“Maybe Happy Ending” is an intimate science fiction story that has been performed many times in Seoul, South Korea. Now, its adapted version is playing on Broadway. The story, about a pair of robots, sheds light on the human condition in this digital age.
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“Maybe Happy Ending” has established itself as a stealth hit. Unlike many current shows, it’s not based on well-known intellectual property and doesn’t feature big Hollywood stars.
Courtesy of Polk & Co.
The World
February 26, 2025
Updated on Feb 26, 2025By Jeff Lunden
Broadway musicals often try out in citis like Boston and Philadelphia before debuting in New York. But a new show has traveled a much farther distance. “Maybe Happy Ending” has been produced six times in South Korea over the past decade.
The performance opened on Broadway last fall and has established itself as a stealth hit. That means, unlike many current shows, it’s not based on well-known intellectual property, and it doesn’t feature big Hollywood stars.
“Maybe Happy Ending” is an intimate science fiction story about two retired robots who fall in love. Their situation is an attempt to shed light on the human condition in this
digital age.“Maybe Happy Ending” debuted on Broadway last fall after being performed in Seoul, South Korea, for years.
When director and choreographer Michael Arden was approached to work on the production, he said the basic premise of the idea didn’t appeal to him.
“It’s not a great elevator pitch,” he recalled. “When I first received the script and read the tagline, I thought, ‘Oh no.’ And then, by the time I finished reading and listening to it, I was completely devastated and overcome with emotion.”
The show’s authors, South Korean-born Hue Park and American Will Aronson, began working on the script over a decade ago. Park, who has written lyrics for Top 20 K-Pop hits, said he was inspired by Damon Albarn’s song “Everyday Robots” while sitting in a Brooklyn coffee shop.
The song started with, “We are everyday robots on our phone in the process of getting home,” Park explained. “And I was like, ‘Oh, I want to see a little quiet, intimate show about who we are becoming in this digital era.’ But the protagonists are human-like robots.”
“Maybe Happy Ending” attempts to shed light on the human condition in the digital age.
Courtesy of Polk & Co.
He texted his writing partner, Will Aronson, and they got to work. The pair has premiered several musicals together in South Korea, and Aronson also speaks Korean fluently.
“Maybe Happy Ending” is set in Seoul, where the show had a tryout production in 2015, with several subsequent productions since.
“Shows in Korea don’t do open runs generally,” Aronson explained. “They’re usually two- to three-month runs. And then, if it’s going well, it’ll come back a year or two years later. We’ve been very fortunate that the audience did respond and it’s come back consistently.”
Even as the show became a hit in South Korea, Aronson said the team had plans to perform in the United States. There was a reading of the English language script in 2016. “And at that point, we paired with our current producers,” Aronson said. “And there are several new songs. We took some Korean songs out and put some new songs into this version.”
The Korean version is about 15 minutes longer, but the story is basically the same: A pair of retired Helperbots — humanoid servants Oliver and Claire — embark on a surprising romantic relationship
He texted his writing partner, Will Aronson, and they got to work. The pair has premiered several musicals together in South Korea, and Aronson also speaks Korean fluently.
“Maybe Happy Ending” is set in Seoul, where the show had a tryout production in 2015, with several subsequent productions since.
“Shows in Korea don’t do open runs generally,” Aronson explained. “They’re usually two- to three-month runs. And then, if it’s going well, it’ll come back a year or two years later. We’ve been very fortunate that the audience did respond and it’s come back consistently.”
Even as the show became a hit in South Korea, Aronson said the team had plans to perform in the United States. There was a reading of the English language script in 2016. “And at that point, we paired with our current producers,” Aronson said. “And there are several new songs. We took some Korean songs out and put some new songs into this version.”
The Korean version is about 15 minutes longer, but the story is basically the same: A pair of retired Helperbots — humanoid servants Oliver and Claire — embark on a surprising romantic relationship
Darren Criss, who starred in the “Glee” series, plays Oliver in the Broadway production. He draws on everything from Commedia dell’arte to Kabuki styles and even silent film stars like Buster Keaton to create his mechanical man.
“In order for me to make it seem like this person is clearly not a human being, it has to be over-expressive,” he explained. “Overexaggeration, like you would with a child: This is happy; this is sad; this is scared.”
Helen J. Shen made her Broadway debut as Claire. “I have found since opening, since previews, my portrayal of Claire has really evolved,” Shen said, “and gotten more ‘roboty’ [or] less ‘roboty’, kind of seeing how going through that spectrum can help tell the story better.”
The two robots discover they really need each other. Claire has to borrow Oliver’s charger since hers is on the fritz. They eventually go on a road trip to an island off the coast of South Korea.
Helen J. Shen holds up an electronic chip during her performance in “Maybe Happy Ending” on Broadway.
Courtesy of Polk & Co.
Composer Will Aronson added that sometimes the characters’ emotions come out in the music that’s not actually sung.
“We knew that because they were robots, they couldn’t really sing, say, power ballads because it just would not be in character,” he said. “It would break the world of the show. But of course, we want big moments in theater, right? The show has several big musical sequences that have no dialog that are purely staging and music.”
Composer Will Aronson added that sometimes the characters’ emotions come out in the music that’s not actually sung.
“We knew that because they were robots, they couldn’t really sing, say, power ballads because it just would not be in character,” he said. “It would break the world of the show. But of course, we want big moments in theater, right? The show has several big musical sequences that have no dialog that are purely staging and music.”
Darren Criss performing in “Maybe Happy Ending” on Broadway.
Courtesy of Polk & Co.
One example is a magical moment where Claire and Oliver see fireflies — which they call tiny robots. And despite themselves, they fall in love. Co-author Hue Park said writing “Maybe Happy Ending” was a “self-meditative journey.” He started it after breaking up from a long-term relationship, losing a close friend to cancer and turning 30.
“It was around the time of my life, I was sort of like growing up or coming out of a certain age,” Park recalled. “And I got to thinking … ‘Why am I putting myself in that situation, depending on my significant other or sharing my life with a friend?’ Because it’s really painful when they inevitably have to end.”
One example is a magical moment where Claire and Oliver see fireflies — which they call tiny robots. And despite themselves, they fall in love. Co-author Hue Park said writing “Maybe Happy Ending” was a “self-meditative journey.” He started it after breaking up from a long-term relationship, losing a close friend to cancer and turning 30.
“It was around the time of my life, I was sort of like growing up or coming out of a certain age,” Park recalled. “And I got to thinking … ‘Why am I putting myself in that situation, depending on my significant other or sharing my life with a friend?’ Because it’s really painful when they inevitably have to end.”
In “Maybe Happy Ending”, a pair of retired Helperbots embark on a surprising romantic relationship.
Courtesy of Polk & Co.
But robots, like humans, have a shelf life — their batteries run out, their components wear out. And, after having a romantic, goofy love affair, Oliver and Claire decide to wipe their memories. Or do they?
“There’s nothing cynical about this piece, and I think that’s key to it,” said director Michael Arden. “That actually, I think we’re desperate to go to the theater to feel things that, hopefully, when we leave, cause us to kind of make the more loving, more hopeful, more generous choice. And I think I have to believe that that’s what’s happened here.”
But robots, like humans, have a shelf life — their batteries run out, their components wear out. And, after having a romantic, goofy love affair, Oliver and Claire decide to wipe their memories. Or do they?
“There’s nothing cynical about this piece, and I think that’s key to it,” said director Michael Arden. “That actually, I think we’re desperate to go to the theater to feel things that, hopefully, when we leave, cause us to kind of make the more loving, more hopeful, more generous choice. And I think I have to believe that that’s what’s happened here.”
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