Maybe Happy Ending

In 2014, Hue Park was sitting in a coffee shop in Brooklyn where he heard the song “Everyday Robots” by Damon Albarn (front man of the rock bands Blur and Gorillaz) playing. Park was familiar with Blur, as it had been popular in Korea while he was growing up there in the 1990s. Part of the song lyrics caught his attention: ‘We are everyday robots in the process of getting home.’ Park suddenly imagined a world inhabited by 'robots that look just like humans', eventually thinking up a scene where 'robots with human-like appearances and emotions are abandoned and live lonely lives alone'.^[3][4]

Park had recently ended a long-term relationship, so he thought about the closing of a chapter in his life. “I experienced some losses with people around me – parting and death – when I was writing the play,” said Hue. “I realized that love is an act to open your heart even though you expect to feel the pain of loss one day.”^[5] Park sent an email to his friend Will Aronson. Aronson was intrigued about Hue's ideas and they eventually started to write the story together.^[6][4][7]

The musical is set in the not-too-distant future Seoul Metropolitan Area. Oliver and Claire are helper robots that look completely human-like, created to help people, but were abandoned by their owners and now live in an apartment where abandoned helper bots live. Like old-model cellphones in a desk drawer, they end their lifespans away from their owners' attention. Oliver is a Helperbot-5 that lacks many functions compared to its newer iterations and has a native design, but is durable and sturdy, while Claire is a Helperbot-6 that consumes a lot of battery and has a lot of troubles despite its various functions and designs, but with a high battery consumption. Oliver has no sociability, only growing flowers at home and listening to old jazz on LPs.^[8]

“The setting is probably in the 2060s. This is sort of a generation later when there have already been these humanoid robots created. People have become sort of so attached to their technology and more isolated, which is something we feel is happening now. But, looking ahead we see that as people have become cynical about the world and isolated from each other, these first-generation robots are discovering the world for the first time and discovering some of the things we’ve forgotten about,”

— Aronson, ^[9]

The futuristic subject of 'the daily life of helper-robots in the 21st century' is contrast with analog sensibility through acoustic jazz melodies. This musical harmonizes delicate scripts, jazz and classical music, warm directing, and solid performances by actors. It makes us look back on the meaning of intimacy and the value of love.^[10]

NOTE: If the Korean and American titles are different, they will be separated by a slash. If a song does not appear in another version, it will be noted.

A jazz song is faintly playing in the background as Oliver, a male Helperbot-5 model, begins his daily routine ("Why We Loved" / "Prologue: Why Love?"). Oliver has been staying in an apartment for abandoned helperbots for ten years, thinking that his old owner, James, would come back to pick him up as he promised ("In My Room" / "World Within My Room"). One day, while going about his routine, Claire, a female Helperbot-6 model and one of his neighbors, knocks on his door to ask for help as her charger is broken. At first, Oliver ignores her, but after coming back and seeing Claire lying on the floor with her battery dead, he brings her inside. After learning that she is a newer model than him, he makes a special clasp to charge her. Not long after, Claire finally wakes up, much to the dismay and apprehension of Oliver. Claire says she feels she has seen him before. However, Oliver, dissatisfied that she is a newer model than himself, begins listing down all the advantages of his model compared to hers. Offended, Claire goes back to her room to attempt to fix her charger. However, she only makes it worse. She also tries calling her other friends, but they are all too busy to help ("It's Not The End" / "The Way That It Has to Be"). 

Her door is suddenly met with a knock, and when she opens the door, a paper cup is seen on the floor, with an attached string leading to behind Oliver's door. She is happy that Oliver has decided to help her and runs to his door. However, Oliver quickly slams it shut, saying he would prefer talking through the make-shift telephone instead. They begin to talk, and Oliver decides to give her an offer, saying that if she came at a certain time every day, he would lend her his portable charger. Claire accepts and begins going to his house twice a day. Finally, at the end of the week, Claire’s friend John comes over to fix her charger. Oliver, worried as he waits for Claire, who is not arriving, goes over to her apartment door to check if there’s any sound coming from her room. At that very moment, Claire and her friend are about to leave when they encounter Oliver waiting at the door. This startles Oliver and makes him fall over, breaking his ankle part. Claire apologizes and leaves with her friend. Oliver, annoyed, goes back to his own apartment and is relieved that he won’t have to deal with her anymore. But later, Claire shows up with flowers to thank him for letting her borrow his charger and apologizes again for causing him trouble.

