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[gleekingdom]

Just really liked this Post this musical is so awesome! I like the idea of this musical so much, I'm sure it's gonna be great. ^^

Actor Darren Criss Discusses Bringing ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ To Broadway

[UHQ] Darren Criss attends the "Maybe Happy Ending" Broadway photo call at Tempo by Hilton New York Times Square on September 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

“An original, new musical on Broadway - can you believe that?”

That is the excitement that Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Darren Criss brought to our new conversation this week about his Maybe Happy Endingproduction coming to Broadway, with previews starting October 16 and its opening night set for November 12.

Previously known for his memorable performances on hit television series like Glee and The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, as well as his previous involvement in celebrated live theatre productions including American Buffalo, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Little Shop of Horrors, Criss, 37, is now preparing to play Oliver on-stage, a robot referred to as a Helperbot 3 that has been long retired and is considered obsolete, now spending his days in isolation in his one-room apartment on the outskirts of Seoul, South Korea. That all changes when Oliver forms an unlikely connection with a fellow Helperbot neighbor named Claire (played by Helen J Shen).

I sat down with Criss in New York City, New York, just down the street from his Maybe Happy Ending’s upcoming Belasco Theatre venue, wondering first how this production and his interest in this rather unique character of Oliver initially got on his radar.

Criss said, “Two men that I’m very grateful for in my life, Mr. Jeffrey Richards, whose the lead producer of the show, who I have had a long standing relationship, as far as doing theatre on Broadway is concerned. We came in contact more than a decade ago when we were doing a reading of American Buffalo, which I would do basically a decade later with him. He’s always sent me cool things and cool projects. Separately, Michael Arden has been a friend for a very long day. He has been in sort of more my friends circle than my professional circle - I went to college with his husband. I’ve seen almost every single thing he’s ever directed - I think I missed one thing. These are two guys that I have always admired and appreciated, as far as their output was in the theatre community. The Venn diagrams became one circle when Jeffrey sent me an email about this several years ago. Michael was a part of it and wherever Michael is, I run!”

Being a musical set in Asia and Criss being half-Filipino himself, with several other Asian artists working alongside him on this project, I was curious if Criss takes extra pride in being able to tell a story like Maybe Happy Ending live on on-stage and soon get to share it with our world.

“Of course, I do,” Criss said. “There’s obviously a huge amount of personal ‘woo-hoo’ to the idea that this is predominantly an Asian, Asian-American company - on-stage and off-stage - but I’m always weary to categorize this as an Asian show or an Asian story. This production happens to celebrate and represent Asian-ness to a really fun degree, but there’s so much universal-ness to it and accessibility to the story that I hope in perpetuity, this is something that can be done anywhere, with anyone, at any time. I don’t think I’m trying to say that to be inclusive of all things and people. It’s me being pragmatic - this is a story about a future world - about sentient robots that really doesn’t have any particular cultural background, other than the cultural background of technology, which is based in the human experience.”

Criss added with his Maybe Happy Ending collaborators in mind: “I think all of us enjoy sharing our sort of Asian heritage with each other, and obviously, that’s a large spectrum - that’s not one thing. So, there’s already an eclecticism between all of our Asian experiences that’s fun to bring to the table. Yes, it does take place in Seoul, it is from South Korea, but this show has already had great success in Korea, Japan and China - which while all Asian, make no mistake - are very different cultures. So, if that’s any indication of the ability for this show to resonate with all people, then I think we’re in good shape.”

He is not the only person on this production embracing this collective experience. Shen says of interactions so far with co-star Criss, “I think he’s been really generous with his energy and his time. As a person who, I can sometimes feel a little young in this space, I feel like I’m new to this. I’m making my Broadway debut - there’s a lot of imposter syndrome and words of doubt that can be flooding my brain. He is always the first person to say, ‘You belong here. You deserve to be here. You’ve worked very hard - and just breathe and take up space.’ That has been so invaluable to have somebody understand what this feeling can be, of how scary and overwhelming it can be, and be like, ‘This is an exciting moment! We’re present here - let’s soak it in!’ He’s been such a champion of that.”

