Quirky and heartbreaking: Robots learn to love in musical 'Maybe Happy Ending'

[Review] “Maybe Happy Ending,” which opened its fifth season in Seoul, is a futuristic romance that follows two abandoned “helperbots” named Oliver and Claire in Seoul.

A scene from the ongoing musical "Maybe Happy Ending" [CJ ENM]

[Review]

What if robots could fall in love?

“Maybe Happy Ending,” which opened its fifth season in Seoul last week, is a futuristic romance that follows two abandoned “helperbots” named Oliver and Claire in Seoul in 2050. The two meet as Claire knocks on Oliver’s door to borrow his charger because hers no longer works. Claire, who has a car and wants to see fireflies, and Oliver, who has a functional charger and wants to track down his human owner James, strike up a deal to go to Jeju Island where James’ family lives.

Though they aren’t supposed to be capable of love, the two sprout a quirky robot romance after spending so much time together. And while they don’t have relationship problems like the ones humans face, Oliver and Claire deal with their own set of tragic obstacles. Just maybe, their unlikely love can beat the odds.

The homegrown musical’s English version is set for a Broadway premiere at the Belasco Theatre this fall, starring Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen. It will be the first show on Broadway to be written by a Korean and set in Korea.

Sci-fi musicals can be a cause for hesitation, mainly because audiences don't know what to expect. What do robots wear? Will they speak in monotone? Just exactly how much robot content are we talking about here?

But rest assured, audiences will find they have more in common with Claire and Oliver than they might have anticipated before going into the show. “Maybe Happy Ending” successfully combines the familiar with the unfamiliar. It may be set in the future, but it is undoubtedly a story about humans in the 21st century, who, in some ways, have come to resemble these broken helperbots.

The book, co-written by Hue Park and Will Aronson, is inspired by the song “Everyday Robots” (2014) by Damon Albarn, member of rock band Blur. The lyrics describe people staring into their phones as robots, drawing parallels with today's society.

Local audiences may be slightly more familiar with the sci-fi genre outside of Hollywood movies when thinking of books like “A Thousand Blues” (2019) by Cheon Seon-ran and “If We Can’t Go at the Speed of Light” (2019) by Kim Cho-yup. The genre examples imagine daily life with robots and other futuristic gadgets and garnered explosive popularity among young local readers upon publication. The staged version of “A Thousand Blues” had a limited-run, incorporating an actual robot in Seoul last month.

In “Maybe Happy Ending,” some odd intonation and ticks in the actors’ robot performances take some getting used to, but it is refreshing to be curious about a character on stage. Musical characters are often presented so straightforwardly in your face, but watching these two feels more like getting to know a new friend that you know you are going to like.

A scene from the ongoing musical "Maybe Happy Ending" [CJ ENM]

The production’s jazz-infused score, composed by Aronson, embodies the story’s simple yet intimate nature. Its lighter, brighter numbers like “Thank You, Oliver” and “Good Luck” can almost sound playfully toyish at times, but are still suitable and fun for the given scenarios. It is performed by a six-piece band situated in an open pit above the stage.

While the script and direction are solid, the musical significantly depends on the actors and their chemistry to ultimately bring it home.

Three actors each alternate the roles of Oliver and Claire this season.

Jung Wook-jin, a returning Oliver from the past four productions, gives a well-oiled performance as an innocent and genuine helperbot with high anxiety. He also gives a very nuanced performance in depicting his character's coming of age, appearing plastic in the beginning but gradually adding on more emotions as he spends time with Claire. By Oliver's last scene, he is a completely different robot — even as he plays out the exact same morning routine from the very first scene, Jung's detailed performance makes the scene feel totally different.

A scene from the ongoing musical "Maybe Happy Ending" [CJ ENM]

Park Jin-joo joins the show for the first time this season as Claire. She lands the bubbly cheeriness of the character and effectively brings forward a wittiness that is embedded in Claire’s lines. But she does deviate from the majority of actors that have been cast as Claire in Korea in that she has a sharper and higher voice tone and range. Her Claire thus comes across as less warm and more energetic.

The production in Korea has established a very distinct and visually aesthetic look over the years. The costumes in the ongoing show by Do Yeon use warm and subtle colors that aren’t necessarily futuristic but modest and unpretentious, successfully depicting the image of an advanced, human-like robot that is purposed to help humans.

The symmetrical stage by Cho Su-hyun keeps the design minimal, and the characters actively use props, by Jung E-deun, to transform the stage into different locations. The media art, by Cho, is at times cartoonish and unnecessary — a seemingly popular trend in local productions, where poor quality videos are displayed on the screens backing the stage.

Poster of the ongoing musical "Maybe Happy Ending" [CJ ENM]

As the title implies, this is a "maybe" happy ending. However, it isn’t the possibility of a bad ending that leaves audiences teary and sniffling as they shuffle out of the theater. Rather, it is the possibility of a good one.

The kind of world and love that Claire and Oliver make for themselves is one in a million. But if deteriorating robots programmed to be incapable of love can achieve it, the rest of us shouldn’t be so quick to give up hope now.

"Maybe Happy Ending" runs through Sept. 8, at Yes24 Stage in Jongno District, central Seoul.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]