Steven Huynh and Claire Kwon Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Maybe Happy Ending is an interesting counterpoint to all that for a few reasons. First, its path to Broadway took an unusual route through Korea, which does make sense considering that the show is set in a futuristic Seoul. Its co-creators are Hue Park, who is South Korean, and Will Aronson, who is American (of Connecticut heritage), and the first version of Maybe Happy Ending was written in a Korean- and an English-language version simultaneously. Second, the Korean version premiered a full ten years ago, in 2016, and while the show quickly saw success in Korea, it took eight years for its English version to make it to Broadway. And third, not only is it thoroughly original (not drawn from a novel or a film or any other preexisting intellectual property), it resides squarely in the science fiction genre, but not the campy version of science fiction we know from The Rocky Horror Show and Little Shop of Horrors.

Here we are, then, nearly two years (this week) into Maybe Happy Ending's Broadway run without an end in sight, and its first national tour has gone on the road, stopping at the Durham Performing Arts Center through October 18. Considering the price of theatre tickets these days, I can understand why audiences might stick with the familiar shows, but I urge you to experience this absolutely lovely–and truly, "lovely" is the perfect word–musical. Judging from the sniffles I heard around me in the audience on opening night, plenty of people found it as affecting as I do.

It's a marvel how efficiently this show escorts us into a world in which Helperbots of various makes and models are relegated to hybrid retirement home warehouses when their owners are ready to discard them. First we meet Oliver (Steven Huynh), a Helperbot-3 model whose slightly stilted movements and mannerisms betray his earlier-model status. And we learn his motivation quickly: to reunite with James (James Seol), his former owner with whom he enjoyed an idyllic, almost father-like relationship that included a shared love for vintage jazz played on vinyl records, before it ended for reasons Oliver doesn't seem to remember.

Across the hall from Oliver is Claire (Claire Kwon), a more sophisticated and convincingly human Helperbot-5. Her motivation emerges more gradually, but instead of finding her former owner, with whom she had a more complicated relationship, Claire wants to return to an island where she had an enchanting experience of fireflies before her obsolete battery stops holding a charge. Conveniently, James lives on that same island, so the oil-and-water couple of Helperbots sets off on a road trip together, navigating their evolving relationship as they navigate the length of Korea and then cross the Yellow Sea. There is only one other live actor in the show, the fictional Jazz crooner Gil Brentley (Francisco Javier Gonzalez), who steps out of Oliver's record collection from time to time to put some polish on the fumbling steps to love these two helperbots are taking together.

I saw the musical on Broadway with its original cast back in late 2024, and I was curious to see how the production would translate for a tour. The great news is that, for the most part, Dane Laffrey's amazing set design, Ben Stanton's lighting design, George Reeve's video design (with an assist from Laffrey), and the overall production values are intact. The biggest compromises involve the loss of a double turntable elevator on the stage, which is understandable, and if I hadn't seen the original production, I'm quite sure I would have found the touring version completely satisfying.

The other great joy in this touring production is to find that Steven Huynh and Claire Kwon, both of whom have appeared in the Broadway production, are delivering performances that are fully on par with Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen, who originated the roles on Broadway. (Criss won the Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, one of six Tonys the show took home.) Huynh and Kwon share striking vocal tonalities with Criss and Shen as well as their unforced chemistry, which is even more impressive since these pairs of actors make that happen playing nonhuman characters.

For me the core component of experiencing this musical is not a matter of if, but when: When will the audience realize that everything these two helperbots do and say and think and feel is ultimately a resonant truth about the human experience? I suspect that some of us catch on within the first five minutes, while others' light bulbs may go off with the fireflies midway through, but no matter: The best science fiction, regardless of medium, uses speculative concepts to reveal truths about the human condition, and those are Maybe Happy Ending's parting gifts to us: Being alone is safe, but stagnant. Trusting someone is terrifying but life-sustaining. As much as we would prefer to never confront our mortality, it's always there. And the end of love doesn't negate all the beautiful things that came out of it.

It was so easy to root for Maybe Happy Ending as it found its footing on Broadway and got a well deserved boost at the Tonys. Now I am thrilled that audiences across America will have the chance to experience this lovely show. It's an enchanting reminder of the sweeter spots in our humanity, and hopefully an incentive to support more new musicals when they take their brave steps out into the world.

Maybe Happy Ending runs through October 18, 2026, at Durham Performing Arts Center, 123 William V Bell Way, Durham NC. For tickets and information, please visit www.dpacnc.com or the Ticket Center at DPAC in person or call 919-688-3722. For information on the tour, visit tour.maybehappyending.com.