Helen J Shen Landed the Role of a Lifetime in Broadway's Maybe Happy Ending: 'I've Been Waiting for This'

Helen J Shen got the role she was waiting for Maybe a happy ending.

The 24-year-old actress, who uses the pronouns she/they, made her Broadway debut opposite Darren Criss in Hue Park and Will Aronson’s new musical on Nov. 16 at the Belasco Theater in New York City. The work, directed by Michael Arden, follows two retired robots in the distant future as they form an unlikely bond.

Shen was no stranger to the stage when she landed the role of Claire, after starring Off-Broadway A few lonely ones and Teeth earlier in the year. However, in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, they say that it is a special feeling that they made their debut in this show.

“Every Broadway debut should be celebrated,” she says. “It’s a huge accomplishment for anyone. It takes so much work, dedication and persistence to get to that place. But for me, to make my Broadway debut in this way, with this group of people, telling this particular story, I wouldn’t I couldn’t even show how perfect he is.”

Helen J Shen attends the ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ Gala at Belasco Theater on November 11, 2024 in New York City.

John Lamparski/Getty

Shen describes the experience as a “dream come true,” noting that they had a lot of freedom and access to resources when they stepped into their roles. As the series had its world premiere in Seoul, Korea in 2016, the actress was able to pick “the brains of people who have been working on this for over 10 years.”

Additionally, they see value in debuting an original musical with original music — something that has become a rarity on the Broadway stage with the popularity of revivals and jukebox musicals. “As a theater artist, creator and consumer, it is important for me to advocate for new works,” she says.

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Growing up on the theater scene, many actors become attached to their dream roles at a young age. Think Fanny Brice Funny girlMaureen Johnson d Lease or Elphaba in Wicked. But Shen struggled to do so and often felt that her own dream roles “were not yet written” or that she had not come across them. “I would like to embody iconic characters,” they explain. “But now it’s like I’ve been waiting for this role.”

Helen J Shen and Darren Criss in ‘Maybe a Happy Ending’.

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Luckily, the show was just as excited to find Helen as she was to get the part. In fact, they were selected only a week after receiving a request from her manager to send a selfie. “I was filming for it and then they called me and asked me to come to a chemistry reading with Darren [Criss]and then the next day I found out I got it,” they explain. “Normally you’d probably be in callbacks and sessions for months or weeks.”

As for starring alongside Emmy winner Criss — who had his breakthrough role on the musical comedy series joy before hitting the main stem in the productions How to succeed in business without really trying, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and american buffalo — Shen says they immediately connected.

In addition to both being students at the University of Michigan, the two are also self-proclaimed music geeks. “We’ll talk about scanning, we’ll talk about rhymes and all that stuff,” they say of their interactions in the rehearsal room. “We were both very open and willing to be the vessels to tell this story. We both care about the story and about portraying these characters well. So I think it was the best, and he’s such a golden retriever. I feel as if I were a black cat to his golden retriever.”

Despite their impeccable chemistry, the two play characters with very different personalities. Shen finds Claire’s “sarcasm and dryness” a fun contrast to Criss’s Oliver, who is “kind of square, unmoving.”

Darren Criss and Helen J Shen at the “Maybe Happy Ending” Gala at the Belasco Theater on November 11, 2024 in New York City.

John Lamparski/Getty

“He’s just a little more rigid in the beginning, and Claire is much more nonchalant and blasé in a way that makes her feel like she’s accepted the circumstances of life,” she says. “It’s really fun to do, especially since Darren and I already have such fun jokes as friends.”

The star power and reputation of the production draws people from near and far. “We’ve had people come from Chile, from Australia, just for one day to see this show, which is amazing,” says Shen. But what holds a dear place in her heart is that when they leave the theater, they see “a lot more Asian faces at the stage door, which means a lot to me, and just people saying, ‘Oh, I’ve never seen myself doing something like this and seeing how you’re doing kind of opened my eyes.’ ”

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The actress relates to that experience and says she’s been there before. “I went to see Billy Elliot when I was about 12 and it was a replacement for Billy Elliot. He was the first Asian Billy,” they share. “I waited at the door of the stage and said to my parents: ‘Okay, when he comes, let’s take a nice picture. It’s going to be really cool. I’ll look really cool in my Abercrombie zip-up.’ ”

They say the photo turned out “derpy,” though the interaction remains a core memory.

Helen J Shen signing an autograph at the ‘Billy Elliot’ stage door.

Courtesy of Helen J Shen

Over the years, Shen has met many fellow actors who have given her advice on her burgeoning career. “I worked on a regional production Sunset Boulevard with Pearl Sun and she was my older sister,” they say.[Sun] is this amazing Asian-American actress who’s been working all her life and is always a person I can reach out to.”

“My partner is also in the industry,” they add, referring to No anger actor Andrew Barth Feldman. “I had a lot of amazing people in my corner telling me to soak it all in and be as present as possible. But it’s an experience that transcends the human scale, so I’m grabbing for the people in front of me and spending time with the people around me.”

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As for the future of the musical, which doesn’t go on sale until September 2025, Shen says, “I hope it goes on for a long time.”

Although the Broadway production has revolutionary stage design and video elements, they note that previous versions were more pared down and can be replicated by smaller theater companies. “The story itself only survives with black box theater. It doesn’t take all that to touch the audience,” says Shen. “My hope is that it will be done in high schools and run for a long time, and that people will have this story as a new classic for them in the musical theater canon.”

Tickets for Maybe a happy ending they are on sale now.

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Source: HIS Education