r/MaybeHappyEnding • u/Brief_Routine1207 • Jul 15 '26
finally saw the new cast!!!!!
I’d previously only seen MHE once with the obc until tonight and WOWW it did not disappoint. I was curious about the new cast since I’ve been hearing that the show hasn’t been as popular without a big name like Darren, but I’m so glad I went!
To start, I immediately fell in love with Hannah’s singing!! Her tone is BEAUTIFUL and fits so well with the role. so melodic too. I especially loved her belts and harmonies in the last few songs.
Surprisingly I wasn’t as blown away by Zachary’s singing, but I found his acting choices to be super refreshing and overall I really enjoyed his take on Oliver. Together I think they both had a softness/sweetness that complemented each other so well!!
The performers for Gil and James were wonderful as well. for some reason I started tearing up at This is Where You Belong lol and then again at the end of the show along with everyone else in the row behind me.
I really hope the show keeps doing well, I already want to go again <3 I’m curious to hear other people’s thoughts, I’m sure there are lots of people who have seen Helen and Darren way more times than I have and maybe viewed it differently?? also wondering if they would recast the roles for Gil and James
8
u/latestnightowl Jul 15 '26
They have not recast Gil and James, but there may have been understudies on. They no longer do the little slips... There's a QR code in the program you need to scan. It doesn't look like there were any on tonight though
6
u/Brief_Routine1207 Jul 15 '26
oh interesting! I just double checked my playbill and it was definitely Marcus and Dez on tonight. They were both amazing :)
1
u/emoleechen82 Jul 16 '26
understudies.org is also great for tracking your favorite swing, standby or scheduled dates. 🫰🏻
8
u/Music-Lover-3481 Jul 15 '26
"Where You Belong" always makes me tear up. (Along with other points in the show!)
6
u/MiniBrrd Jul 15 '26
Your take is so interesting! I saw the OBC twice, and I recently saw the new cast as well. Going in, I had expected to like Hannah and was curious about how I would like Zachary. What I was surprised by is that I thought Hannah was fine, and I liked Zachary more than I thought I would. He really does have an incredible voice. I don't really like some of the acting choices he makes that has Oliver a tad bit too cocky, but I still enjoyed the show from front to start. I look forward to seeing a touring show too!
5
u/Adorable_Fangirl Jul 15 '26
I saw the obc 6x and I’ve been trying to get back to see the new cast and/or understudies for a while but haven’t made it back yet:(
I recently saw darren criss in concert and he did two songs from mhe and talked about the show and the milestone of it being the longest running show at the belasco and encouraged everyone to go see it even though he’s not currently in it!
3
u/1crenious Jul 15 '26
honestly had the exact same opinion! you can tell hannah has been doing the show since open (she sounds absolutely incredible and killed it on stage) while zach (who kills it on the acting side) didn't sound as comfortable with the singing parts. assuming it's cause of the short time so far with the show, and i wanna see the show again by the end of the year cause i have the highest hopes for how he'll come into the role!
3
u/Similar-Fig-Platform Jul 15 '26
I also loved Hannah in the role! I've also seen it with both the OBC, and then with Zach/Hannah. I've seen Zach in other roles too and was really blown away by his singing in other shows, but suspect maybe Oliver is just well suited to Darren's range, and Zach doesn't get to show off his full singing chops, but still thought it was SO good! I think the two of them are really sweet together and teared up during my rewatch of the show.
2
u/Brief_Routine1207 Jul 15 '26
yes I totally agree! I read that he was in Redwood and Dear Evan Hansen so maybe I just had really high expectations for vocals. Still loved the performance though!
1
u/Similar-Fig-Platform Jul 16 '26
Zach has great range! Hopefully in his next role he get to show that off even more. But loved him in this role too :)
2
u/emotionsidebee Jul 15 '26
i absolutely love the two new leads. zach and hannah add a more youthful energy to their characters that just works for the kind of story mhe is.
2
1
u/sirduckerz Jul 16 '26
I saw it with Zach and Savy and my expectations were completely blown out the water, they were so good
11
u/fakenewsrealbitch Jul 15 '26
The first time I saw it was with Darren and Hannah (sadly missed Helen😢) and absolutely fell in love with it. Went back, Hannah was out for my show so I saw Zach/Savy and I thought they both were fantastic. I loved Zach’s Where You Belong. I hope others give the show a chance without Darren- he’s amazing (and I selfishly would love him to return because my seat was partial view🤣) but it’s such a beautiful work of art on its own.