MAYBE HAPPY ENDING Reviews — Page 62

Interesting detail in this article about the show's 10th anniversary in South Korea: it was adapted into a film in 2023 called My Favorite Love Story.

I can find almost no coverage of that movie on the English-language internet - the movie doesn't even have an IMDb page! All I can find are this piece from Asian Pop-Up Cinema, a review from Asian Movie Pulse and this subtitled trailer:

Constance Wu, a Golden Globe nominee for ''Fresh Off the Boat'' and a SAG nominee and National Board of Review winner for ''Crazy Rich Asians,'' says on her Instagram that Andrew Barth Feldman reached out to her and had ''an in-depth phone call about Asian American representation and erasure in theater.'' Initially, Wu said it ''made me hopeful,'' but after a recent voice memo from him, she's ''so disappointed'' and ''pretty discouraged.''

Wu adds: ''Once again, Asian Americans are left unheard, unacknowledged, invisible. Sadly, we're used to this. A dozen or so folks [behind the scenes] at 'Maybe Happy Ending' have remained silent perhaps in the hopes that this will all fade away, and you know what? It has. ... 

''I'm sorry to the thousands of people [who signed] B.D. Wong's petition whose signatures the [show's] producers have yet to publicly acknowledge.

''And honestly, I'm sorry ABF that you've been (perhaps unfairly) saddled with this responsibility by your producers. But sometimes we don't choose our responsibilities, they choose us. So the question that remains is this: What are you choosing to do ?''

https://www.instagram.com/p/DOtTAEyDdDD/?igsh=MWQ1aGprdWIybTRzOQ%3D%3D

Updated On: 9/17/25 at 10:03 PM

From Queerty.com's 'The Maybe Happy Ending' Casting Controversy, Explained': ''Wu has been the victim of several unfortunate campaigns to paint her as a “difficult” person to work with simply because she has remained outspoken about the racism and misogyny she’s experienced as an Asian actress in Hollywood. ... Now, Wu is facing criticism from the same bad faith actors who want to frame her just criticism of Barth’s casting as bullying. But that’s not what’s going on. As many Asian creators have pointed out since the casting announcement, it’s not about Barth’s ability or talent. It’s a systemic issue that harms Asian performers and writers, and it’s especially disturbing to see it at work in “Maybe Happy Ending,” a show that’s been marketed as celebrating and platforming a diverse array of Asian talent.''

https://www.queerty.com/the-maybe-happy-ending-casting-controversy-explained-20250917/

Updated On: 9/18/25 at 01:32 PM

I stopped following this thread when it got all political so I missed that they have changed their weekly schedule starting in November, & most weeks have cut Tuesday night performances & added a Thursday matinee in its place.

oh boo hoo wu

the bullying tactics of the woke mob failed here

and the silly petition is rendered meaningless

the replacement of criss with feldman has been a success artistically and financially

so happy the producers and writers stuck to their guns on this one

and now they can move their pitchforks and torches to the next faux outrage

constance wu needs to get a life

go be constructive and actually contribute to society

instead of trying to burn it all down

all of the hysteria is now impotent


MezzoDiva47 has spoken

bow down accordingly

 

Wayman_Wong said: "The Pink News has a new interview with Conrad Ricamoradishing 'Murder' & sex, 'Maybe Happy Ending' & the need for more Asian representation on Broadway.

Conrad Ricamora's been busy, between playing Abe Lincoln and getting Tony-nominated for Cole Escola's Broadway hit of ''Oh, Mary!'' and spending the summer filming the sequel to ''The Devil Wears Prada,'' starring Meryl Streep. Tonight (Oct. 13), he's making his West End debut in ''RepresentAsian,'' featuring Asian musical-theater talent and hosted by ''EastEnders'' Nina Wadia, raising money for the Boury Academy, which supports young Asian actors in the U.K.

In a new interview, Ricamora reflects on his big TV breakout role as Oliver, a gay Asian on ''How to Get Away With Murder,'' in 2014. He says Asians and Asian-Americans around the world told him ''this was the first time they saw an Asian man have a sex life. ... And this was on ABC, which is owned by Disney!''

