MAYBE HAPPY ENDING Reviews — Page 30

Crusty Bagel said: "Wouldn’t the show itself sell tickets? It’s still the best new musical winner. They could have tried for a newcomer and maybe turn him into a star. "

Obviously. Boris is just doing his usual right wing blabby blab crap. And no one outside NYC theatre circles knows who Andrew is. The show could easily carry on with an unknown Asian actor. If anyone thinks Andrew Barth Feldman is going to sell tickets, other then to his friends and family, they are smoking crack.

I’m curious how many of the people posting on here also posted their concerns when a non-Jewish Latine woman was cast as Fanny Brice.

BorisTomashevsky said: "Very well said, Franklin.

One has to wonder about the journalistic impartiality of Diep Tran in writing that article (there’s none). She has multiple people quoted as “against” the casting, says the producers did not respond to a request for comment, but could easily cut from any of this thread or multiple Reddit threads to show that there are people who think Andrew’s casting is fine. And we know she’s got to be reading all the threads. Where’s the impartiality? From the editor-in-chief, no less!"

I love Diep Tran. One of the best journalists covering nyc theater at the moment.

I agree that this is a dumb mess.

jakethesnake said: "I’m curious how many of the people posting on here also posted their concerns when a non-Jewish Latine woman was cast as Fanny Brice."

I thought this was a disappointing choice as well, especially since the casting notices emphasized that they were actively looking for actors who identified as Jewish. Obviously, you cannot ask someone their religion in an audition (nor can you ask someone their ethnicity), but just like when playing a role in a show that takes place in Asia, say, there are cultural sensitivities and understandings that go beyond acting that would enrich a role if they stuck to their original concept of authentic casting.

Can we put the Miss Saigon thing to rest? The role of the Engineer should have always been cast with an Asian actor. He is textually supposed to appear Asian on sight, despite his mixed heritage. And that’s why the Asian community welcomes mixed people into the fold: they are viewed as Asian on sight by our society, so why not celebrate what they’re immediately judged for.

Would people be as upset if a Black person took over the role of Oliver? I personally don’t think so, but that’s such a rare occurrence on Broadway. The only time I can think of a Black person playing an originally Asian character is when Tamyra Gray went into Bombay Dreams.

I think people need to re-educate themselves on the history of yellowface and whitewashing. The book hasn’t yet closed on these industry favorites.

smidge2 said: "A statement from the show’s creator has been released on Instagram."

Here's a link to the statement by Will Aronson and Hue Park on IG. There was no new stance on the casting of Feldman. It's extremely long but below are the sections I personally found most relevant:

"We wrote a show about robots so we could engage more intimately with the most basic human questions of love and loss, creating the roles of Oliver and Claire to be avatars of these universal questions. They were meant to be products created by a global company, and so never bore Korean names, even in the Korean version of the show. At the same time, we understand that for many in the AAPI community, the makeup of our opening night cast became a meaningful and rare point of visibility. We’ve heard how strongly people connected to that representation, even if it wasn’t our original intent, and how this casting decision has re-opened old wounds."

"By the time we came to Broadway – with a set design filled with Korean language – the robot roles were once again ethnically undefined, and our Broadway casting breakdown reflected this. The actors were cast because they fit the roles. In Oliver/Darren’s case, it was his ability to project boyishness and innocence, with a not-leading-man-broadway-belt style of voice.

Over the last several years, we have been heartened to see Asian performers playing Evan Hansen, Orpheus, Abe Lincoln, Sally Bowles, and others. Leading roles for Asian performers have long been painfully scarce, and these shows excitingly made gestures toward universality with expansive casting, and rightly gave opportunities to actors from identity categories who previously had few options. With Maybe Happy Ending, we wanted to write a show in which every role could be played by an Asian performer, but without the intention that the robot roles always would be.
We’re extremely saddened that the show, a decade-long labor of love for us, could ever become a source of confusion, anger or pain."

Updated On: 7/31/25 at 01:34 AM

''Can we put the Miss Saigon thing to rest? The role of the Engineer should have always been cast with an Asian actor. He is textually supposed to appear Asian on sight, despite his mixed heritage.''

In ''Miss Saigon,'' the Engineer needs to look Asian because he tries to pass himself off as Kim's brother. In the original 1989 London production, Jonathan Pryce wore prosthetics to make his eyes look more ''slanted.'' Mackintosh insisted Pryce re-create his role in NYC, and ''Miss Saigon'' claimed a ''worldwide search'' had already been held to find an Asian actor to play the Engineer, but none could be found, After Mackintosh threatened to cancel the Broadway run if Pryce wasn't the Engineer, Equity relented under the pressure and approved him. Only then did ''Miss Saigon'' admit that it never held a worldwide search for an Asian actor to play the Engineer. As Equity suspected, Mackintosh was dead-set on Pryce and really wasn't interested in an Asian actor in that part. After Pryce left the show, the Engineer was only played by Asian actors, so it was clearly a lie that there weren't any who could do the role. Meantime, some Asian man lost the rare opportunity to originate that role and win a Tony, the way Lea Salonga did with Kim.

