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Darren Criss: "Maybe Happy Ending"

 "Maybe Happy Ending" seems to borrow themes from "Kimberly Akimbo," although I understand that "MHE" might actually predate "Kimberly." Both shows are about love and death. 

It's interesting to describe death in a theater--because, in a theater, you're keenly aware of the passage of time. Every second is "curated." As in "Kimberly Akimbo," "MHE" heavily suggests that the evening may end with the protagonist's death. Curtain--or death? Which will come first? The question generates suspense.

Here is the story. Oliver and Claire are essentially twentysomethings; they are called "robots," but the robot idea is just an elaborate metaphor for being 23 years old. Oliver has trouble with social functioning--as any 23-year-old might. He has "unresolved" bits of trauma from an unexamined youth--as any 23-year-old might. He shows signs of impetuousness, an inability to think things through--as any 23-year-old might.

Oliver meets his neighbor, Claire, because she is in need of immediate help. After receiving a favor, Claire agrees that she will assist Oliver in turn. She will reunite him with his father. But--as Claire suspects--Oliver's family story is more complicated than Oliver himself realizes. The father is *both* guiltier *and* more vulnerable than Oliver can grasp. As the pieces lock into place, the story of Oliver's father becomes increasingly beautiful, increasingly heartbreaking. The writer handles this material in the lightest, subtlest way.

But this is just half of the tale's "weight in beauty." Claire is dying (because people tend to get old and die). Oliver feels great love for Claire; she has helped him in a thousand ways. But Claire doesn't want Oliver to suffer in the caretaker role. She suggests that the two--Claire and Oliver--should erase their memories; Claire's death won't be painful to Oliver if Oliver can't recall ever meeting Claire. Is the payoff enough to justify the cost? Is it ever desirable to live without memories? Oliver seems to sign off on Claire's plan--but, as with every other scene in this musical, more is happening "beneath the surface."

Darren Criss is outstanding, but Helen Shen steals the show. The other star is the book. The writer is spinning many, many plates all at once--and it's only after you leave the theater that you start to realize just how ambitious these scenes are. Finally, this show is visually stunning; the fireflies (just know that there are crucial fireflies), the flashbacks, and the "moment of memory erasure" are all presented in startling ways.

Worth the hype.
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