Helen J Shen, Darren Criss (Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)

Maybe Happy Ending

By Julia Polinsky

Maybe Happy Ending, now on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre, looks great, sounds great, has splendid performances and touches the heart as it explores what it means to be human. Or to love. Or both. It has real songs, that advance the show and reveal the characters' thoughts. It has fireflies.

It has robots in love.

If the words "robots in love" make you cringe, that's a pity, in this case. Maybe Happy Ending, the whimsical, charming, delightful, beautiful, heart-rending, joyful, sorrowful, and utterly wonderful story of Oliver (Darren Criss) and Claire (Helen J Shen), will very likely change your mind.

Oliver, an obsolete Helperbot 3 (sturdy but, well, robotic; Criss nails the body language), occupies a room at the Helperbot Yards, the android graveyard of near-future Seoul. In smashing, stupendous, super set design from Dane Laffrey, that room is framed by brightly colored neon lights that form a tightly constricted box surrounded by darkness; as the show opens up later, so does the set, with delightful results.

The not-very-bright Oliver, handsome but artificial (makeup by Suki Tsujimoto) in bright, nerd-chic costume (Clint Ramos), seems content to water his plant, HwaBoon, get his mail, which is always  jazz magazines or replacement parts, and listen to jazz records, a parting gift from his former owner, James ((Marcus Choi). Oliver refers to James as his friend and believes that one day James will come back and take him home, even as years go by. Years. 12 of them.

 

Darren Criss (Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)

One day, there's a knock on the door. Oliver is so excited! However, instead of James, it's the bot next door, Claire (a Helperbot 5; advanced, but fragile), who asks to borrow Oliver's charger. That's kind of a normal postmodern meet-cute, until you realize she needs his charger to charge not her laptop or phone, but herself. Her batteries are wearing out, her charger is on the fritz, and there are no spares being made, just as Oliver's spare parts are no longer coming. These two obsolete Helperbots face oblivion, even as they get to know each other.

Claire, the wiser and more sophisticated of the two, inspires Oliver to adventure. They plan a trip to the island where James lives and Claire knows of a forest with the last fireflies, which she's always wanted to see (video projections by George Reeve and Laffrey). She knows Oliver has been saving coins from bottle refunds to finance a trip to see James. She has a car from her former owner. Robot Road Trip! Along the way, they realize they're falling in love.

Darren Criss, Helen J Shen (Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)

The visit to James does not work out as Oliver expected, but the firefly forest is everything Claire hoped. Their return to Seoul after the visit to the fireflies feels lyrically sad, even though by now Claire and Oliver are in love. Yet, they are aware that being in love may not make for a happy ending as they become more obsolete. They make some hard decisions. Maybe.

The delicious score (music by Will Aronson, lyrics by Hue Park) plays on Oliver's love of jazz, from the opening song, "Why Love," crooned in best 50s style by Gil Brentley (Dez Duron). Brentley has six numbers, a kind of retro-hipster Greek chorus commenting on the action.

 

Dez Duron (Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)

Other songs serve the story well. Claire and Oliver's early tunes delightfully tell us who they are; the contented Oliver is happy in the "World Within My Room," and "Where You Belong," but the practical Claire knows "The Way it Has To Be." Later songs include "Never Fly Away," and "Then I Can Let You Go," all about love and parting.

Maybe Happy Ending gently and sweetly touches on what it means to be human at the same time it celebrates the kind of love where sparks fly - literally, in this case. All this, wrapped up in gorgeous design, with good music, wonderful performances, and the kind of hold-your-breath moments that make superb theater. Not to be missed.

Maybe Happy Ending

At the Belasco Theatre, 111 W 44^th ST

Running time: 1:45, no intermission

Tickets: https://www.maybehappyending.com/tickets/