While at Oliver's place, Claire notices a yellow raincoat and asks whether he wears it often. He says that it’s his friend James’ raincoat. Claire asks if he is Oliver’s previous owner, and Oliver replies that he is and that his former owner was also his friend too ("Thank You, Oliver" / "Where You Belong"). Claire suddenly remembers where she’s seen him before. It turns out that Oliver has been seen on the news as the helperbot that wears a yellow raincoat and gathers bottles to sell in the middle of the night. This is illegal for robots to do, so Oliver denies that it is him. However, Claire says that he will not report him and that she is only curious as to why he does it. Oliver tells her that he’s trying to save money to go see James, who lives in Jeju Island. Claire replies that if he wanted to go now, he could tag along with her, as she too wants to go there to see the fireflies, which are almost extinct and now only exist there. Oliver reluctantly accepts, and they begin preparing ("Good Luck" / "Hitting The Road", "Goodbye, My Room", "Good Luck, Pt. 2" / "Hitting The Road, Pt. 2"). It’s illegal for robots produced before the year 2044 to drive, so to avoid being caught, they plan to pretend to be a human couple going on a holiday. Following some slight disagreements, they finally make up a believable story for how they first met ("My Favorite Love Story"). 

They arrive at a motel to stop and charge, and Oliver is very nervous that they’ll be caught. Claire easily helps them get past the hotel staff and into their room without being discovered ("Old Love Songs" / "Jenny"). After switching through a few channels, they land on a channel playing the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day. While watching, Oliver pokes fun at how people used to think of robots and begins imitating the robots from the film. Claire, enjoying Oliver's antics, realizes that it might not be that bad being stuck with him ("More Than You Think, More Than You Think" / "How To Not Be Alone"). The following day, they set off once again. While on the road, Claire tells Oliver to promise that he won't fall in love with her, which he laughs at and says that she should be the one promising. Claire takes it seriously and makes the promise, which Oliver is taken aback by and also makes ("Driving" / "Rearview Mirror"). 

Soon, they arrive at James' house. As Oliver walks to his house, Claire attempts to stop him, pleading with him not to go as she's afraid he'll get hurt based on her past experience with her former owners, a couple, at which she learned that human hearts change ("What I Learned From People"). Oliver shouts back at her to stop, saying that she's just jealous that, unlike her past owners, James still likes him as he walks inside. However, not long after, a sad Oliver comes back holding an LP record of James playing piano. He explains that he had learned that James had died the past year and that his family could only laugh that a helperbot would get that far as they have far newer helperbot models. Oliver says that Claire was right, but Claire immediately shuts it down, saying that she was wrong as she had never seen a human leave gifts for their helperbot, declaring that he truly was his friend. An inconsolable Oliver listens to the record, remembering the times James would play piano for him ("Why We Loved" / "Goodbye Love" Piano Solo). Claire, attempting to cheer him up, immediately decides to go see the fireflies. They walk deeper and deeper into the forest, and slowly they start to appear ("Fireflies In Jeju (Instrumental)"); they both jump up and down in excitement and even manage to catch one, which they put into a jar ("To The Fireflies" /"Never Fly Away", "Home Again"). 

They return to Seoul but feel something is different between them. (In the American version, the song "A Sentimental Man" is added here.) They can’t stop thinking about each other and slowly realize that they’ve fallen in love with each other ("When You're in Love"). They rush out of their rooms at the same time and are both shocked to see each other. Realizing they've broken their promises, they both apologize. Slowly, they walk towards each other and share an awkward hug. But both feel electricity when they touch and become nervous. They try to touch again until it feels natural and then share a kiss ("Touch Sequence (Instrumental)"). Afterwards, they spend many happy days together holding hands while charging and trying to do what they think a human couple would do, even attempting to have a fight. ("First Time In Love", this song does not appear in the American version.) 

One day, Claire's arm suddenly stopped working. Oliver panics and rushes to fix it, but is unsuccessful. Oliver says he’ll try to get a Model-6 manual and try to fix it, but Claire says not to worry. She explains that she's had problems like this in the past, and even if her arm isn’t fixed, it won't change anything. She quietly says that she has a year or so left of fully functioning capabilities as her body is deteriorating. Oliver gets worked up and says that it may not be so certain. Claire tells Oliver that he must also know that he is deteriorating too, and she says that seeing him suffer because of her hurts her heart and suggests that they end the relationship. Oliver immediately rejects the idea and says that he’s okay, even if it hurts, because he’s willing to endure. Claire, feeling better, says she doesn’t want to end it either and wants to keep loving until their bodies stop working. They continue the relationship, but as time progresses, Claire becomes more heavily reliant on Oliver as her body begins to break down. Claire can’t take it anymore and asks Oliver to end it there, which he also agrees to. They slowly revert back to their lives before they met ("Nevertheless", exclusive to the Korean version. / "Then I Can Let You Go", exclusive to the American version).

