MAYBE HAPPY ENDING Reviews — Page 38

Ensemble1698878795 said: "BorisTomashevsky said: "Piser would sell less tickets than Andrew is selling. That would be a death sentence. He’s just another three-name who’s done Boq and a couple of flops."

Trust me Andrew isn’t a name folks know in middle America. Andrew could also be a death sentence and your point would be mute. You’re missing the point but then again I forgot you’re racist and don’t care!"

*moot

Please cut and paste one example of me being racist. It seems to me the only racism is coming from the screamers, calling for a modern day artistic segregation.

Please cut and paste one example of “the AAPI campaign they preached”.

Updated On: 8/3/25 at 02:11 AM

Johnny just made a whole lot of enemies. But he also demonstrates that what I said isn’t far from accurate and that more people than you’d think are okay with the casting:

‘In private, many on Broadway are largely OK with [the white guy being cast]. The most common refrain I’ve heard is: “Well, they’re robots.”’

https://nypost.com/2025/08/02/entertainment/broadway-is-in-a-bizarre-uproar-over-the-race-of-an-actor-playing-a-robot/

And if you REALLY want some twisted panties this Sunday, go read the comments on the Instagram post:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DM5Cj8utLEk/

Updated On: 8/3/25 at 10:01 AM

Are there seriously no mods left on this ****ing site?

There's plenty of representation of interracial couples. You see it far more often than Asian actors are cast as leads (and when one actually is, the other lead won't be). Eva Noblezada with Reeve Carney. Eva Noblezada with Jeremy Jordan. Eva Noblezada with any number of Cliffs in Cabaret. Nicole Scherzinger with all but one of the Joe and Max understudies (and that one exception was quickly shuffled back into the ensemble). (And of course there's the current Gypsy casting, the Sally/Cliff casting until the current cast, most of the Moulin Rouge casting...) Interracial couples are not starving for representation. (Indeed, considering how many people claim they had no idea Darren Criss was part-Asian, you must have thought the show had interracial casting already...so maybe it's time for unmistakably Asian couple, which is almost never seen on Broadway?)

Updated On: 8/3/25 at 12:21 PM

HeyMrMusic said: "Well, yes, and that’s why the minority affected by it has been speaking out about it. This country and industry have a reputation of not supporting members of the Asian American community. There’s also the model minority myth where they think Asians won’t speak up about things out of fear. Since there are way too many examples of unfairness in theatre, it’s 2025 and AAPIs deserve to be heard how they are affected by decisions like this. Nine weeks may sound like a short amount of time, but even one performance sets a precedent.

Boris, you may believe you’re not racist, but your views regarding race are certainly antiquated. Also, no one uses or identifies as “Eurasian” anymore."

Exactly. Boris using the argument of "well most people agree with me" shows how blind and ignorant he is. Thank you for this post. 

binau said:  "This is why if there is an appropriate opportunity to ringfence a leading role for an Asian man in a musical ESPECIALLY one that isn’t playing into traditional Asian culture stereotypes it’s a godsend for some of these men who can finally feel there is a place for them without the ongoing frustration of how their ethnicity, which they had no choice or control over, can limit their careers."

Thanks for this.  It moved my needle on this topic a bit.  

GottaGetAGimmick420 said: "Are there seriously no mods left on this ****ing site?"

Just say something that America’s sweetheart, Sutton Ross, doesn’t like and the moderators will instantly appear, like magic! 

Bwaygurl2 said: "Yankee dani, please stop quoting the troll. Many of us have it blocked because we don't want to see his crap. You can respond without quoting if you must,but you are just giving the troll oxygen."

Thank you for saying this. I've been avoiding the thread for this very reason, and only ventured a page back to catch binau's post that I missed.

Also, I see Zachary Piser mentioned. If it hasn't been noted, while he would be great, he's unavailable. He's scheduled to be in a show at LaJolla from 8/19-9/21. So that's one non-casting that's excusable.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DMIx8wny_JO/

(Which just leaves every other Asian actor available. Because the idea that they auditioned and made offers to every possible Asian actor in New York, were turned down by all of them, so had to go with the star's boyfriend, is ridiculous.)

Updated On: 8/3/25 at 04:04 PM

Binau, thank you for your post. We don't always (or often) see eye-to-eye on things, but everything you say in it is on point.

