Craving more music like 'Maybe Happy Ending'? Seoul is a trove of the duo's work.

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Craving more music like 'Maybe Happy Ending'? Seoul is a trove of the duo's work.

Published: 09 Jun. 2025, 14:56 Updated: 09 Jun. 2025, 16:38

LEE JIAN
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A scene from the 2024 Korean production of musical "Maybe Happy Ending" [CJ ENM]

Hue Park and Will Aronson's "Maybe Happy Ending" is the undeniable star of this year's Tony Awards, the most prestigious ceremony in theater, clinching six prizes, including Best New Musical, Best Book and Best Original Score on Monday.

The tender sci-fi romance opened on Broadway last November and has since left audiences weeping, smiling and leaving the theater wanting more.

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And while the recent awards are an unprecedented win for Korean theater, for the show's fans back home, this moment has been a long time coming. The composer-lyricist duo may be new names on Broadway marquees, but they’ve been quietly reshaping Korean musical theater for over a decade.

Hue Park, left, and Will Aronson pose with the Best Score award and Best Book of a Musical award for "Maybe Happy Ending" backstage at The 78th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, June 8, 2025 in New York City. [AP/YONHAP]

Park, a Korean who graduated from Dongguk University's Division of Korean Language, Literature and Creative Writing, and has a BFA in studio arts from New York University, where he met Aronson, an American who has a BA in music from Harvard University and an MFA from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

A scene from Broadway's production of "Maybe Happy Ending" at Belasco Theatre in New York City [POLK AND CO]

The two have built an eclectic body of work in Korea, spanning everything from retro to futuristic, sci-fi to horror and romance, intimate chamber pieces to sweeping waltzes and jazz-inflected scores. Yet no matter the setting or style, a shared signature binds all their musicals: simple, lyrical melodies paired with emotional clarity and disarming honesty.

That distinctive voice had fully blossomed since their earliest official collaboration: “Bungee Jump,” a queer fantasy romance that remains a cult favorite in Seoul’s theater scene.

*Spoilers about Park and Aronson’s musicals are included.

'Bungee Jump' (2012)

A scene from the musical "Bungee Jump" (2012) whose score and lyrics are by Tony-winning writers Will Aronson and Hue Park [JOONGANG ILBO]

Adapted from the 2001 Korean box office hit, "Bungee Jumping of Their Own," which starred Lee Byung-hun and Lee Eun-ju, “Bungee Jump” marked the first collaboration between Park, who wrote the lyrics, and Aronson, who composed the music.

The story begins in 1983, when college students In-woo and Tae-hee fall in love, only for Tae-hee to die suddenly. Seventeen years later, In-woo, now a married high school teacher, meets a male student named Hyun-bin who eerily resembles Tae-hee in both looks and behavior. As memories resurface, In-woo begins to question his identity, his sexuality and whether love can truly transcend time, or even death.

Stars of the local box office hit film "Bungee Jumping on Their Own" (2001), Lee Byung-hun, left, and Lee Eun-ju, which inspired the musical "Bungee Jumping" [JOONGANG IBLO]

The musical officially entered development in 2010, when it received a production grant from the city-funded Daegu International Musical Festival. It went on to win Best Original Score at both the Seventh Musical Awards and the 18th Korean Musical Awards.

To mirror the theme of love that transcends time and death, the show’s recurring musical motif is a waltz — a tender melody that creates a kind of emotional time capsule where In-woo and Tae-hee’s connection lives on after death.

The score balances beauty and complexity throughout. It is playful and charming in numbers like “I Guess It’s Like That,” where high school students comically debate the meaning of love. Tae-hee’s solo “Have You Ever Heard It,” in which she reflects on eternity while overlooking the world from a mountaintop with In-woo, is more subtle and melodic.

Park’s poetic lyricism of the song is particularly notable: "Have you ever heard it / the song of the wind / the song it has been singing since before your birth? / Have you ever thought about it / the years, the countless days and nights / the cold winters this scenery has withstood? /I heard it / the wind that came by while you were sleeping. It whispered in my ear: / Something eternal might come. / That story / have you ever heard it?”

The duo’s work is most striking in scenes of emotional ambiguity and transformation. A standout is the end of Act I, starting with the number “We Run,” which begins as a buoyant, upbeat school marathon song, reflecting youthful energy and the innocent bond between In-woo and Hyun-bin. But as In-woo starts to recognize Tae-hee in the boy’s gestures, the cheerful major key melts into a minor one, hinting at emotional unease. This dissonance builds into the following number, “The Wait,” where In-woo recalls Tae-hee once telling him, “If you lose me, wait — I will find you.” The memory surges into the final number of Act I, a dramatic reprise of the waltz, now transformed from romantic to desperate and almost aggressive, reflecting a sonic reflection of In-woo’s inner conflict.

