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Review: Maybe Happy Ending
November 12, 2024, 6:49.27 pm ET

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Photo: Murphy Zimmerman

By Brian Scott Lipton

There are many secrets to crafting the successful rom-com, but none is more important than nailing the main couple’s initial “meet cute,” which is just one of the many things that Will Aronson and Hue Park’s charming new musical “Maybe Happy Ending,” now bowing at the Belasco Theatre, gets just right.

We’ve already been introduced, with smart detail, to Oliver (played by Darren Criss with the kind of ease and cheerfulness he initially brought to TV’s “Glee.”) An outdated helperbot (a humanoid robot) in 2063 South Korea, Oliver happily spends his days inside his little apartment, conversing with his plant Hwaboon and listening to his favorite jazz albums – specifically those recorded by the fictional Gil Brentley (a smooth crooner aptly played by smooth crooner Dez Duron, who gained some fame from his appearance many years ago on NBC’s “The Voice.”)

Above all, he waits – naively, even foolishly – to be reunited with his former owner James (a fine Marcus Choi), even though more than a decade has passed since they cohabitated. It will take a lot to shatter Oliver’s long-held illusion, which ultimately happens thanks to the actions of the more intelligent if not necessarily smarter Claire (sharply etched by the wonderful Helen J. Shen), a more advanced yet still outdated helperbot.

While the two have lived across the hall from each other for more than a decade, they’ve never met – yes, any New Yorker can believe this – until Claire needs to borrow Oliver’s charger to literally bring her back to life. Once that mission is accomplished, as in any good rom-com, the pair initially bicker (and in this case sing) before bonding.

Almost impulsively, Claire – who owns a car thanks to her former owner – suggests a road trip to Jeju Island, where she can see fireflies (one last time before probably dying, we realize) and Oliver can finally find James, or more accurately, come to terms with the inevitable truth (which actually comes with a slightly clever twist). Before they set out on the road, they promise to never fall in love with each other, but we know better (even if they avoid having sex while stranded in a tacky motel that is literally called Motel Sexx.)

Criss (who, for the record, is half-Filipino), Shen and the entire company (including two excellent actors, Arden Cho and Young Mazino, only seen on video) manage to make this semi-sentimental journey quite moving (in every sense of the word). Still, I firmly believe they would all benefit from a more memorable score than the pleasant, serviceable one provided by Aronson and Park, which is “easy listening” in every sense of that term.

I also believe that the show would fare better with a less technologically advanced set (by Dane Laffrey with superb lighting by Ben Stanton) – full of moving rooms and super-giant screens -- that keeps threatening to overwhelm the relatively simple story. Perhaps the creators or producers believe this “bigger is better” approach was necessary for Broadway (and truthfully, the show probably belongs in a much smaller house), even though the brilliant director Michael Arden proved with “Parade” just how effective “less is more” can be when you trust the material and the cast.

I’m also not sure who to “blame” for the fact that in the last 15 minutes, the show becomes “Too Many Endings.” I can understand the impulse not to end the piece on the simplest, happiest terms, but Park and Aronson strive way too hard to hastily give the show a “third act” with so many revelations and plot turns that our goodwill towards the show begins to slowly evaporate.

All of this is not to say you should say “Maybe” to seeing this highly original new musical. Give it a go (while it lasts, if it lasts), even if it only deserves a qualified “Yes.”

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