Oliver sadly talks to his potted plant about Claire and how he needs to forget her and go back to the past as well ("In My Room (Reprise)" / "World Within My Room (Reprise), "Goodbye, My Room (Reprise)"). However, he soon realizes that he cannot forget Claire, and it is also evident that she too can't forget him. They meet up once again, and they both suggest deleting their memories of each other ("You Can Remember That" / "It's Okay To Remember That"). He stands up and gives Claire a piece of paper, on which are written emergency procedures if her charger ever breaks down again. He is about to leave Claire’s apartment when she stops him, asking that he not delete the time when she told him to move his potted plant away from the sun. Oliver gives Claire a final kiss on the cheek and leaves. They both begin getting rid of things that they had to deal with the other person and finally erase their memories ("Erasure Sequence (Instrumental)").

An unknown amount of time has passed, and things have seemingly returned to normal as Oliver wakes up and begins his daily routine as usual ("Why We Loved (Reprise)", "Why Love? (Reprise)"). However, there is a sudden knock on the door, and after opening the door, sees Claire asking for help as her charger has broken down. With a pained expression, he welcomes her inside. As he watches her struggle to walk inside, he whispers at his potted plant not to tell her anything. As they begin talking, Claire soon realizes that she is a different model than Oliver, and he, digging through his belongings, eventually finds the clasp he made for her before. Claire asks if everything will be alright, and Oliver replies that maybe it will. ("Finale")

Park and Aronson started the story planning in February of 2014. They pitched Maybe Happy Ending to a producer at the Wooran Cultural Foundation, a nonprofit foundation in Seoul that supports young artists, which has support programs named SEEYA STUDIO, SEEYA PLAY, and SEEYA STAGE. It was accepted into the support program and by fall of 2014, it was able to be developed further.^[11] Kim Dong-yeon, who worked together with Park and Aronson in the musical Carmen, joined the project as director. Actress Jeon Mi-do and actor Jeon Uk-jin joined for a workshop performance. Maybe Happy Ending premiered at Project Box Seeya in Wooran Cultural Foundation for a three-night tryout engagement in September 2015. Tickets were sold out within 3 minutes of opening.^[13]

The show was written in both Korean and English. Both versions were performed at an industry workshop in New York in 2016, as the first overseas development project supported by the Wooran Cultural Foundation. The English-language version of "Maybe Happy Ending", then titled "What I Learned From People", was awarded the 2017 Richard Rodgers Award by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.^[14]

In 2016, Maybe Happy Ending was one of the musicals selected for SEEYA STAGE^{[note 1]} and the performance was held in the Daemyung Cultural Factory. It was premiered at Lifeway Hall in DCF Daemyung Cultural Factory 2nd Building on December 20, 2016, to March 5, 2017, and ran for 51 performances.^[15][16]

The premiere was directed by Kim Dong-yeon, who also directed the tryout performance of the work Kim expressed his aspirations, saying,^[17]

“I want to create a high degree of perfection as it is a performance that has been developed for a long time through reading and tryout performances.”

Also, he talks about the directing direction.

“The background of the work is obviously the future, but I try to visually implement it so that it is not unfamiliar. The actor's acting also looks like a robot in some ways, but that robotism will eventually be able to express deeper emotions than humans. The background is the future and the characters are robots, but the most important thing is the emotions they feel. Their love is deeper because they are old and broken, and their love is more painful because they are robots. So it is even more beautiful. I want to create a stage where those emotions can be conveyed intact.”

