in Oh Mary.And an Asian just won a Tony Award for playingNorma Desmond."

Tone deaf as hell. But many of you are white supremacist robots on these threads, so your humanity goes as deep as your research. You will always find an excuse or example to refute things you don’t live. I don’t care how many roles Asians are cast in. There is a disproportionate amount of roles in new musicals that says people are seeking Asian actors to play Asian roles and this show finally offered that possibility; sadly the first replacement is a white guy. I’ll wait for your piss poor excuse of a response or your attempt to blame me for mentioning white supremacy (when that’s exactly what your responses are based in.)"

Now anyone who doesn’t agree with you is a white supremacist.

Touch grass. 

Updated On: 7/25/25 at 09:12 AM

[witchoftheeast2]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 9:25am

ER765 said: "Ensemble1698878795 said: "BorisTomashevsky said: "Ensemble1698878795 said: "Asian actors have less than a handful of new musical theater shows to audition for. If I am correct, most, if not all, of the off stage covers are Asian. This was lazy casting in so many ways. Put in the work, find the talent, dig deeper. People are out there, but not if you don’t make it your mission."

Asian actors aren’t limited in the roles they’re considered for. Tons of Asians have worked on Broadway recently and continue to. Don’t pretend there’s an issue when there isn’t one.

Copy/pasting the below from a previous reply I posted:

I saw an Asian Aaron Burr. I saw an Asian Christine Daae. I saw Sara Porkalob in 1776. I saw multiple Asians leading Here Lies Love. I saw Asians leading Miss Saigon less than a decade ago. I saw Asians in Godspell in 2012. I saw an Asian in Come From Away. I saw an Asian as Princess Jasmine. I saw an Asian as Aladdin. I saw an Asian cover as Velma Kelly while an Asian played Amos Hart. I saw an Asian Abe Lincoln in Oh Mary.And an Asian just won a Tony Award for playingNorma Desmond."

Tone deaf as hell. But many of you are white supremacist robots on these threads, so your humanity goes as deep as your research. You will always find an excuse or example to refute things you don’t live. I don’t care how many roles Asians are cast in. There is a disproportionate amount of roles in new musicals that says people are seeking Asian actors to play Asian roles and this show finally offered that possibility; sadly the first replacement is a white guy. I’ll wait for your piss poor excuse of a response or your attempt to blame me for mentioning white supremacy (when that’s exactly what your responses are based in.)"

Now anyone who doesn’t agree with you is a white supremacist.

Touch grass."

I think that's what the people who are so offended by this casting need to do too 

[Ensemble1698878795]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 9:40am

witchoftheeast2 said: "ER765 said: "Ensemble1698878795 said: "BorisTomashevsky said: "Ensemble1698878795 said: "Asian actors have less than a handful of new musical theater shows to audition for. If I am correct, most, if not all, of the off stage covers are Asian. This was lazy casting in so many ways. Put in the work, find the talent, dig deeper. People are out there, but not if you don’t make it your mission."

Asian actors aren’t limited in the roles they’re considered for. Tons of Asians have worked on Broadway recently and continue to. Don’t pretend there’s an issue when there isn’t one.

Copy/pasting the below from a previous reply I posted:

I saw an Asian Aaron Burr. I saw an Asian Christine Daae. I saw Sara Porkalob in 1776. I saw multiple Asians leading Here Lies Love. I saw Asians leading Miss Saigon less than a decade ago. I saw Asians in Godspell in 2012. I saw an Asian in Come From Away. I saw an Asian as Princess Jasmine. I saw an Asian as Aladdin. I saw an Asian cover as Velma Kelly while an Asian played Amos Hart. I saw an Asian Abe Lincoln in Oh Mary.And an Asian just won a Tony Award for playingNorma Desmond."

Tone deaf as hell. But many of you are white supremacist robots on these threads, so your humanity goes as deep as your research. You will always find an excuse or example to refute things you don’t live. I don’t care how many roles Asians are cast in. There is a disproportionate amount of roles in new musicals that says people are seeking Asian actors to play Asian roles and this show finally offered that possibility; sadly the first replacement is a white guy. I’ll wait for your piss poor excuse of a response or your attempt to blame me for mentioning white supremacy (when that’s exactly what your responses are based in.)"

Now anyone who doesn’t agree with you is a white supremacist.

Touch grass."

I think that's what the people who are so offended by this casting need to do too"

You say touch grass when you obviously aren't in the business. This isn't your livelihood. It amazes me that so many of you talk crap about a career you don't live, but you spend your time on a message board criticizing people who have friends who do. Densely in-compassionate robots. You should touch grass or stop spending your hours on a theater message board if you don't care about the people who perform in theater. Grow up. 

[GottaGetAGimmick420]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 10:08am

Well, at least I learned this week that this board is still white as hell and stuck in the past. My mistake for not remembering that sooner when engaging in conversation with you all.

[MB124]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 10:13am

GottaGetAGimmick420 said: "Well, at least I learned this week that this board is still white as hell and stuck in the past. My mistake for not remembering that sooner when engaging in conversation with you all."

How do you purport to know anyone's race on an anonymous message board...? Genuinely don't understand.

Just because someone doesn't agree with you doesn't immediately make them an ignorant white supremacist.  

It's not like we're debating whether or not the January 6th insurrection was a good thing or a bad thing.  Chill. 

[ER765]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 10:18am

GottaGetAGimmick420 said: "Well, at least I learned this week that this board is still white as hell and stuck in the past. My mistake for not remembering that sooner when engaging in conversation with you all."

Girl, please.  For the millionth time, I am a POC.  Take your overblown outrage to the comments section on Instagram.  

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 10:25am

I’ll ask you, when is casting white people as the go to enough?

