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Review: Darren Criss, Helen J Shen and cast release ‘Maybe Happy Ending (Original Broadway Cast Recording)’

Darren Criss, Helen J Shen and the cast just released the “Maybe Happy Ending” original Broadway album.

Helen J Shen and Darren Criss
Helen J Shen and Darren Criss. Photo Courtesy of Ghostlight Records.
Helen J Shen and Darren Criss. Photo Courtesy of Ghostlight Records.

Darren Criss, Helen J Shen and the cast just released the “Maybe Happy Ending” original Broadway cast recording album via Ghostlight Records.

It preserves the new romantic musical comedy’s score by the internationally-recognized musical duo Will Aronson and Hue Park, and it is produced by Deborah Abramson, Ian Kagey, Will Aronson, and Hue Park.

‘Maybe Happy Ending (Original Broadway Cast Recording)’

Dez Duron kicks off the soundtrack with “Why Love,” where the listener can recall Michael Bublé, and it immediately breaks into Darren Criss’ “World Within My Room” and Helen J Shen showcases her crystalline voice on “The Way That It Has to Be.”

After the instrumental “Charger Exchange Ballet,” it continues with “Where You Belong,” where Criss and Marcus Choi showcase their velvet harmonies.

Criss and Shen are glorious in their “Hitting the Road, Part 1” duet and it segues into the smooth “Goodbye, My Room.”

“Hitting the Road, Part 2” picks up where the former left off, and it is impressive as well. “The Rainy Day We Met” is nostalgic and filled with raw emotions. Duron picks up the pace with the mid-tempo “Jenny” and Shen nails the controlled “How to Be Not Alone.”

“Hitting the Road — Part 3” is uplifting and a great deal of fun, and Shen proves to be a song stylist on the harking “What I Learned from People.”

“Never Fly Away” is stirring, and Duron introduces us to “A Sentimental Person” with his rich, rumbling voice. “When You’re in Love” is sheer bliss, and after the instrumental “Touch Sequence” it segues into “Then I Can Let You Go.”

The piano-laden title track ballad “Maybe Happy Ending” embodies what the show is all about.

After a reprise of “Why Love,” it closes with the cast’s grand finale number, and the bonus tune “Why Love: Live in Amsterdam, May 1948” with a vintage orchestral arrangement to it.

“Maybe Happy Ending (Original Broadway Cast Recording)” is available on digital service providers by clicking here. Each song on this project has its own identity. The cast and the musicians all did a tremendous job. It is worth checking out, and it garners two thumbs up. Well done.

To learn more about “Maybe Happy Ending,” check out its official website.   

Markos Papadatos
Written By

Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 24,000 original articles over the past 19 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is an 18-time "Best of Long Island" winner, where for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, and 2022), he was honored as the "Best Long Island Personality" in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.

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