In 2014, Mackintosh's 25th anniversary revival of ''Miss Saigon'' in London, now starred Jon Jon Briones, an Asian-American, as the Engineer. Briones received raves and an Olivier nomination. And in an interview with the Telegraph, Mackintosh now confessed that he believes his biggest mistake in ''Miss Saigon'' was not foreseeing how much of an issue the casting of Pryce would prove in New York: "I said it was a storm in an Oriental tea-cup, thinking I was being clever. I was actually being stupid." He now accepts that those who argued that the character should be played by an actor of Asian descent had a valid point.

''I think people need to re-educate themselves on the history of yellowface and whitewashing.''

Yes, Broadway has a long history of yellow face, where Caucasian men played leading Asian roles: David Wayne as Sakini, the Okinawan in ''The Teahouse of the August Moon''; Larry Blyden as Sammy Fong in ''Flower Drum Song''; Cedric Hardwicke as Asano, the Japanese businessman in ''A Majority of One,'' etc. For decades, that kind of casting and lack of roles deprived Asian male actors the chances and the plum parts they deserved to become stars.

In ''Maybe Happy Ending,'' there finally was a leading-man role where Darren Criss became the first Asian-American man to win Leading Actor in a Musical in the 78-year history of the Tony Awards. Set in Korea, the cast was, except for Dez Duron, all Asian-American, including Criss' two understudies: Stephen Huynh and Christopher James Tamayo. The Asian-American community embraced the Tony-winning ''Maybe Happy Ending'' as a long-overdue sign of progress. So is it any wonder that Asian-American actors felt disappointed and devastated that Criss' first replacement would be a Caucasian? It's sad that some folks can't sympathize and see why many in the Asian-American community consider this such a slap in the face.

Updated On: 7/31/25 at 02:02 AM

Thank you, Wayman. Always eloquently put.

Posting that statement at 1:00 AM on a Thursday may not have been the most savvy of them.

Dropping a PR statement at 1am is certainly a choice on the production’s part

I wonder if (or how) what's happening with MHE might influence casting decisions for some new musicals or plays in the future.

Updated On: 7/31/25 at 07:54 AM

Congratulations, mob! You are ruining lives that had actually given you roles when they didn’t even have to."

You seem to be a board agitator, so I’m not even sure you’re worth a legitimate convo. MHE dug themselves their own hole here. Asian representation and having an Asian company was part of their campaign. They’ve abandoned their tune post Tony’s and are backpedaling. This “mob” you speak of is full of fans who saw themselves reflected. They were told this show was celebrating Asian actors. Accountability is a tough word for theater people, that doesn’t mean it isn’t applicable here.

Updated On: 7/31/25 at 08:02 AM

witchoftheeast2 said: "But a valid point is made here. This is certainly affecting the casts mental health and well being. That's most likely why they're being very strategic about whether or they speak out on their own. There's already so much being said, there's nothing they can do or say that will make people happy. Yes, even if ABF stepped down, it wouldn't be good either. So what can they do? All we can hope for is that they see this, and they do better after his run, and for the tour casting"

Blame the producers. The casts mental health and well being is shaken based on a decision made by the creative team. What the producers can do is remove him from the role for the integrity of the show.

I do believe their response is genuine. The thing about art is intention can be honest and thoughtful and we can say “Ah we see how that’s a fair explanation of what happened as you were creating this cause these are the facts you’re presenting”

However, once it’s released in the world the truth is it’s really not yours anymore. It belongs to your audience. They should have known especially when so much love has poured into this show from the AAPI community and it’s been lifted so high as “Finally representation”

It’s a PR disaster cause they should have known every angle this would read. Even if you think people are freaking out or being too sensitive, this is the reality of the thing. This wave was always coming if you were going to cast someone white after Darren.
Especially, when the understudies have been Asian.



They didn’t read the room

Updated On: 7/31/25 at 08:49 AM

“especially when so much love has poured into this show from the AAPI community“

How many from said community have paid for tickets to see the show? How many of them have encouraged others to pay for tickets to see the show? If they’ve only sat at home and said “I love this!!!” without actually keeping the show alive with money or promotion, then there’s no “especially” about it and they’re owed Nothing.