• Maybe Happy Ending

1/4/25 (Sat), Broadway

Korean culture, having triumphed in music (K-Pop), television (Squid Game) and film (Parasite), has now reached Broadway with this oddball musical set in Seoul in the near future. I had no intention of seeing musicals on this trip given the exorbitant prices and way too many disappointments, but the Asian origins proved irresistible, especially after its favorable critical reception. Word of mouth seems to be turning this quiet show into a sleeper hit. A Japanese version played in Tokyo a few years back, and I wish now that I had caught it.

Oliver is a Type 3 robot who has been waiting in a facility for years for his owner to return for him. He follows an unchanging routine, confined in his room taking care of his beloved plant and listening to classic jazz records. He gets regular deliveries of a jazz magazine but as yet no letter from the owner. One day, Claire, a more free-wheeling Type 5 robot living across the hall, knocks on the door seeking to borrow a charger. They end up going on a journey in search of Oliver’s owner, wary not to be caught by authorities on the lookout for stray robots. Their discovery leads to disillusionment, then acceptance, then love.

Being a Korean show, that love is very chaste, amounting to little more than a kiss. But it’s heartfelt, especially as the hesitant male robot gradually allows his feelings to emerge. Their feelings are tainted by the knowledge that both of them are due to reach the end of their product lives within the next few years. The ending is rather drawn out as the show tries to introduce a few too many “lessons”. But the show is saved anyway by the goodwill built to that point and the appeal of the two young robots, especially as played by an expert Darren Criss and newcomer Helen J Shen.

While I had expected a K-Pop sound, the music is in fact simple and sweet with nicely casual lyrics attached, which was perfect for the material (though a bit sappy toward the end). The fantastic set design had a video game feel with adept use of lighting and projections. We could variously see either or both of the robots’ apartments as well as several rooms in the owner’s spacious home, a driving scene, and projections showing the robots’ dreams and memories along with a lovely firefly scene. The perfectly restrained direction is by Michael Arden. While the final 15 minutes should have been tightened before opening, this low-key musical is overall a lovely night in the theater.