Before Andrew Barth Feldman starts his limited run replacing Darren Criss as Oliver in “Maybe Happy Ending” on September 2, it’s been revealed who will replace him: Darren Criss! The Tony Award-winning star of the musical announced at the August 20 matinee that he will return to the role of the jazz-loving Helperbot on November 5 after a nine-week break.
Feldman will be starring opposite his real-life partner Helen J Shen as Claire in the show, which won Best Musical at the 2025 Tony Awards. He made his Broadway debut in “Dear Evan Hansen” in 2019, starred off-Broadway in “Little Shop of Horrors” and “We Had a World” and on screen opposite Jennifer Lawrence in the film “No Hard Feelings.”
With music and lyrics by Will Aronson and Hue Park, and orchestrations also by Aronson, “Maybe Happy Ending” opened at the Belasco Theatre on November 12, 2024. Michael Arden directs the Broadway production of the show, which premiered, in its Korean-language version, in Seoul in 2016. “Maybe Happy Ending” also stars original cast members Dez Duron and Marcus Choi, with Steven Huynh, Hannah Kevitt, Daniel May, Christopher James Tamayo and Claire Kwon rounding out the production as understudies.
Inside a one-room apartment in the heart of Seoul, Oliver lives a happily quiet life listening to jazz records and caring for his favorite plant. But what else is there to do when you’re a Helperbot 3, a robot that has long been retired and considered obsolete? When his fellow Helperbot neighbor Claire (Shen) asks to borrow his charger, what starts as an awkward encounter leads to a unique friendship, a surprising adventure and maybe even...love?
“Maybe Happy Ending” is the winner of six 2025 Tony Awards, also winning for Best Direction of a Musical, Best Actor in a Musical, Best Scenic Design of a Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. The show will embark on a multi-year North American tour beginning in the fall of 2026.
This article previously appeared on Broadway.com.