The music director was Joo Yeon-jo and sound engineer was Kwon Ji-hwi. Stage designer Nam Kyung-sik collaborated with lighting designer Lee Dong-jin. Makeup design was by Kim Min-kyung and costume design was by Doyeon. The original cast featured Jung Moon-sung, Kim Jae-bum, and Jung Uk-jin as Oliver; Jeon Mi-do and Choi Soo-jin as Claire; Ko Hoon-jung and Jong Wan-seong as James.^[18][19][20]

Hue, who also works as a freelance designer for an advertising agency in New York, designed the posters for the premiere himself. He recruited photographer Pyo Ji-sik, to capture the lyricism of the work.^[21]

The premiere performance was well received, with all tickets for the preview performance sold out after the opening, recording a 92% average occupancy rate. The tickets were sold out for 60 of a total of 97 performances, and set an unusual box office record for original musicals.^[22][23] The Wooran Cultural Foundation produced the original soundtrack and offered to donate the proceeds to establish a virtuous cycle in the culture and art industry. The production company, Daemyung Cultural Factory, and the creators agreed to the good cause and decided to participate in the donation.^[23]

The 'Maybe Happy Ending Concert' was performed a total of four times from June 18 to 20 at Project Box Seeya in Seoul. It was also performed at Playce Camp Jeju Spinning Wolf on the 23rd. It was organized by actors Jeon Mi-do, Jung Wook-jin, and Ko Hun-jeong, and Korean and American creative teams.^[24]

One year later, an encore performance was performed at same venue, the Lifeway Hall in DCF Daemyung Cultural Factory 2nd Building from October 23, 2017, to November 12, 2017. In this encore performance, the leads were performed by Jeon Mi-do, Go Hoon-jung, and Jeong Wook-jin, who had been together since the tryout performance, joined by Kim Jae-bum, Jung Moon-sung, Choi Su-jin, and Seong Jong-wan, who led the premiere to a box office success, all reprised their roles.^[25] The encore run was also sold out.^[22]

The Japanese premiere of Maybe Happy Ending took place at Sunshine City Theater, Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan, from May 19 to 28, 2017. This version, produced by Synthwave, featured a new cast and production team, using new direction and stage design to adapt to the local market. The production team consisted of Kim Ji-ho, a young director who led Agatha, Deathtrap, and Old Wicked Song; Park Ji-hoon, who was the music director when the Wooran Foundation developed the work; Choreographer Im Jin-ho and others.^[26]

The role of Oliver was cast with idol-actors, Choi Dong-wook (Seven), Seong-je (Supernova) and former U-Kiss member Kevin (Woo Seong-hyun). Actresses Kim Bo-kyung and Song Sang-eun were double-cast as Claire, with actor Rajun playing multiple roles including James.^[27]

The musical was revived in Vivaldi Park Hall, Daemyung Cultural Factory Building 1, Seoul from November 13, 2018, to February 10, 2019. Directed by Kim Dong-yeon and music director Joo Joo-yeon. Kim Jae-beom from the premiere reprised his role as Oliver, performing alternately with three newly cast actors Moon Tae-yu, Jeon Sung-woo, and Shin Joo-hyeop. Choi Su-jin was joined by Park Ji-yeon and Kang Hye-in as Claire. Meanwhile, James were triple-cast with Sung Jong-wan, Yang Seung-ri, Kwon Dong-ho.^[28]

Due to its successful Japanese premiere and later tour in 2017, Synthwave produced a new tour which opened at the main hall of the Yokohama Pacifico Yokohama Conference Center on May 3, 2018, and played there until May 6, 2018. It was followed by performance at the Morinomiya Piroti Hall in Osaka from May 10 to 13, 2018. SE7EN, Supernova Seong-je, and Super Junior Yesung were triple-cast as Oliver. Song Sang-eun reprised her role as Claire, joined by Kim Joo-yeon. The cast also included Ra Jun and actor Kim Nam-ho as James.^[29]

In 2020, Maybe Happy Ending had its English-language debut at Coca-Cola Stage at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta and ran from January 18 until February 17.^[30] The production was directed by Michael Arden, with Arden's husband Andy Mientus serving as associate director, joined on the creative team by Emmy Award-winning lighting designer Travis Hagenbuch and Tony Award-winning costume designer Clint Ramos. Other members of the creative team were Tony Award-nominated projection designer Sven Ortel, sound designer Peter Hylenski and music director Deborah K. Abramson.^[31][32] The cast included Kenny Tran as Oliver, Cathy Ang as Claire, Dez Duron as Gil Brentley, and John D. Haggerty as James.^[33]

Due to the musical featuring a largely Asian-American cast, Jesse Green of The New York Times praised the show for its casting inclusiveness in the column "Critics Notebook".^[34]

