Maybe Happy Ending is a show that I could see over and over again (This is my second visit read my first review here) because it gives me faith in humanity. The very basic premise of this show is following two Helper Bots (robots designed to be human helpers) as they decide what makes an ending happy. And while it is robots that this story follows, “what makes an ending happy” is something that is very human in nature and thought. It poses the question of what would you prefer: no sorrow, but no memory of the good or embracing the sorrow and hurt that comes with life, but keeping the happy memories, even if they bring you sadness?
Getting hurt, feeling pain, is very human and as this show points out “everything must end eventually”; whether that is a life or a battery or a relationship or anything, everything does end eventually. So, what’s better? No memory and a blissful existence or feeling the pain, but keeping all the good that came with it, too?
There is no easy answer to that question and, I believe, that the answer will change from person to person because both answers are correct. For some, no memory is the better option, but for others, keeping the good memories outweigh the hurt that accompanies those memories.
And hearing the audience sniffle and cry during various points in this show gives me some faith in humanity because it means we, the audience, are having empathy and feeling real emotions for a robot – a thing that literally cannot feel these emotions – and yet, we feel their pain. Empathy is a beautiful thing.
I stand by this show being near perfection. Darren Criss is not only a wonderful actor and singer, but his ability to be so…animatronic throughout the entire show is impeccable. And for Helen J. Shen, who is so petite off of the stage, feels so big with her command of the stage throughout the show.
This show blends technology and big band/crooner style music to perfectly frame the events of this show in both a literal and figurative way. The set itself moves, providing a physical frame for each scene. But also the entire show is encased within the music of Gil Brentley, a fictionalised Frank Sinatra type singer, which allows the scenes to flow flawlessly as well as frame the themes of the show.
This show has a lot of attention to detail (the technology aspect of this show really exemplifies this), but my favourite tiny piece of detail came inside the playbill. The “character” (I put character in quotes because Hwaboon is a plant ) of “Hwaboon” received its own spot and bio. I adore that the plant, who is very much treated as a character and is in almost every scene of this show, has previous acting credits. What a wonderful wink and nod to the theatre fans in the audience who actually take the time to read the playbill.
