The Korean original musical "Maybe Happy Ending" received the best script and best songwriting awards in the musical institutional sector at the Tony Awards in the United States.
"Maybe Happy Ending" was selected as the winner of the Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, and Outstanding Scenic Design awards at the 78th Tony Awards held at Radio City Music Hall in New York on the 9th (local time).
The Tony Awards, which began in 1947, is the most prestigious award ceremony in the American theater and musical scene. It is co-hosted by the American Theatre Wing and the Broadway League, with winners determined by votes from local performances and media experts.
On that day, playwright Hue Park and American composer Will Aronson took to the podium to share the honor of winning the best script award.
"Maybe Happy Ending" is an original musical set in Seoul in the late 21st century. It tells the story of an abandoned old robot named Oliver and Claire as they form an unexpected emotional bond.
After its premiere in Korea in 2016, this work was restaged five times. Finally, last November, it made its debut on Broadway, and it has been performing in English at the Belasco Theatre in New York to great acclaim.
After its Broadway debut, the gross revenue reached over $1 million (about 1.5 billion won) as of the end of last year. The seat occupancy rate reached 99.52%.
As a result, "Maybe Happy Ending" was nominated in a total of 10 institutional sectors at this year's Tony Awards, including best musical, best direction, best script, best music (composition and lyrics), best orchestration, best lead actor, best scenic design, best costume design, best lighting design, and best sound design. It is the most nominated work this year.
However, it did not win in the sound design, lighting design, and orchestration institutional sectors.
Experts noted that "Maybe Happy Ending" is a symbolic case recognized on the global stage as an original musical born in Korea.
In particular, American media reported that the original story dealing with the emotions of robots and humans captured the attention of New York audiences.