Tony-winning K-musical ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ faces backlash over lead casting change

Casting of white performer as Oliver reignites debate over K-musical’s cultural authenticity

The K-musical "Maybe Happy Ending" won six awards, the most of any production this year, at the Tony Awards on June 8,2025./Getty Images Korea

Maybe Happy Ending, which swept six awards including Best Musical at the Tony Awards in June — the most of any production this year — and was hailed as opening a new chapter for K-musicals, is now embroiled in controversy over the casting of its male lead.

The dispute arose after it was revealed that a role previously played by an Asian actor will, starting next month, be taken over by a white actor. Some Asian actors and critics argue the decision undermines the show’s symbolic significance as a work representing Asia on Broadway. Others have raised a philosophical question: “Do robots have race?” — a debate that shows no signs of subsiding.

The musical won Best Musical, Best Direction, Best Book, Best Original Score, Best Scenic Design, and Best Leading Actor in a Musical at the 78th Tony Awards. Co-created by Korean lyricist and playwright Park Chun-hue and American composer Will Aronson, Maybe Happy Ending premiered in Seoul’s Daehangno theater district in 2016. The homegrown production became a sensation for what many saw as a near-miraculous feat — a Korean musical making its mark in New York, the world’s theater capital.

The story follows retired robots Oliver and Claire who form a deep bond and fall in love, set against the backdrops of Seoul and Jeju, and is filled with Korean cultural elements.

The controversy began when producers announced that Andrew Barth Feldman, a white actor would take over the role of Oliver, played by Darren Criss, for nine weeks starting in September. Criss, who won the Tony for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for the role, had extended his contract through August before Feldman was scheduled to step in.

Darren Criss (left), winner of Best Leading Actor in a Musical, and Helen J. Shen, the male and female leads of the six-time Tony Award-winning K-musical Maybe Happy Ending./Photographers Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

The news drew criticism from Asian American actors. The musical is set in Asia (specifically Korea), and until now, the role had been played by Asian actors. Replacing the lead with a white actor, critics say, disregards the production’s “Asian representational” value. Of the eight current cast members, including four alternates, seven are Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander. Criss himself is of Filipino descent.

The Asian American Performers Action Coalition said in a statement, “A different precedent has been set; one that de-emphasizes cultural specificity and the opportunities for a far too often excluded population of actors,” the statement read.

Acclaimed Asian American actor BD Wong, known for roles in Jurassic Park and other films, said, “I feel for them. Yet, this decision’s still taken as a hard slap in the face of both the Asian actor community and the Asian audience.” Actor Conrad Ricamora, another prominent Asian American performer, announced plans to create a scholarship fund for aspiring Asian American male actors.

A statement posted by the producers of Maybe Happy Ending on July 31,2025./Maybe Happy Ending Instagram

As criticism mounted, co-creators Park and Aronson issued a joint statement on social media. They said they recognized the casting’s significance to many in the Asian American acting community and acknowledged that, although unintentional, the decision had reopened wounds from past experiences. They explained that their vision from the outset was to create a fable-like story about robots that could be performed by anyone, anywhere, while maintaining a distinctly Korean setting. While they had written the musical so all roles could be played by Asian actors, they said it was never their intention that robot roles must always be cast that way.

The Washington Post noted that “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?”

Andrew Barth Feldman, cast as Oliver in "Maybe Happy Ending" beginning in September./Maybe Happy Ending Instagram

On the same day, Helen J. Shen, who plays Claire in the musical and is Feldman’s real-life partner, also posted her thoughts. Shen, who is Asian, wrote, I know the hurt that people feel because growing up, I would have found a beacon of hope in seeing our show on TV on the Tony Awards. A part of me is mourning that along with the community,” Shen said in a statement. “This has been an immensely challenging moment within my home with Andrew, and in this building filled with A/PI folks to say the least. I don’t know what’s forward, but to have this opportunity to play opposite my favorite actor in the world for 9 weeks, who happens to be perfect for the role is a huge moment of joy for me.”