The show has been staged in Korea four times, most recently in 2022, and is widely regarded as a cult favorite. It also helped spotlight actor Jeon Mi-do, now best known for her roles in the hit dramas "Hospital Playlist" (2020) and "Thirty-Nine" (2022).

'Maybe Happy Ending' (2016)

A scene from the 2024 Korean production of musical "Maybe Happy Ending" [CJ ENM]

Before its English-language tryout in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2020, "Maybe Happy Ending" first premiered in Seoul in 2016. The show firmly established Park and Aronson’s presence in Korea’s musical theater scene, and the duo earned their now-affectionate nickname “The Will-Hue combie,” short for "combination."

For those not yet familiar, “Maybe Happy Ending” is a futuristic romance set in Seoul in the year 2050, following the tender relationship between two abandoned “helperbots,” Oliver and Claire. The musical blends jazz and classical elements to create a score that feels both nostalgic and otherworldly.

A scene from the 2024 Korean production of musical "Maybe Happy Ending" [CJ ENM]

The show swept the 2017 Korea Musical Awards, taking home six prizes, including Best Musical in a small theater, Best Actress for Jeon Mi-do, Best Director for Kim Dong-yeon, Best Lyrics for Park and Best Producer for Han Gyeong-suk, marking Han’s debut as a musical producer. The production is currently being staged in Korea under CJ ENM.

It had its fifth Korean run in 2023 before its Broadway debut at the Belasco Theatre in November 2024. A U.S. national tour is scheduled for 2026, with stops planned in over 30 cities.

'Il Tenore' (2023)

A scene from the musical "Il Tenore" which premiered on December 2023 at the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho District, southern Seoul [OD COMPANY]

After “Maybe Happy Ending,” Park and Aronson took a hiatus before making a highly anticipated return with “Il Tenore,” a historical tragedy inspired by Korea’s first operatic tenor, Lee In-seon (1906–1960). While fictionalized, the story draws from real events during Korea’s fight for independence under Japanese colonial rule in the 1930s.

“Il Tenore,” Italian for “the tenor,” follows Yun I-seon, a medical student turned opera singer, along with Seo Jin-yeon, an opera director and anti-Japanese activist, and Lee Su-han, a stage designer involved in the resistance. Together, they work to stage an opera that promotes Korean independence, all while trying to evade censorship by Japanese authorities. Each character is driven by personal dreams that clash with the harsh realities of their time, and the musical explores themes of sacrifice, lost potential and the uncertain future of a colonized nation.

A scene from the musical "Il Tenore" which premiered on December 2023 at the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho District, southern Seoul[OD COMPANY]

Marking a stylistic departure for the duo, the score moves away from their usual quirky, minimalist approach and embraces a full orchestral sound rooted in classical tradition.

The production received widespread acclaim, earning the Grand Prize for Original Musicals at the 2025 Korea Musical Awards. Hong Kwang-ho won Best Actor for his performance in the lead role, and Will Aronson was awarded Best Composer.

It was beloved by audiences as well, leading to an extended run by two additional months. "Il Tenore" was produced by OD Company, a powerhouse in Korean musical theater that recently made its mark on Broadway with “The Great Gatsby.”

'Ghost Bakery' (2024)

A scene from the horror rom-com musical ″Ghost Bakery″ which premiered in December 2024 at the Doosan Art Center in Jongno District, central Seoul [LIBRARY COMPANY]

Park and Aronson made a swift return in December 2024 with “Ghost Bakery,” a smaller-scale 110-minute horror rom-com set in 1960s Seoul.

The story follows Sun-hee, an ambitious young baker, and Henri, a ghostly French pastry chef who haunts the bakery where she works. As the two form an unlikely partnership to revive the struggling shop, they develop a heartfelt bond.

Set against the backdrop of Korea’s postwar modernization, the show explores the country’s growing exposure to Western culture, including the birth of its now-booming pastry scene.

A scene from the horror rom-com musical ″Ghost Bakery″ which premiered in December 2024 at the Doosan Art Center in Jongno District, central Seoul [LIBRARY COMPANY]

Tonally lighter than the duo’s previous works, “Ghost Bakery” leans into classic rom-com territory that is actually incredibly funny. Much of the laughs come from the female lead, Sun-hee, whose unhindered determination and ambition in everything she does give way to affectionate rolls of laughter from the audience throughout the show.

But the show still touches on deeper themes of loneliness and the inevitability of an end, recurring motifs in their musicals. It also seemingly blends the emotional core of both “Maybe Happy Ending” and “Il Tenore”: the fragility of love over time, and the pursuit of dreams under pressure. The result is a resonant production that trades spectacle for intimacy and lands with lingering emotional impact.

One translated lyric captures this tone succinctly: “Time will coldly pass / and the end will likely come quicker than expected.”

BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]