Arden, who is the director of Maybe Happy Ending, said of Criss, “Darren is so incredible. He can do everything - it’s really somewhat annoying. He understands things from the inside out and the outside in - and so, to meet him and the rest of this company, honestly, in the process, it just means that we get to kind of like create this thing together. It’s not like my vision upon them - it’s something that we can all create together.”

Hue Park and Will Aronson, who have led the way with the music and lyrics in Maybe Happy Ending, have nothing but respect and admiration to say about Criss.

Park said, “I think he’s just perfect for the role - his sense of humor, his acting skills, his sensibility creating this character based on our text and music. It’s just so exciting to see.”

Aronson added of Criss: “He has a boyish innocence, which really is perfect for this show - and his creativity. The great thing about live theatre is that it’s already true in the rehearsal room - it’ll be true in the theatre, once it’s running - that the actors are creating it every time they perform it, meaning that the jokes are different every time, even if the text is the same. The chemistry is different, depending on what the actors are creating in their scene together. The cast is just incredible, so of course, they’re finding that and they’re creating that.”

Dez Duron, who plays Gil in Maybe Happy Ending, said of Criss’s character and his performance so far, “Oliver is a really big role - he’s on-stage pretty much the whole time. I’ve been loving watching him tackle this role, and explore it and discover it. I’ve been a part of this project for five years, so watching [Criss] kind of like get into the script and the changes he’s bringing to it and the new life he’s breathing into it has been really inspiring to watch.”

Marcus Choi, who plays James in the new musical, said of his co-star, “So, Darren Criss has always been on my radar - we’re all very familiar with his body of work. He’s been incredible for so long, but when I got a chance to go to Elsie Fest last weekend, I really got to see him shine. He is just such a force on-stage and just oozes charisma. I mean, I’ve always been a fan but I just have a deep appreciation for him now and just how hard he works.”

Even though this can be perceived as a sci-fi production, being that it centers around robots that are no longer seen of use in the world, I asked Criss if he sees the parallels towards humanity within our real world with this story about love and still finding connection.

Darren said, “Yes! The Helperbots in our show are somewhere between servants, pets and children - and old folks. If we did a show about old folks in a home, it might hit a little too close to home - it might be a little too on the nose. I think some of the most human themes that I’ve been taken with are stories about cartoon animals or toys - things that represent the human experience in a way that I actually am more likely to internalize and pick up on. So, I think that’s what one of the great devices of the show is - to sort of displace the human experience through that of a sentient robot. Yes, we all - surprise, surprise - we all have a shelf life. We are all at some point going to be, in the eyes of society, obsolete in some respect. We all have a battery life. This is less talking about the idea of mortality and concept of transience, and the idea that we can only spend our battery life on so much, thinking about What are you going to spend your battery life on? So yes, that is going to hit audiences, hopefully, in a profound way.”

As I concluded my conversation with Criss about his Maybe Happy Ending Broadway production, I wondered what Criss would want to say to Oliver, after embodying him so far in rehearsals, continuing to better understand the character and preparing to share his compassionate story with our world throughout the fall season and beyond.

Criss said, “The same thing that I think hopefully the show will posit, which is - It’ll be okay. It’ll always be okay.”

[amazsylwia]

WhY My bEsT FRiEnd LOoK SO pReTTy?????

[weirdgurlvermil]

Which rock have I been under? I love this song, yes because of Ross and Rachel & FRIENDS, but I've seen it by my man before @coreytaylor #totallyfangirling #friends #livemusic #chrisissak #musicfan #youtube #coreytaylor #cmft #corey (at Doncaster)

[nerdypinupcrystal]

First time at @socalhoedown was such a kickass experience! I got to enjoy it with my mummy @tinasoke , and I got to meet Elvis from @threebadjacks65 !!!!!! They’re one of my favorite bands, and it was amazing meeting him. He was so sweet and friendly, he even hugged me! This was an awesome way to end the day 😍😍😍 #socalhoedown #rockabilly #psychobilly #threebadjacks #elvissuissa #totallyfangirling (at Port of Los Angeles Outer Harbor - Berth 46) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3RAsMIAlpb/?igshid=3zwjmz5w8lyc

