Darren Criss and Helen J Shen to star in Maybe Happy Ending on Broadway

Darren Criss will return to Broadway this fall alongside Helen J Shen, who will be making her Broadway debut in Maybe Happy Ending, which is set to begin preview performances at the Belasco Theatre on 18 September ahead of an official opening night on 17 October.

Written by Will Aronson (music and book) and Hue Park (lyrics and book), Maybe Happy Ending is a new musical comedy set in Seoul, where a retired Helper-Bot named Oliver (Criss) is enjoying his quiet retirement. A meet cute with his Helper-Bot neighbour Claire (Shen) sparks a new friendship — and maybe love.

Maybe Happy Ending was written in both Korean and English-language versions. The Korean-language version opened in December of 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 US premiere at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta.

Tony Award winner Michael Arden (Parade) will direct the Broadway run, as he did in Atlanta. Scenic and additional video design is by Dane Laffrey. Costume design is by Tony Award-winner Clint Ramos. Lighting design is by Tony Award-nominee Ben Stanton. Sound design is by Tony Award-winner Peter Hylenski. Video design by George Reeve. Deborah Abramson is the music supervisor and John Yun will be the music director. Justin Scribner is the production stage manager.

Dez Duron (NBC’s The Voice) will make his Broadway debut in Maybe Happy Ending. Further casting will be announced at a later date.