Maybe Happy Ending won Best Musical at the Tony Awards last month, and it’s getting a new lead actor after Labor Day. Andrew Barth Feldman will take over as Oliver starting September 2.
Feldman — who played the title role for a year in another Tony-winning musical, Dear Evan Hansen — will assume the part originated by Darren Criss, who won the Lead Actor in a Musical Tony on June 8. Producers said today that Feldman’s run will be a nine-week limited engagement through November 1.
“The entire creative team is absolutely thrilled to welcome Andrew Barth Feldman to the cast of Maybe Happy Ending as the robot Oliver for this special limited engagement,” the show’s writers Will Aronson and Hue Park and director Michael Arden said in a statement. “Andrew is a remarkable talent — emotionally honest, musically gifted, and full of heart — and we can’t wait for audiences to experience his fresh and moving take on this role.”
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Maybe Happy Ending is the offbeat and captivating story of Oliver and Claire, two outcasts near the end of their warranty who discover that even robots can be swept off their feet. It won six Tonys overall last month, including Best Book for Aronson and Park and Best Direction for Arden.
Feldman played the title character in Broadway‘s Dear Evan Hansen for most of 2019 into early 2020. With stage credits also including No Hard Feelings and Little Shop of Horrors, he joins a continuing Maybe Happy Ending cast that includes Helen J Shen as co-lead Claire, along with Dez Duron and Marcus Choi.
“I am so in love with this show and with Helen J Shen,” Feldman said in a statement. “I’ve been a plus-one on this Broadway journey from the beginning, and this brilliant team and beautiful company have already become such a big part of my life. That they trust me with this role, and are giving me the ridiculous gift of sharing it with Helen, is an honor beyond words.”
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Added Aronson, Park and Arden: “We fell in love with Andrew’s take on the role of Oliver when he appeared as the reader in Helen J Shen’s initial audition tape, so to have him join her onstage at the Belasco is indeed a special treat. … At its core, Maybe Happy Ending is a story about the longing for connection and the complexities of being human (and Helperbot, and Vegetable) — universal themes that transcend all backgrounds. We’re proud to continue embracing infinite and exciting possibilities in casting and to showcase this role as one that welcomes different interpretations and lived experiences.”
Maybe Happy Ending opened November 12, 2024 at Broadway’s Belasco Theatre and will launch a national tour in fall 2026.