Asian actors have repeatedly expressed through the past two weeks (and again, FOR DECADES) that they can't even get in the room. That producers and casting directors won't even see them for most parts that aren't written for a specific race (and sometimes not even then!), especially for leading roles, for the exact reasons you describe. The industry doesn’t consider them romantic leads. Earlier in this thread I noted how hard it was for Asian actors, meaning men, to be cast as leads; based on the quotes, Boris evidently came up with a list of a whopping 10 Asian performers who recently played leading roles, which unsurprisingly was something like 7 women and 3 men (or 8 and 2), which only proved the point. Asian actors have fewer opportunities at leading roles than even Asian actresses. (Wow. 10 whole people...)

There are always anecdotal evidence and exceptions people can point to, but they don’t refute the actual lived experiences people have shared and the bigger picture. Telly Leung (who called out MHE and the casting decision) is one of the actors cast as the Phantom in Masquerade, which is great. In the 35 years Phantom was on Broadway, how many Asian actors played the part of someone who wears a mask and facial makeup the whole time, so whose ethnicity really shouldn’t matter? Kevin Gray early in the run, and then... Did it really take until a production that cast six deliberately diverse Phantoms to get another Asian actor in the role? (Of course Raoul is the romantic lead of that show. Masquerade only has three, so they went white/black/Latino. How many Asian Raouls in those 35 years on Broadway? Kevin Gray again, and then…. )

So many people are deflecting by saying robots don’t have races. The point is this is a musical set in South Korea. If ever there were a show that could cast Asian performers for the lead roles, whatever they are, this is certainly it. Instead, the first chance/replacement they got, they immediately went with a non-Asian performer—who has played multiple lead roles and will certainly have the opportunity to do so again, because those doors aren’t being slammed in his face—for the romantic lead of a musical set in South Korea. Several people in this thread have fervently defended Feldman’s right to play this part. I wonder how many of them are equally outraged at the lack of opportunities allowed Asian actors for roles he would have no trouble being seen for, and think it's just as unfair for them as they say it would be for Feldman not to play this one?

Updated On: 8/4/25 at 01:51 AM

Maybe it’s my own history of seeing shows in the San Francisco Bay Area, where a few more plays and musicals about the Asian or Asian- American experience pop up, but I have frequently been struck by stellar performances by Asian-American actors and then wondered, ‘Why isn’t this guy a star?’ - Joe Ngo in a Berkeley Rep production of Cambodian Rock Band, James Seol in an ACT production of Vietgone, Nick Nakashima in a production this year of Pacific Overtures.

It’s not an easy business, and two of the actors I listed are older, but I guess it struck me because those three performances are among my favorites in recent years. Obviously, all three parts had to be played by an Asian male because they are all historical plays or musicals set mostly or exclusively in Asian countries.

Will Aronson and Hue Park come across as sincere people, and it’s hardly my place as a white theatergoer to question a Korean writer. But what does strike me as disappointing is the idea that Maybe Happy Ending’s status as a universal story is somehow less universal if the Korea-set story keeps using Asian actors on Broadway. That is how they opened the show, with the stars and understudies being of Asian descent (with the concession that many people think Darren Criss is white). If they really wanted to avoid all that, they could have set their story in America.

But they didn’t, and one thing writers forget is that once they release their work into the world, it’s no longer solely theirs. The musical belongs to the audience too.

I understand Aronson and Park’s argument and it’s not their job to make up for all of Broadway’s past missteps. They have a show to promote, and their ambitions are high, that Maybe Happy Ending won’t just recoup but will become a long-running classic, performed everywhere by anyone. But I can hardly blame Asian-American actors and writers for thinking: Again? Already?

The producers will make the decisions they think best and people can have an honest discussion about the issues raised. There is certainly not unanimity, even among Asian-American performers, about this issue - and killing the show hardly seems like an optimal outcome.

Nothing about this is easy, and I feel badly for everyone involved, because Maybe Happy Ending is a lovely musical.

Updated On: 8/4/25 at 05:16 AM

MemorableUserName said: "Which just leaves every other Asian actor available. Because the idea that they auditioned and made offers to every possible Asian actor in New York, were turned down by all of them, so had to go with the star's boyfriend, is ridiculous.)"

It's also ridiculous to say that "every other Asian actor" would be a good fit for this role. Naturally they had options - Steven and Christopher being the first 2 obvious options. But to say that literally any asian actor in NYC would be better in this role is a crazy statement. 

Kennedy Kanagawa pointed out in his stories last week the Newsweek interview with Darren Criss in which Darren said:

"But, you know, after this original cast is done with their time in the show, I love that we can dare to have a non-Asian cast, as opposed to the other way around."  Kennedy responded with: "How daring".

The full interview here: https://www.newsweek.com/2025/06/13/tony-nominee-darren-criss-miracle-that-maybe-happy-ending-2077612.html