{"id":164240,"date":"2025-09-17T23:59:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T23:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/164240\/"},"modified":"2025-09-17T23:59:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T23:59:07","slug":"constance-wu-disappointed-with-maybe-happy-endings-andrew-barth-feldman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/164240\/","title":{"rendered":"Constance Wu “Disappointed” With ‘Maybe Happy Ending’s Andrew Barth Feldman"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAs Andrew Barth Feldman<\/a>\u2018s Broadway<\/a> run in Maybe Happy Ending<\/a> gets underway, his controversial casting is still making waves.<\/p>\n

\n\tConstance Wu<\/a> recently called out \u201cwhitewashing on Broadway\u201d as she expressed that she\u2019s \u201cso disappointed\u201d with the actor following a voice memo he sent her, despite previously having a \u201cpeaceful\u201d and \u201cin-depth\u201d discussion with Feldman about the role that has been traditionally played by Asian actors.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cRecently, @andrewbfeldman_ reached out to me to talk and we had an in-depth phone call about Asian American representation and erasure in theater. It was a peaceful call and we spoke at length, followed up by several emails\/texts. It made me hopeful,\u201d she shared in a statement on Instagram<\/a>. \u201cBut after a recent voice memo he sent me, all I can say is that l am so disappointed in him. And feeling pretty discouraged.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWu continued, \u201cIt\u2019s hard to keep speaking up when it feels like no one is listening anymore in this new era. It\u2019s exhausting and increasingly lonely. Once again, Asian Americans are left unheard, unacknowledged, invisible. Sadly, we\u2019re used to this. A dozen or so folks bts at @maybehappyending have remained silent perhaps in the hopes that this will all fade away and you know what? It has. Your plan is working, guys\u2014I heard your box office doing great.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAlthough Feldman\u2019s nine-week engagement has not outperformed his predecessor Darren Criss<\/a>, the show grossing $1,216,108 in the week ending Sept. 14, selling out and grossing more than $1M every week.<\/p>\n

\n\tWu apologized to the signatories of BD Wong<\/a>\u2018s recent open letter<\/a> denouncing the casting decision, noting that Feldman \u201cand the producers have yet to publicly acknowledge\u201d the letter.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAnd honestly, I\u2019m sorry ABF that you\u2019ve been (perhaps unfairly) saddled with this responsibility by your producers,\u201d added Wu. \u201cBut sometimes we don\u2019t choose our responsibilities, they choose us. So the question that remains is: what are you choosing to do with it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLast month, the Will Aronson\/Hue Park show announced Criss is reprising his robotic role<\/a> as Oliver on Nov. 5, following backlash around the casting<\/a> of Feldman, the first actor not of Asian descent to step into the character.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn his letter, Wong called the response to the casting \u201ca real, eternal outcry about race and representation, not an irrational rant about robots,\u201d garnering more than 2,400 signatures from Conrad Ricamora, Anthony Rapp, Joaquina Kalukango, Jon Jon Briones, Telly Leung and more.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Helen<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tHelen J Shen and Darren Criss in \u2018Maybe Happy Ending\u2019 on Broadway<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMatthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter Criss, who is of Asian descent, originated the role of Oliver on Broadway following the show\u2019s Asian-led run in Seoul, Park and Aronson responded to recent backlash<\/a> over the casting of Feldman, who is white.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOur dream at the outset was that our allegorical robot show could one day miraculously become part of the American musical theater canon \u2013 a modern Fantasticks, able to be comfortably performed by anyone, anywhere \u2013 yet distinctly set in Korea,\u201d they explained in a statement on Instagram. \u201cThis went against prevailing wisdom that we needed to set our show in America.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFollowing the musical\u2019s 2016 premiere in Korea and 2024 Broadway premiere, the pair added in part, \u201cWe\u2019re extremely saddened that the show, a decade-long labor of love for us, could ever become a source of confusion, anger or pain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tPark and Aronson concluded that they \u201cwill continue our conversations as Maybe Happy Ending continues its journey onstage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMaybe Happy Ending follows Oliver and Claire, two life-like robots who develop a connection in late 21st century Seoul. After its Broadway debut, the show won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for Criss.<\/p>\n