The first Japanese cast version was performed in Japan following the performance in the United States. Kenji Urai was cast as Oliver. In addition to Urai, Shoko Nakagawa and Kana Hanazawa were double-cast as Claire. Kenji Sakamoto and Shinji Saito also appeared in this work as James. The musical "Maybe Happy Ending" was performed at Theater Creation in Tokyo from August 11 (Tuesday) to August 30 (Sunday), 2020.^[35][36]

Kenji Urai was interviewed about his thoughts regarding the musical.^[37]

It's a one-act play, but would you say that you don't feel the running time at all? I'm aiming for about 1 hour and 45 minutes, but I feel like it's about 30 minutes (laughs). Even from the acting side, the developments that occur one after another are interesting. The song is so beautiful that it moves my heart. Especially in the second half, the duet continues with refrains and foreshadowing. ', it's very dramatic because it's layered on top of each other. It's very comfortable to have my emotions moving while I'm acting, and at that point, tears naturally overflow, but I'm in a state where I can hold back. I think that's a really good trend. For me personally, it's very meaningful to be able to take on the challenge of a musical with a solid story at this time, and I'm extremely happy that it was this work.

Shoko Nakagawa was praise for her innocence and cute performance.^[38]

The production reopened for its third overall season at the Yes 24 Stage 1, Daehangno, from June 30 to September 13, 2020. In this new staging, the band including the piano conductor is placed on the second floor of the stage, and the door that opens and closes in the center of the stage with the introduction of a running set. Changes in the space are freely expressed, a rising floor is added to the stage space used as the main acting space, and the overall use of video has been increased.^[39]

Jung Moon-sung from premiere, Jeon Sung-woo, and Yang Hee-jun were cast for the role of Oliver. Jeon Mi-do was also back as Claire, joined by actress Kang Hye-in, and Han Jae-ah. Seong Jong-wan and Lee Seon-geun joined the role of James. In this Season, artificial feeling was added to the acting style and vocal tone of the actors to clarify the identity of the robot character.^[40][41]

The Chinese premiere of musical Maybe Happy Ending was the fourth self-produced musical by SAIC Shanghai Culture Square. Despite the travel inconvenience caused by the pandemic, director Kim Dong-yeon came to Shanghai to join the production. It began its Chinese tour at the Theater Above through Sunday, Shanghai, on July 1, 2nd and 3rd, 2021. Following the premiere in Shanghai, the musical moves on to Chengdu, Xiamen, Nanjing and Hangzhou in August, Wuxi in September and Tianjin in November.^[42]

Directed Dongyuan Jin. Oliver played by Zihongfan Huang, Claire played by Yaorong Guo, and James played by Bin Jiang.^[43]

The production was revived for its fourth season once again at the Yes24 Stage 1, Daehangno, Seoul on June 22, 2021, with Jung Uk-jin from premiere returning in the title role Oliver. Han Jae-ah, who won the Best New Actress Award at the Korea Musical Awards for this work last year, was reprising her role as Claire. Shin Sung-min and Lim Jun-hyeok joined the cast as Oliver, with Hong Ji-hee and Hana also joined as Claire. Seong Jong-wan and Lee Seon-geun play the role of Oliver's former owner, James. The production closed on September 5, 2021, after x performances.^[44][45]

The same production was reconstructed as an online performance. It was livestreamed three times in total on Naver TV's 'C-Mu by CJ ENM MUSICAL' channel on the 15th, 22nd and 29th of November 2021. It was filmed and produced for online use with 7 cameras.^[46]

On May 7, 2024, it was announced that the production would be revived once again for its fifth season overall at the Yes24 Stage 1, Daehangno, Seoul, set to run from June 18 to September 8. Park Jin-joo, Jang Min-je, and Hong Ji-Hee, reprising her from the fourth season were cast for the role of Claire. Yoo Eun-oh, Shin Jae-beom, and Park Uk-jin, reprising his from the premiere production were cast in the role of Oliver. Choi Ho-joong and Lee Si-an, reprising his role from the third and fourth seasons were cast in the role of James. ^[47]

In May 2024, a Broadway run of the English version of Maybe Happy Ending was announced, once again directed by Michael Arden after the prior Atlanta production. Darren Criss is set to play the role of Oliver, Helen J. Shen is set to play the role of Claire, and Dez Duron is set to reprise his Atlanta role as Gil Brentley, with further casting to be announced. The production is expected to begin previews at the Belasco Theatre on September 18, with an opening date set for October 17. ^[48]

The musical’s length is 110 minutes with no intermission, the Broadway version also has no intermission, but is 90 minutes in length.

Broadway Website

Maybe Happy Ending at CJENM