The ‘Maybe Happy Ending' recasting is a major misstep

Washington Post

a day ago

'Maybe Happy Ending' began as an underdog, its uncertain fate summed up by the title. When the rom-com about two outdated humanoid robots opened in November, it defied the reigning formulas for Broadway musicals spun from popular movies or song catalogues, with its dazzling score, oddball story and intimate, gorgeously executed production. Critical acclaim and word of mouth helped 'Maybe Happy Ending' prove that quality and originality can still win out on Broadway. Its ticket sales increased and it took home six Tony Awards, including for star Darren Criss, who made history as the first Asian American to win best leading actor in a musical.
Now, the production is engulfed in controversy over its decision to cast a White actor, Andrew Barth Feldman, to take over the role when Criss leaves at the end of August. The musical's unusual development trajectory began with a Korean-language 2016 premiere in Seoul, where the story is partly set, and subsequent productions in Japan and China. The original Broadway cast features mostly actors from Asian American and/or Pacific Islander (AAPI) backgrounds, so the replacement has been perceived as snatching an opportunity away for another AAPI performer to assume the role.
The move is a fumbling misstep that could have easily been avoided — there's no shortage of talented AAPI actors to play the role — and it's drawn particular ire toward a show that's already an unlikely triumph.
Outcry has ignited on social media over the past week. Tony winner B.D. Wong called Feldman's casting 'a hard slap in the face of both the Asian actor community and the Asian audience,' in a lengthy and impassioned Facebook post. 'Oh, Mary!' Tony nominee Conrad Ricamora pointed to the 'pain from being told — subtly and explicitly — that we don't belong' and said that he launched a scholarship fund for Asian American men to study acting. The advocacy group Asian American Performers Action Coalition released a statement expressing 'profound disappointment.'
The response from 'Maybe Happy Ending' creators Will Aronson and Hue Park, posted Thursday to the show's Instagram account, raises some valid counterpoints amid a soft shoe of mea culpas. Yes, these are robots we're talking about, and do they even have ethnicities? They acknowledged that 'the makeup of our opening night cast became a meaningful and rare point of visibility' for the AAPI community but also claimed that such representation 'wasn't our original intent.' They went on to suggest, with a deep backbend in logic, that casting actors of any Asian background to play the robots — as a shorthand way of establishing the Korean setting — might seem 'regressive, or even offensive to the uniqueness of Korean culture.'
A commenter on the post helpfully pointed out that in May, during Asian Pacific Heritage Month and the show's Tony campaign, the account posted: 'Maybe Happy Ending is proud to be a part of rejoicing Asian representation on Broadway ✨ As we celebrate diverse voices on stage.' It seems that touting the show's commitment to representation was advantageous until the precise moment that it wasn't.
In their statement, Aronson and Park also expressed their hope that the musical will enjoy a long life and eventually be performed by a variety of actors in different contexts while still being set in Korea.
For now, the show is still on Broadway, where it surpassed steep odds but remains in a fragile position, despite its Tony win for best musical. The production, which opened with modest advance ticket sales, has seen weekly grosses grow steadily this summer to consistently exceed the $1 million mark. But running a Broadway musical is hugely expensive, and the vast majority fail to recoup their initial investment. The show will compete with a new season of shows in the fall.
That's the environment in which the production decided to cast Feldman, who in 2019 stepped into the lead role of 'Dear Evan Hansen' while still in high school. Though not exactly marquee casting, his profile among musical theater fans — he has over a quarter million Instagram followers, a sizable count for a Broadway star — can't hurt. (Feldman also happens to be in a relationship with the show's lead actress, Helen J Shen, which could be seen as a marketing opportunity.)
But 'Maybe Happy Ending' has been buoyed by the goodwill of its supporters, and losing that now could affect its future.
To repeat the obvious, stories that showcase Asian and Asian American characters — and opportunities for artists from those backgrounds to play them — are rare across American media, and particularly in the limited real estate of Broadway. Another Tony winner this year, Francis Jue, won for his performance in 'Yellow Face,' David Henry Hwang's play about casting White actors in Asian parts. That show, first produced in 2007, partly recalls Hwang's own highly publicized campaign against the casting of a White lead in the Broadway premiere of 'Miss Saigon.' History still seems to be repeating.
The problem is systemic and can be traced through the pipelines that have led to a preponderance of White leadership across the industry — among educators, artists and, crucially, producers. All of that needs to be addressed, with concerted effort and at every level, if the industry hopes to achieve the sort of change to equity and representation that was called for when the movement known as We See You, White American Theater released a call to action in 2020 with 82,000 signatures.
One show, and one casting replacement, isn't going to fix the root of the problem. And perhaps eventually, 'Maybe Happy Ending' could be performed by actors of any background and not draw backlash. But on the heels of Criss's historic win, and at a time when the social value of diverse representation is being questioned altogether, the casting decision is an unforced error.
'Maybe Happy Ending' has an opportunity to be part of the solution to a problem its existence is helping to solve already. The production has taken its biggest risk, in bringing an offbeat, difficult-to-market show to the industry's top platform and achieving an escalating level of success. Why not continue to showcase Asian American talent while they're at it?