That battle for more Asian representation raged with the Broadway casting controversy over ''Maybe Happy Ending'' after a Caucasian actor replaced Darren Criss (for two months) in its lead role: “I loved [that musical] so much when I saw it. ” The show had been praised for its almost exclusively Asian cast, “and for that to be flipped, when we’re already lacking so much representation and especially for a show that’s set in Korea, I just … it really made no sense. It felt like we were stepping back into, like, the ‘90s with Jonathan Pryce playing The Engineer in 'Miss Saigon.' ... It just felt like this was in that vein of erasure and diminution.”

A raft of Asian stars, including Constance Wu, spoke out about the decision, with the show’s writers issuing a defense. In response, Ricamora took action, launching a scholarship fund to support male Asian-American actors in training. He started ‘The Right To Be There’ with $5,000 and currently, it’s at almost $70,000.

Ricamora says the controversy showed him ''progress is so fragile.'' ... Plus, there were social media detractors who questioned: Which Asian-American performers are big enough to replace a ticket-selling titan like Darren Criss? Ricamora laments: “And my thing is like, if you don’t cast Asian-American men in lead roles, they won’t get well-known and then they won’t be able to build a career. If you keep cutting us off at the knees, then we never get to build any continuity.”

 

 

Wayman, Gurrll, time to give it a rest.  Criss is coming back soon, and all will be well with the world again.  

Also kudos on working in the Jonathan Pryce saga yet again -- too bad you don't get royalties on that one.

 

MezzoDiva47 said: "the bullying tactics of the woke mob failed here"

I suspect a major goal was to demonstrate the need for producers to think more carefully about casting choices in light of opportunities for Asian actors, and I suspect that they succeeded in that particular goal.

Updated On: 10/13/25 at 05:22 PM

kdogg36 said: "MezzoDiva47 said: "the bullying tactics of the woke mob failed here"

I suspect a major goal was to demonstratethe need for producers to think more carefully about casting choices in light of opportunities for Asian actors, and I suspect that they succeeded in that particular goal."

No doubt. I would be surprised if Asian men weren't cast as Oliver going forward. 

 

The assumption that some have that the people who expressed concern were trying to get the show closed is just projection. 

MezzoDiva47 said: "Matt Rogers said: "MezzoDiva47 said: "
oh boo hoo wu

the bullying tactics of the woke mob failed here

and the silly petition is rendered meaningless

the replacement of criss with feldman has been a success artistically and financially

so happy the producers and writers stuck to their guns on this one

and now they can move their pitchforks and torches to the next faux outrage

constance wu needs to get a life

go be constructive and actually contribute to society

instead of trying to burn it all down

all of the hysteria is now impotent


MezzoDiva47 has spoken

bow down accordingly

"

Get some new material. Lame."



when the material is valid

then why change it

i notice u dont engage in challenging my points

just dismiss me out of hand

the good guys won here

sensible ppl deserve to take a victory lap

the woke mob wanted to turn this into another 1812 great comet controversy

it is now apparent that sanity has returned to the landscape

and the tolerance for this over the top idiocy has evaporated

save for a few bitter holdouts

who I maintain are talentless keyboard social justice warriors warriors feeling powerful from their parents’ basements

their envy just gets channeled into anger and vindictiveness

feldman deserved none of this grief

he will come out on top and have a stellar career

while the denied and afraid seethe



MezzoDivs47 has spoken

bow down accordingly

"

Jesus fckn christ this trolling this is getting old on this board

Speaking of trolls, WEHT "YankeeDani", who showed up one day to respond to just about every single post on this thread (a couple hundred times!) and then as soon as ABF had his first performance, she vanished into thin air...

ABFs final curtain call yesterday 

 

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8DA4GR1

Yeah, when we get to "pitchforks and torches," um, suffice it to say, we've entered trolling parody. 

Eh… that’s a bull sh*t response. You see what you want to see.