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Broadway’s Maybe Happy Ending Faces Criticism Over White Actor Casting

The show’s writers maintain the roles were not envisioned to have a specific racial identity

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Overview

  • Andrew Barth Feldman is set to begin performances as Oliver at the Belasco Theatre in early September
  • The Asian American Performers Action Coalition and BD Wong have publicly condemned the replacement of half-Filipino Tony winner Darren Criss
  • Writers Hue Park and Will Aronson defended the decision by describing Oliver and Claire as ethnically neutral robot characters
  • Early development workshops featured race-blind casting with Denée Benton and Corey Cott in the lead roles
  • Industry observers warn the debate over representation threatens to overshadow the Tony Award–winning musical’s broader achievements