Video: MAYBE HAPPY ENDING Celebrates Opening Night

I think everyone is bonded by humanity, which is, you know, funny that it's a story about robots

But I think sometimes we have to see things quite far from ourselves in order to see ourselves

And that's what this show does. And it's hopeful and joyful and heart-wrenching, I think, and hopefully bonding

Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World. Darren Chris and Helen J. Shen have come to Broadway in the new musical, Maybe Happy Ending

and we're here on opening night. You are back on Broadway originating a brand new role

for the first time what that means to you. I always wanted to do it

in some way, shape, or form, and I always thought it would go, I thought I'd have to write it and do it myself

because I didn't know if there'd ever be something that would come around that I would really fully embrace

as something that I wanted to dive into because I wanted to do something

that was really singular. And not saying that I would have been able to write it

but at least it would have been a, you know, I could have killed two birds of one stone. I could have finally done a Broadway show that I, that I kind of put together

and then also originate something. So I was really kind of starting around my brain around that

and then this came out of left field, and I just, I pitched myself constantly

constantly because it's, it, this also got two birds of one stone

as crude of a metaphor as that is, because I always wanted to work with my friend Michael Arden

and I always wanted to be part of something this unique and to get to do both is truly a dream come true So I in a constant dream state right now Yeah I feel electric

I think I, first of all, I feel so beautiful because I'm wearing my mom's dress from 20 years ago

It's genuinely, it's older than I am. And I feel just really grateful to be able to commemorate a really special night

and celebrate something that we worked so hard on. And I feel like this story is really stressed special

and this show is really special, so I get to share it with people, and that's really special to me

Everyone on the team, specifically Michael Arden, has been really a big proponent of me bringing my whole self to this character

because it's had many iterations and many lives before I got to it

So to let them allow myself to expand in this role and in this show is the greatest gift that they could have given me

I feel very grateful for that. Talk about sharing the stage with Darren Chris

It's so much fun every night. We're making each other laugh genuinely in the stage

And the way that it's grown, even through previews, is something that's really amazing to watch

You watch an actor, want to learn and want to grow. And that is the best lesson anyone could learn

And I feel like I'm watching a master class every day. I feel incredible

There's a buzz in the air. The excitement is real. And it's just everyone's just so happy to be opening a brand new Broadway show

and an original piece. Well you know it like we like kind of baking a cake right Where you got to make sure that the inside is nice and baked And so we just really put the bones together and pieced it together so that the roadmap was there

And as soon as we got into the stage and the theater, everything just made sense

You know, and all the bells and whistles of our set and the technology and the automation and the LEDs

it just created this magical experience that we still just, just, really every day that we see it, we still just trip out because it's so incredible

It's been so great. I love the music so much. It's been wonderful to get to hear it every day

and learning so much. This is my Broadway debut, so learning a lot throughout the whole process

and just really enjoying coming to work every single day. It's probably my favorite part of the

day. We laugh a lot. We created so much, so inspired. I love these cast and all the

creatives and just so excited to share this moment with them. Yeah

in the room with her director Michael Arden, creating this beautiful show, what that's been like for you

Yeah, Michael is a genius in every way. What he comes up with, the way he treats people, his ability to bring the best out of people

He's such an inspiring person and creative, and I'm so lucky to get to work with him

Yeah. I mean, this is my first new musical on Broadway, and the fact that it's this particular show

that means so much to me that I think is going to mean so much to so many people

and that it not based on anything not based on a poem a story a real person a song catalog It completely a new experience and for audiences to walk in the doors of this beautiful theater and get to be transported to a literal different time and place

is it's like, it's a career highlight. So I'm filled with such joy

And to do it with Darren and with Helen and Marcus and Des

it's phenomenal. The show has existed in Korea for many years, but this is our first time doing it in New York

and the audiences are a little more vocal. And that was a total surprise to us

that there were certain moments in the show where the audience will vocally respond to things

I would say that was very thrilling. And I mean, just on the simplest level, like, oh, they're like paying attention

They're not asleep. Like they're, you know. That, I think, was a wonderful experience

We felt very lucky. I mean, he said it perfectly, you know, watching the audience responding to the story

It's just a privilege. I'm just moved by watching the audience being moved

Well, this show is for everyone. I mean, it is so universal

It is you can be, you know, 12 years old. You can be 112 years old

And I think everyone is bonded by humanity, which is, you know, funny that it's a story about robots

But I think sometimes we have to see things quite far from ourselves

in order to see ourselves. And that's what this show does. and it's hopeful and joyful and heart-wrenching, I think

and hopefully bonding