[skylarkd]

Best breakup party ever!! Found my real men! #disneyworld #gaston #beast #goodlookingmen #totallyfangirled #soexcited https://www.instagram.com/p/BqdbRttDCB4/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1bcia43cklbrk

[eydieventuro]

It’s not often, at least for me, that an artist truly resonates. I see things and I like them, then I move on to the next item I see. But the art of @simonacandini and the #arcanedivination #dunny did just that. The art of each are so brilliant that they call to me! Thanks to @designercon I had the pleasure of meeting #simonacandini and some of the artist involved with the #arcanedunny series. I had so much fun and thank you Simona for being one of the loveliest people I’ve met! #dcon2017 #thefool @jonpaulkaiser #imonlymissingone #art #artist #artistsoninstagram #dcon #dcon2017 #totallyfangirling

[peace-love-and-daisies]

That moment when you get a hug and a picture with @djhappycolors 😍 #soexcited #omg #yay #totallyfangirling #lmfao #mmw #mmw2017 #sohappy #grateful (at The Hangar)

[ao3feed-voltronlegendarydefender]

Of Wine and Weddings

read it on the AO3 at Of Wine and Weddings

by totallyfangirl

Shiro Ship Week 2018 - Day 2: Proposal

Hangovers suck. But being victim of the things your mouth decides to blurt out while being drunk? That sucks even more.

Words: 1369, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of Shiro Ship Week 2018

Fandoms: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Shiro (Voltron), Ulaz (Voltron), The whole team - Character

Relationships: Shiro/Ulaz (Voltron)

Additional Tags: Hangover, cuteness, Romance, shulaz, uliro, Fluff, Shiro Ship Week 2018

read it on the AO3 at Of Wine and Weddings

[wokeuplate]

We found it!!! 🐲. . . . #scavengerhunt #totallyfangirling #iknowthecocaptain

This photo is via Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BYubWQtAg3G

[xxcoffinxxkittyxx]

YEEEE!! #gift #orlando #florida #wizardingworldofharrypotter #totallyfangirled #notebook #hogwarts

[destroyingyourself]

I like guys with nice chests #totallyfangirled #thesup (at but seriously )

[pandaae86trueno]

Met @gracehelbig today, #nbd #lies #totallyfangirled

[weirdgurlvermil]

Before I go & fall into a Sunday donothingathon I thought I'd share another photos from Friday night! My round up for this one - They performed their hearts & souls out (which must have killed them with the jetlag) There are not the right words to describe how good they are live I didn't think it was possible to enjoy their music anymore than I already did - I was totally wrong. I was 'possibly' a little bit happy when Lozs' shirt came off lol 😂 Sorry Loz! Sorry Gemma! I was absolutely stoked I was at 'Seans side' of the stage & he was in my view most of the night. I love all of Sleeps but I 'may' (do) want to adopt Sean as a little brother most of all 🤗😳 Sorry Sean! He was bouncing round that stage at times like he was on a pogo stick, and to see the magic happening..... 😍😍🤩 #faint #totallyfangirled #wss #whileshesleeps #doncaster #southyorkshire #heavymetal #sheffield #doncasterisgreat #fanpost #youarewe #sleepsbrothers #sleepssisters #sleepsfamily #sleepsworlddomination #fansofsleeps #sleepsworlwide #o2academysheffield (at Doncaster)

[stygiansiryn]

The finished product of @cinemamakeupschool awesome Apocalypse portrayed by @mickignis ! #SDCC #sdcc2014 #totallyfangirled

[xdarrylinabarrelx]

I'm so happy I got to see Allen Stone with the cool kids from Oaktown ✌️#totallyfangirled #livemusic #musicintheforest #sterngrove #allenstone #broakland and #siskland? #tryingtobeinclusive LOL

[peace-love-and-daisies]

🎶"Distress call code-word is I wanna live. He makes it up as it goes, it goes away to places he can only hide in other peoples minds. He makes it up as it goes it goes away."🎶 ____________________________________ #circasurvive #onlettinggotour #revolutionlive #10thyearanniversary #anthonygreen #soflo #fortlauderdale #music #myalltimefave #totallyfangirling