Perhaps a happy ending to win 6 Tony Awards will open on the 30th of next month
Sep 18, 2025
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This year's performance is particularly anticipated as it celebrates the past decade with the audience since its premiere in 2016, and it is a performance after winning the Tony Award. 'Maybe a Happy Ending' is a work about Oliver and Claire, a helper robot created to help humans in the background of Seoul in the near future, getting to know the feeling of love.
It is a representative work of Will Aronson and Park Chun-Hue, well known to musical fans as the "Will Hugh Combi", and has been performed for a total of five seasons until 2024 after a tryout performance in 2015 and a domestic premiere in 2016. The work entered Broadway last year and won a total of six awards, including the 78th Tony Awards for Best Picture, Playwright, Composition, Director, Stage Design, and Best Actor. It was co-written by a Korean writer, premiered in Korea, and was the first time a creative musical set in Korea won the Tony Awards, drawing attention from all over the world.
For the 10th anniversary performance of the musical 'Maybe Happy Ending', which the world fell in love with, Kim Jae-beom as Oliver, Jeon Mi-do as Claire and Ko Hoon-jung as James confirmed their special appearances. In particular, Jeon Mi-do, who started the "Maybe Happy Ending" from the internal reading performance, said, "Despite her busy schedule, I wonder if there is anything more pleasing as an actor than being able to participate in her favorite work again. I want to end the 10 years with "Maybe" with "Happy Ending"," he said, expressing his infinite affection for the work. Kim Jae-beom, who shared the premiere, also expressed his feelings by saying, "It's an honor to participate in the 10th anniversary performance," citing "the echo of the story and the beautiful music that completes the story" as the charm of 'Maybe Happy Ending." Choi Soo-jin said, "I want to share with the audience the emotion of the drama, which has the power to empathize with anyone."," he said with determination. Ko Hoon-jung, who served as the first James, vividly remembers the moments with the audience from the beginning. This time, with the audience, 'Huh?I want to make a memory of '(fans' nickname)," he said, boasting his love for his first cast-down fans.
In addition, Jeon Seong-woo as Oliver, who appeared in the 2018 reenactment, Park Ji-yeon as Claire, Shin Seong-min as Oliver in the 2021 story, Park Jin-joo as Claire and Lee Si-an as James were cast. Jeon Seong-woo, who is showing off his acting skills across genres such as musicals 'Aesop Story', plays 'Bangya', SBS dramas 'Fiery Death 2', and Shin Seong-min, who has received attention for his in-depth acting in musicals 'Showman_The Dictator's Fourth Band Actor' and 'Il Tenore', are expected to express Oliver's delicate emotions well again this time. Park Ji-yeon and Park Jin-joo, who recently appeared in Will Hue Combi's new musical 'Ghost Bakery', will once again play Claire and show off their perfect chemistry with Will Hue Combi. Ethan, who will play James for the fourth time after 2020, 2021 and 2024, will again serve as a pillar of the play with his soft acting and charming voice.
And a new face joins for the 10th anniversary performance, drawing attention. Jung-hwi, who has shown a wide acting spectrum, including musicals 'Decabri', 'Wild Gray', 'Nijinski', joined Oliver, Bang Min-ah, who was recognized for her acting skills in movies and dramas and recently played in the musical 'Tik Boom', played Claire, and Park Se-hoon, who was noted for his licorice performance in musicals 'Murphy', 'Your Wedding' and 'Red Book', joined James. This is why Oliver, Claire, and James are expected to show their chemistry with different charms, along with special appearances by premiere actors who boast legendary breath.
The most noticeable change in this 'Maybe Happy Ending' is the size of the theater. The theater will be expanded from 350 seats to 550 seats, adding a new perspective and interpretation to the naturally widened stage. The staff, who have newly joined the visual parts such as stage, lighting, and video, are fully prepared so that the audience can face the delicate emotions conveyed by Oliver and Claire closer. Director Son Ji-eun is expected to be able to realize Oliver and Claire's space more specifically according to the change of space. Through selection and concentration, we are trying to bring out the empathy and emotion of the audienceProducer Han Kyung-sook explained the direction of the production, and producer Han Kyung-sook is doing his best to present a special stage by going back to the beginning and focusing on the essence of the work for the warm story delivered by 'Maybe Happy Ending'," he expressed his ambition ahead of his 10th anniversary performance.
'Maybe a Happy Ending' is a representative steady seller of Korean musicals that has been successful every season with an average audience rating of 9.8 points and a paid audience share of 90%. With a total of 13 brilliant awards, including the 8th E-Daily Culture Awards, the Best Musical Award, the 2nd Korean Musical Awards, the 6th Yegreen Musical Awards, and the 5th Korean Musical Awards, the Women's Rookie Award, the work has also been proven. On top of that, he won all major Broadway awards this year, including six awards at the 78th Tony Awards, six awards at the 69th Drama Desk Awards, two awards at the 91st Drama League Awards, four awards at the 2025 External Critics Association Awards, and the 89th New York Drama Critics Association Award, and was recognized for the emotion and value of the work worldwide beyond Korea. Starting with the musical 'Doing a Bungee Jump', 'Will-Hugh Combi', which consistently presented delicate stories and beautiful music from 'Maybe Happy Ending' to 'Il Tenore' and 'Ghost Bakery', shone.
Marking the 10th anniversary of the performance, writer Park and Aaronson said, `It feels like a small miracle that the performance continues for this long. Above all, I sincerely thank the audience for being with me. I hope that this story and music can be a little encouragement and consolation to knock on each other's door and open the door for the audience who will meet the new 'Maybe Happy Ending' "We are preparing to present a Broadway version of the Korean performance after this performance. I will always try to make it a work that both Korean and foreign audiences sympathize with," he said, revealing his future plans.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.