Broadway’s Swooniest Musical Just Got Extended
Maybe Happy Ending, the critically and widely-acclaimed new romantic musical comedy, is a theater show worth traveling for. Photos: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman
This musical is a dream you never knew you had come true! Completely new and original and with no movie, TV or comic book provenance (how refreshing), Maybe Happy Ending stars Darren Criss and Helen J Shen with music by Will Aronson, lyrics by Hue Park, and a book by Aronson and Park, in a show that will leave you entertained, moved, and reminded of why going to the theater can be an elevated and transporting experience.
Maybe Happy Ending has jaw-dropping scenic and video design and is stunningly directed by Tony Award-winner Michael Arden (Parade, Once on This Island). It’s the sleeper success of 2024 and now it’s announcing a new block of tickets now on sale through Sunday, September 7, 2025. Tickets can be purchased at the Belasco Theatre box office, at Telecharge or by calling 212-239-6200.
Maybe Happy Ending has been selected as the “Best Theatre of 2024” by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, The Washington Post, Time Out NY, and Entertainment Weekly—and Vacationer highly recommends it!
Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winner Darren Criss (Little Shop of Horrors, “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”) is charming and gives a precision-perfect performance. Helen J Shen (Teeth) is heartwrenching and delightful and Dez Duron (NBC’s “The Voice”) and Marcus Choi (Wicked, Flower Drum Song) are wonderful in support.
So what’s the story?
Inside a one-room apartment on the outskirts of Seoul, Oliver (Criss) lives a happily quiet life listening to jazz records, reading his favorite magazine subscription, caring for a cherished pot plant, and somewhat pining for his former owner and master, who he has never gotten over. You see, Oliver is a HelperBot 3, a robot that has long been retired and considered obsolete and yet who remains steadfastly loyal to and preoccupied with his previous master. When his fellow HelperBot neighbor Claire (Shen) asks to borrow his charger, what starts as an awkward and frosty encounter leads to a unique friendship, a surprising adventure commonly only available to humans, and maybe even…love? Whatever that is.
If that plot doesn’t pierce your heart, and the songs don’t delight your ears (they will), then feast your eyes on Dane Laffrey’s genius set and additional phantasmagoric video (the innovative video design concept is by George Reeve). Lighting design is by Tony Award-nominee Ben Stanton (Fun Home), and the sound design is by Tony Award-winner Peter Hylenski (Moulin Rouge!: The Musical, Beetlejuice).
It all comes together like a dream of the future, and that’s partly because Maybe Happy Ending was written in both Korean and English-language versions. The Korean-language version opened in December 2016 at DaeMyung Culture Factory in Seoul and subsequently won six Korean Musical Awards, including Best Musical. The English-language version was awarded the 2017 Richard Rodgers Production Award and had its U.S. premiere at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta in the 2019-2020 season under the direction of Michael Arden.
Maybe Happy Ending is the Broadway hit we’ve always wanted but wasn’t even expecting, so get in on the know and grab tickets now.
