Darren Criss is set to return to Broadway’s Maybe Happy Ending this fall, following a planned nine-week absence that stirred unexpected controversy in the theater community.
The Tony-winning actor and producer, who originated the role of Oliver, announced during the August 20 matinee that his upcoming August 31 performance will not be his last. He’ll take a short break and return to the Belasco Theatre beginning November 5.
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“After August 31, I’ll be hitting the road for just nine weeks before coming back in November to play Oliver full time,” Criss told the audience. “In that period of time, I will be lending my charger to the marvelous Andrew Barth Feldman.”
Though the casting of Feldman, who is white, sparked backlash over representation in a show set in late 21st-century Seoul, producers clarified that Criss’ return was always planned — well before Feldman’s name entered the conversation. The temporary recasting was part of a previously scheduled arrangement, not a permanent change.
Still, the decision raised concern in the theater community. Criss, who is of Asian descent, made history earlier this year as the first Asian American to win Best Leading Actor in a Musical. Critics saw the casting of a white actor in his place as undermining the show’s progress in Asian representation.
BD Wong responded with a public letter describing the reaction as “a real, eternal outcry about race and representation, not an irrational rant about robots,” a message that has received over 2,400 signatures from theater notables including Conrad Ricamora, Jon Jon Briones, and Joaquina Kalukango.
Creators Hue Park and Will Aronson addressed the controversy directly. “Our dream at the outset was that our allegorical robot show could one day miraculously become part of the American musical theater canon… yet distinctly set in Korea,” they said. “We’re extremely saddened that the show… could ever become a source of confusion, anger or pain.”
Maybe Happy Ending opened in November 2024 and became the most Tony-winning show of the season, picking up six awards including Best Musical. Criss called the production “the most remarkable, accessible, hopeful and joyous piece of art” he’s ever been a part of — and made it clear his story with the show is far from over.
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