'Maybe Happy Ending' Breakout Helen J. Shen Talks New Chapter in Growing Legacy of Asian American Theater

Issue No. 35: The "Hwaboon" issue

It's about three hours before Helen J. Shen is set to take the stage to perform as a retired HelperBot in the buzzy musical sci-fi dramedy Maybe Happy Ending. I am sitting with the actress at a restaurant in New York's Times Square a block over from the Belasco Theater. It's too early for dinner and too late for lunch. I jokingly insist that she get a fried chicken sandwich right before her 7 pm show.

"Can you imagine if I did?!" she laughs.

We both ordered tea like proper ladies.

In August 2024, I met Shen when she was in Los Angeles to celebrate being highlighted in Variety's "Young Hollywood Impact Report". Maybe Happy Ending was on the way to a November premiere and Shen was revving up for her Broadway debut as Claire, a HelperBot in near-future Seoul, Korea. She stars opposite Darren Criss, who plays Oliver, an older version of a HelperBot. The two live in a community for HelperBots that have been retired and considered obsolete. In other words, a HelperBot retirement community.

Clai…