Mentioned to a friend recently how I was looking forward to seeing again Maybe Happy Ending. “Oh, yes,” she said, “that little show about the robots. I keep meaning to go.”
Can’t understand any hesitation. Maybe Happy Ending deservedly nabbed awards as best musical, book and score in the 2025 Tonys honors, plus many other critics’ prizes of the season. While only several live actors are onstage at the Belasco Theatre, Maybe Happy Ending hardly looks like a “little show,” thanks to its expansive scenic and video design as well as the musical’s big, universal theme regarding the fleeting nature of life and love.
Or perhaps this is simply a case of robophobia: Feeling uncomfortable around android beings.
But who could ever feel uneasy spending 90 enjoyable minutes with Oliver and Claire, the adorable human-like Helper-Bots whose unlikely romance forms the heart of this gentle, bittersweet and blessedly original musical. Oliver is boyish and buoyant. Claire, a more advanced model, is wiser and a tad snarky. Retired from active duty amid a community of obsolete humanoids, these strangers gradually, amusingly, become necessary for each other’s existence. Later they embark upon a journey leading to sorrow and wonders. Feel free to look up [my opening night review] from some 21 months ago to obtain further highly admiring details about the show’s shimmering, jazzy music by Will Aronson, the smart lyrics by Hue Park and the swift, often surprising story they crafted to make Maybe Happy Ending a pleasure to experience.
Seeing the show for a second time, especially since surviving last season’s dud tuners, Maybe Happy Ending looks and sounds better than ever as an exceptional Broadway musical. New to their leading roles are Zachary Noah Piser as Oliver and Hannah Kevitt as Claire and their adept performances are effectively modeled after the originals established by Darren Criss and Helen J Shen. Cutting a pudgy figure in Oliver’s bright blue pants, Piser offers a cuddlier version of this ingenuous character. Kevitt presents a forthright, nicely wry though slightly nasal Claire. Their capable performances are backstopped by the original cast members. An ever-smooth Dez Duron remains mellow in voice and cool in his classy presence as the 1940s crooner who materializes now and then to deliver an American Songbook-style gem. Marcus Choi exudes serenity as Oliver’s former employer, among other people.
The production itself, so imaginatively framed through the fluent scenic and video designs of Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, often galvanized by Ben Stanton’s lighting, moves along smoothly. Excellent sound reinforcement supports the vocals and delicate orchestrations. Of course, any show is enhanced by being performed within the historic and remarkably intimate environs of David Belasco’s 1907 playhouse. Whoever maintains director Michael Arden’s graceful production has kept up its intricate workings in such fine order that there is an effortless quality to the performance of Maybe Happy Ending that is the hallmark of Broadway at its professional best.
Maybe Happy Ending opened November 12, 2024, at the Belasco Theatre. Tickets and information: maybehappyending.com
