Hi internet,

We recently traveled to New York, where I was lucky enough to catch two shows – Maybe Happy Ending (for my second time) and Heathers.

Now, you may be wondering why I chose to fill my limited schedule with a second trip to (the very expensive) Maybe Happy Ending instead of seeing a new show. It’s not much of a mystery: I really loved it.

There’s another reason why I chose to see the show again: because Andrew Barth Feldman was cast as the male lead, Oliver, for a brief nine-week stint until Darren Criss (the original Oliver) returns. And I like Andrew Barth Feldman.

There’s been quite a bit of controversy surrounding Feldman’s casting, mainly because he’s visibly white, the show is set in Korea, and Darren Criss (the actor Feldman replaced) is half Filipino. There has been much discourse on the internet on this topic, and I’ve written about controversial casting choices before, so in an effort to remain focused on the art, I shall summarize my position on this matter briefly: they’re playing robots.

Back to the show: Maybe Happy Ending is about two retired helper-bots, Oliver and Claire, who go on an adventure and fall in love. While the musical is about two robots, it explores very human concepts. From the first song, we are asked to consider Why Love, if we know that we will all inevitably deal with an ending that may be painful. The show is a snappy 100 minutes with no intermission and the cast is small (only 4 people on-stage), but the emotions are big. Not a Notebook or Titanic kind of ‘big’: no weeping uncontrollably, curled up in a ball on the floor; it’s more of an eyes welling up, delicate single tear-rolling-down-the-cheek kind of sentimentality.

The show is well-paced, well-performed, well-formulated. The concept feels fresh, as does the music. It’s unique, it’s heartwarming – I loved it.

Now, on to the question that I certainly had top-of-mind going into the show: how is Andrew Barth Feldman in this show? Unsurprisingly, he’s excellent. His take on the character of Oliver is different from Darren Criss’s Oliver, but excellent nonetheless.

Darren Criss’s performance left me in awe of his talent, so the bar was set incredibly high. Darren’s robotic mannerisms were so precise that it had me forgetting for a moment that he is not, in fact, a robot. Andrew’s performance was not as refined physically as Darren’s, but I saw one of his first performances, so presumably he’s settled into the role a bit more. Where Andrew shines is through his genuine likability. His Oliver is more boyish, cutesy-charming…like Anthony Michael Hall in 16 Candles. A very different take on the role, but very successful. If I were you, I’d be perfectly content seeing either performer.

One final note (or, rather, a piece of advice): the set/tech aspects of this show are stunning. Hey, it won the Tony for Best Scenic Design. But in order not to miss parts of the show, you really need to sit as close to centre as possible. The Belasco Theatre is not ideal for sight lines in general, but with this set in particular and the way the screens are placed, you will miss things if you are too far to either side, or too close to the front. The front row of the mezzanine/balcony are partially blocked by a metal bar, so those ones aren’t great, either. I drew a little chart to show ideal places to sit for views (though some of these seats may be absurdly expensive):

Green seats are good; yellow are less good but still good. The best bang for your buck seats are likely side orchestra seats on the aisle (maybe 6-10 rows back?) or centre mezzanine seats row B back. I believe mezzanine row D is significantly less expensive than row C, so that may be a good move.

Either way, I hope you catch this show. It’s special.

Lots more reviews coming this week. Stay tuned!