Michael Arden : le succès inattendu de Broadway avec « Maybe happy Ending »
Table of Contents
- Michael Arden : le succès inattendu de Broadway avec « Maybe happy Ending »
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- “Maybe Happy Ending” tells a very emotional story, but it’s also about two robots, who are inherently unemotional. Was it difficult to keep Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen, who play the main characters, authentically robotic and to prevent them from registering feelings in the same way humans do?
- When I saw the show, the woman next to me was weeping. Did the blankness in the lead performances make audience members have a more intense emotional experience because they are able to bring more of their own experiences to the story?
- This show isn’t based on a hit movie. It isn’t a jukebox musical. It has an off-beat premise. Yet it’s a hit. Will the success convince producers to take a chance on unconventional shows?
- Why did you cast Darren and Helen?
- “Maybe Happy Ending” was previously performed in South Korea. How different is the Broadway version?
- You’re bringing “The Lost Boys” to Broadway. What’s your approach?
- You’re also working on “The Queen of Versailles” with Kristin Chenoweth. What appealed to you about that show?
- Then you’re moving behind the camera to make “The Interpreter.” What’s the latest with the film?
- When you won your Tony Award for “Parade,” you delivered a speech in which you talked about being on the receiving end of the homophobic “f-word” slur. You ended by reclaiming the word and saying now you were the one with a Tony. What was the response like?
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NEW YORK – 9 mai 2024 – Le succès du metteur en scène Michael Arden est indéniable. L’artiste revient sur le phénomène « Maybe Happy Ending » à Broadway ainsi que ses projets. Ce spectacle, qui raconte l’histoire de deux robots, a touché le public par son approche singulière et ses thèmes universels, attirant les foules. ce succès inattendu a-t-il convaincu les producteurs de tenter leur chance avec des spectacles originaux ? L’avenir nous le dira.
When Michael Arden heard the pitch for “Maybe Happy Ending,” a love story about two robots who bond over being discarded by their owners, he thought — pass. But after reading the script and listening to the music by Hue Park and Will Aronson, he started to see the potential.
“I was devastated by it,” Arden says. “I thought, ‘Here’s a real opportunity to lure people in through the guise of science-fiction and then give them a play about themselves.’ It examines this age-old mystery of love and connection. It makes you think about the fact that no matter how much you are devoted to someone, you will ultimately lose them. That’s life.”
The result is a show that defied the odds to become one of the season’s most unlikely hits. After a slow start at the box office, “Maybe Happy Ending” got a boost from glowing reviews and word-of-mouth. Now, the musical is playing to sell-out crowds, and recently had its best week ever, grossing nearly $1.1 million. “Maybe Happy Ending” was also embraced by Tony voters, who showered the production with 10 nominations, including best musical and direction. If Arden wins, it will be the director’s second Tony Award, having previously been recognized for 2023’s “Parade” revival.
Arden isn’t resting on the acclaim. He’s back in the rehearsal room, preparing to bring “The Queen of Versailles,” the story of a socialite and a very, very big house, as well as a musical version of the cult vampire film, “The Lost Boys,” to Broadway. He’s also prepping his feature directing debut, “The Interpreter.”
“Maybe Happy Ending” tells a very emotional story, but it’s also about two robots, who are inherently unemotional. Was it difficult to keep Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen, who play the main characters, authentically robotic and to prevent them from registering feelings in the same way humans do?
I had to keep reminding the cast that robots can’t cry. The material is so emotional, but you have to fight against that urge and find your way to almost a neutrality or blankness. I kept saying, “Don’t do the audience’s job for them.” We are canvases for the audience to paint their own experiences upon and see them reflected back.
When I saw the show, the woman next to me was weeping. Did the blankness in the lead performances make audience members have a more intense emotional experience because they are able to bring more of their own experiences to the story?
To get the best reflection, you have to have a very clean mirror. I love to see people watch the show for the first time — they gasp and take each other’s hands. People are reaching out and touching each other in the audience. In a world where everyone’s becoming more disconnected, it’s wonderful to see people go to the theater and not only be connected to the story, but feel connected to the people around us. We’re yearning for that as a society, as we become more entrenched in our digital lives.
Darren Criss and Helen J Shen in Maybe Happy Ending on Broadway.
Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
This show isn’t based on a hit movie. It isn’t a jukebox musical. It has an off-beat premise. Yet it’s a hit. Will the success convince producers to take a chance on unconventional shows?
I hope so. There is room for uniqueness. We always knew our show was a hard elevator pitch. Darren is a recognizable name, but there was nothing else to grab onto. There was no IP and there was no songwriter catalog. We knew that we had to have faith in the show surviving on word-of-mouth. We needed to get enough people to those first previews that they would tell their friends to go. Now, we see people coming back 20 or 30 times. That’s never happened in my career. When people saw ‘Parade,” they were like, “The show was amazing. I don’t need to see that again.” Whereas “Maybe Happy Ending” is an IV bag of vitamins that makes you feel better.
Why did you cast Darren and Helen?
Darren and I have been good friends for many years. He was a classmate of my husband’s in college. And when this came across my desk, he was the first person I thought of. Darren is such a fantastic physical actor. He’s so funny, and he can seem very polished and put together. Helen auditioned. I watched a video she made, and I was so taken with her simplicity and honesty. And her singing is extraordinary.
“Maybe Happy Ending” was previously performed in South Korea. How different is the Broadway version?
I’ve never seen that production, but I know they staged it with, like, two chairs and a record player. So physically, it’s very different show. But the script itself evolved quite a bit. The writers wanted to make sure the story was in line with the sensibilities of American eyes and ears. There’s also four new songs, as well as characters and flashback sequences that weren’t in that show.
You’re bringing “The Lost Boys” to Broadway. What’s your approach?
It’s scary, it’s sexy, it’s funny, and, hopefully, it’s life-affirming. “Maybe Happy Ending” asks the question, “why love?” “The Lost Boys” is asking, “why live?” Why would you choose a life that you know ends in death over everlasting life? The music is from this Los Angeles band called the Rescues that I’m obsessed with to the point of being a stalker.
You’re also working on “The Queen of Versailles” with Kristin Chenoweth. What appealed to you about that show?
It feels like a response to what’s happening in America. It’s a musical that takes place in Florida about a mansion with with a lot of gold inside of it. The parallels with the current president aren’t necessarily intended, but they are quite clear. It’s a real interrogation of the American dream. How can we make sure that this dream that we are taught about, as if it were scripture in this country, doesn’t become a curse or a nightmare or a prison of consumerism?
Then you’re moving behind the camera to make “The Interpreter.” What’s the latest with the film?
Killer Films and Christine Vachon are going to be producing and the screenplay is written by Jen Silverman, a fabulous playwright whose show “The Roommate” was on Broadway last year. We are going to go into production in the next year or so. It’s an international story, loosely based on some experiences that we all have had working in Japan. I guess you’d call it a drama.
When you won your Tony Award for “Parade,” you delivered a speech in which you talked about being on the receiving end of the homophobic “f-word” slur. You ended by reclaiming the word and saying now you were the one with a Tony. What was the response like?
Somehow, everyone figured out what I said even though it was bleeped. So many people have come up to me and said, “I’m a faggot who loves theater too.” People were inspired and emboldened. But to now see the attacks that are happening on our trans brothers and sisters and friends is heartbreaking. Those are the same people who I dedicated that speech to, and who I was trying to reach. I need to do even more to reach out to them. I need to keep practicing what I preach.
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