Maybe Happy Ending

STEVEN HUYNH (Oliver). National Tour debut! Broadway (OBC): Maybe Happy Ending. Off-Broadway: Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas. Regional: Emmet Otter…, Little Shop of Horrors, A Funny Thing…Forum. Readings/Workshops: Crazy Rich Asians, The Lost Boys, The Hello Girls, The Turning. TV: “The Good Fight”, “Blue Bloods”. Endless gratitude to Michael Arden, Will Aronson and Hue Park, Deborah Abramson, Hunter Arnold, Jeffrey Richards, and the Telsey Office for the opportunity to share his little light across America. Special thanks to Justin Scribner, Emilio Ramos, the MHE company, Nicolosi & Co., and Emma Kate Lampe. Steven xin dành tặng điều này cho Ba, Mẹ, em Sydney, và tất cả các bạn người Mỹ gốc Việt dám theo đuổi ước mơ của mình. @shuynh_ing

CLAIRE KWON (Claire) is beyond ecstatic to be leading Maybe Happy Ending’s first National Tour! Broadway: Maybe Happy Ending (Claire, standby), Almost Famous (Band-Aids/Swing). Regional: The Family Album (La Jolla Playhouse), Galileo (Berkeley Rep), Life After (Goodman). Northwestern ’22! Represented by Soffer Entertainment; Much love to my friends, Geoff, and the MHE Fam! Always for my family <3 @clairekwon_

James Seol (James, Junseo & Others). Broadway: Come from Away (Schoenfeld Theater); A Naked Girl on the Appian Way (Todd Haimes Theater). TV/Film: “The Hunting Party”,  Problemista, “The Flight Attendant”, “Living with Yourself”. Off-Broadway & Regional: A Lot, including the Oguma Playhouse. Education: Juilliard, University of Virginia. Love to Mom, Dad, Kev, Jules, Paul, Dillen, Abby, Michael, Zack, and Kimbap. IG: @jamesseol

Francisco Javier González (Gil Brentley) comes directly from originating the role of Raoul in Diane Paulus’ acclaimed Drama Desk Award-winning production of Masquerade. TV credits include Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building“ and the upcoming “Count My Lies,” also for Hulu. He is a graduate of NYU Tisch. @frankiegonzalezarts

HwaBoon (HwaBoon) is thrilled to reprise his role in his national tour debut! Broadway: Maybe Happy Ending (HwaBoon, OBC). Regional: Little Shop… (Audrey 2), Into the Woods (Understudy Beanstalk), and The Secret Garden (Ensemble). HwaBoon is looking forward to discovering North America’s finest horticulture! Follow him on Instagram: @thereal_hwaboon

Bryan Chan (u/s Oliver, u/s James, Junseo & Others). Hong Kong-born. National Tour: Hadestown (u/s Orpheus). Regional: Legally Blonde (Emmett), The King and I (Lun Tha). Offstage, Bryan is a passionate voice teacher. Huge shoutout to Michael, Chris, and the Telsey Office for believing in me. Love to Mom, Dad, and Emily. @bryanchanuwu

Mia Nicole Nelson (u/s Claire, u/s Gîl Brentley). Mia is thrilled to be making her national tour debut! Regional: The Little Mermaid (Paper Mill Playhouse), A Chorus Line (Theatre Aspen). A 2023 Jimmy Awards Semifinalist, Mia is a junior Musical Theatre student at Shenandoah Conservatory. Special thanks to the MHE team, The Telsey Office, family, and friends. @mianelsonn_

Kennedy Kanagawa (u/s James, Junseo & Others, u/s Oliver). Broadway: Into the Woods (Drama Desk & Clive Barnes nominations). Nat’l Tour: Into the Woods. Off-Broadway: Theatre Row, NYTW, Second Stage, BAM. Other credits: the MUNY, Ogunquit Playhouse, Bucks County Playhouse, TUTS, 5th Avenue Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Phoenix Theatre Company, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Portland Stage, CATF. Love to D. @thisiskennedy

Erica Durham (u/s Gil Brentley, u/s Claire). National Tour: Into the Woods, The Color Purple. Regional: The Muny, Sacramento Music Circus, Pittsburgh CLO, The Guthrie. TV: “Poker Face”. Voiceover: No Fear Shakespeare, Sports Illustrated Kids. Thanks to the MHE team, The Telsey Office, Take 3 Talent, and BroadwayVox. Penn State BFA. All my love to my family and friends. For Mom, always.

Will Aronson (Book, Lyrics, Music) and Hue Park (Book, Lyrics) have created the original musicals Maybe Happy Ending (Richard Rodgers Production Award, six Korean Musical Awards, productions running in Korea, China and Japan), IL TENORE (currently running at Seoul’s 1700-seat Blue Square Theater), and the upcoming Ghost Bakery (December 2024, Seoul’s Doosan Arts Center). They also created the musical stage adaptation of the film Bungee Jump (Korean Musical Award for Best Score), which was cited by The NY Times in 2013 as “Korea’s most popular original musical.” In addition to his work with Will Aronson, Hue Park has written lyrics for K-Pop (including the top-20 song 울어도 괜찮아), and has translated many shows for the Korean stage, including The Phantom of the Opera, The Bodyguard and M. Butterfly. Will Aronson’s other work includes the music for My Scary Girl (Best Musical, NY Musical Festival), Mother, Me & The Monsters (Barrington Stage, Boston Globe Critic’s Pick), Pete the Cat (TheatreworksUSA, six national tours), Wind-Up Girl (Ars Nova Uncharted), and Hansel & Gretl & Heidi & Günter (Village Theater, NAMT grant).

Michael Arden was awarded the 2023 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for his production of Parade starring Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond, which will have a national tour beginning early 2025. Michael was also Tony nominated for his revivals of Once On This Island and Spring Awakening. Michael wrote and directed Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, which played the Nederlander Theatre last holiday season starring Jefferson Mays. Michael is currently co-directing The Preacher’s Wife at the Atlanta Alliance Theater by Tituss Burgess and Azie Dungey. He will also soon helm the new Stephen Schwartz and Lindsey Ferrentino musical The Queen of Versailles starring Kristin Chenowith, and a new musical adaptation of the cult film The Lost Boys. Other directing credits include: Maybe Happy Ending at the Atlanta Alliance, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, and site specific works: American Dream Study and ALIEN/NATION with his company The Forest of Arden. Arden has been named on Variety’s Impact List and is the winner of an NAACP Award for best direction of his revival of Merrily We Roll Along at the Wallis Annenberg in Los Angeles. In addition to directing theater in America and around the globe, he regularly directs “The Connors” on ABC, and has appeared in numerous features and TV shows, most notably: “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Bride Wars”, “Anger Management”, “Source Code”, and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”. On stage, Arden has appeared on Broadway in Big River; The Times, They Are A-Changin’, and King Lear. Arden is a Presidential Scholar in the Arts and alumni of the Interlochen Arts Academy and The Juilliard School.