How is anyone going to know when one is the go-to and another is not? Should there be an Asians-only casting round before any whites are seen? What about other races? When are they factored in? What if it’s majority white actors who hit the notes the way the composers want? Or who find the emotion in the scene the authors wrote? Should we get equal amounts of each race in the room for final auditions, all the same? You will be forever unsatisfied because you don’t even know what your goal looks like.

Are you comfortable that a Korean role was played by a non-Korean before? Is “any ol’ kind of Asian” enough to fill that quota? Did you get consent from all 4.75 billion Asians on the planet before making that determination?

You and your flawed logic. Yawn. 

Updated On: 7/25/25 at 10:25 AM

[witchoftheeast2]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 10:31am

Ensemble1698878795 said: "witchoftheeast2 said: "ER765 said: "Ensemble1698878795 said: "BorisTomashevsky said: "Ensemble1698878795 said: "Asian actors have less than a handful of new musical theater shows to audition for. If I am correct, most, if not all, of the off stage covers are Asian. This was lazy casting in so many ways. Put in the work, find the talent, dig deeper. People are out there, but not if you don’t make it your mission."

Asian actors aren’t limited in the roles they’re considered for. Tons of Asians have worked on Broadway recently and continue to. Don’t pretend there’s an issue when there isn’t one.

Copy/pasting the below from a previous reply I posted:

I saw an Asian Aaron Burr. I saw an Asian Christine Daae. I saw Sara Porkalob in 1776. I saw multiple Asians leading Here Lies Love. I saw Asians leading Miss Saigon less than a decade ago. I saw Asians in Godspell in 2012. I saw an Asian in Come From Away. I saw an Asian as Princess Jasmine. I saw an Asian as Aladdin. I saw an Asian cover as Velma Kelly while an Asian played Amos Hart. I saw an Asian Abe Lincoln in Oh Mary.And an Asian just won a Tony Award for playingNorma Desmond."

Tone deaf as hell. But many of you are white supremacist robots on these threads, so your humanity goes as deep as your research. You will always find an excuse or example to refute things you don’t live. I don’t care how many roles Asians are cast in. There is a disproportionate amount of roles in new musicals that says people are seeking Asian actors to play Asian roles and this show finally offered that possibility; sadly the first replacement is a white guy. I’ll wait for your piss poor excuse of a response or your attempt to blame me for mentioning white supremacy (when that’s exactly what your responses are based in.)"

Now anyone who doesn’t agree with you is a white supremacist.

Touch grass."

I think that's what the people who are so offended by this casting need to do too"

You say touch grass when you obviously aren't in the business. This isn't your livelihood. It amazes me that so many of you talk crap about a career you don't live, but you spend your time on a message board criticizing people who have friends who do. Densely in-compassionate robots. You should touch grass or stop spending your hours on a theater message board if you don't care about the people who perform in theater. Grow up."

Never assume anything about the people on these boards unless you have actually met them in person. Maybe you're the one who is a "densely incompassionate robot", who needs to touch grass and grow up. 

[Ensemble1698878795]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 11:03am

witchoftheeast2 said: "Ensemble1698878795 said: "witchoftheeast2 said: "ER765 said: "Ensemble1698878795 said: "BorisTomashevsky said: "Ensemble1698878795 said: "Asian actors have less than a handful of new musical theater shows to audition for. If I am correct, most, if not all, of the off stage covers are Asian. This was lazy casting in so many ways. Put in the work, find the talent, dig deeper. People are out there, but not if you don’t make it your mission."

Asian actors aren’t limited in the roles they’re considered for. Tons of Asians have worked on Broadway recently and continue to. Don’t pretend there’s an issue when there isn’t one.

Copy/pasting the below from a previous reply I posted:

I saw an Asian Aaron Burr. I saw an Asian Christine Daae. I saw Sara Porkalob in 1776. I saw multiple Asians leading Here Lies Love. I saw Asians leading Miss Saigon less than a decade ago. I saw Asians in Godspell in 2012. I saw an Asian in Come From Away. I saw an Asian as Princess Jasmine. I saw an Asian as Aladdin. I saw an Asian cover as Velma Kelly while an Asian played Amos Hart. I saw an Asian Abe Lincoln in Oh Mary.And an Asian just won a Tony Award for playingNorma Desmond."

Tone deaf as hell. But many of you are white supremacist robots on these threads, so your humanity goes as deep as your research. You will always find an excuse or example to refute things you don’t live. I don’t care how many roles Asians are cast in. There is a disproportionate amount of roles in new musicals that says people are seeking Asian actors to play Asian roles and this show finally offered that possibility; sadly the first replacement is a white guy. I’ll wait for your piss poor excuse of a response or your attempt to blame me for mentioning white supremacy (when that’s exactly what your responses are based in.)"

Now anyone who doesn’t agree with you is a white supremacist.

Touch grass."

I think that's what the people who are so offended by this casting need to do too"

You say touch grass when you obviously aren't in the business. This isn't your livelihood. It amazes me that so many of you talk crap about a career you don't live, but you spend your time on a message board criticizing people who have friends who do. Densely in-compassionate robots. You should touch grass or stop spending your hours on a theater message board if you don't care about the people who perform in theater. Grow up."

Never assume anything about the people on these boards unless you have actually met them in person. Maybe you're the one who is a "densely incompassionate robot", who needs to touch grass and grow up."

I don't have to assume much based on the idiotic questions asked on this board. The lack of compassion around topics of race shows up in the way most of you respond. You get irritated when people don't allow you to say any and every insensitive thing said in your circles.  I don't need to meet you in person to comprehend your views, your words on this board tell a lot about your character. So miss me with the lame responses. Questions were asked and answers were given.