Broadway Breakdown — Matt Reviews:

MAYBE HAPPY ENDING, A WONDERFUL WORLD & MCNEAL
Host: Matt Koplik
Date: November 13, 2024

Overview

In this bonus episode of Broadway Breakdown, host Matt Koplik delivers his trademark sharp, witty, and unfiltered reviews of three new Broadway shows: Maybe Happy Ending, A Wonderful World (the Louis Armstrong musical), and McNeal. He also gives a quick shout-out to the play Strategic Love Play and provides his thoughts on recent listener reviews. With Koplik’s unique blend of passion, insider knowledge, and humor, this episode is a must-listen for theater fans looking for honest, in-depth takes on the latest offerings.

Podcast Reviews Roundup

[04:00]

• Listener Feedback: Matt reads out recent reviews of the podcast, both positive and negative.
  • “You don't always have to agree with my takes, but if you do, that's wonderful. And if you don't agree, I hope that I at least explain myself in a way that you can understand where I'm coming from.”
  • A listener complains about excessive housekeeping and intros, prompting Matt to apologize and admit he’s “trying,” then cheekily reminds listeners of the fast-forward button.

STRATEGIC LOVE PLAY

[07:15]

The Play

• A two-hander starring Heléne Yorke and Michael Zegen, written by Miriam Battye.
• Plot: Two lonely people on a bad first date after meeting on a dating app, debating love, gender, and not wanting to settle.

Koplik’s Take

• “It is 80 minutes of just two people talking about their ideals on love and gender and the world, but not in a way that's compelling, not in a way that's dramatic… there's no tension, there's no sensuality, there's no sexuality.”
• Praises the actors but laments the material: “You're watching two people who are very smart and very talented try to justify material that just doesn't land.”
• Verdict: A miss, despite the strong cast and premise.

MCNEAL

[11:20]

The Play

• By Ayad Akhtar (Disgraced), starring Robert Downey Jr. and directed by Bartlett Sher at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont.
• Synopsis: A Nobel laureate novelist (McNeal) grapples with originality, AI, and personal legacy.

Koplik’s Take

• Admits to seeing it after “one and a half margaritas,” but insists his lack of memory isn’t due to the buzz:
  “The fact that I couldn’t remember almost anything about McNeal is more about McNeal than it is about my McMargarita.”
  [16:45]
• Summarizes the plot as a series of loosely connected ideas: AI, originality vs. plagiarism, creative theft, strained family relationships, and a barrage of topical references.
• On Robert Downey Jr.: “The thrill of seeing Robert Downey Jr. on stage isn’t much of a thrill. … He’s sort of like a boomer Guido Contini in Nine and More.”
• Andrea Martin and Ruthie Ann Miles are underused.
• “There’s nothing there. There’s no drama, there are no stakes. The whole thing ends with a giant question mark of what was the point of any of this? Like, I didn’t learn anything, I didn’t feel anything. … You're forgetting it while you're watching it.”
• Memorable Comparison: “It was like Memento in real life. It was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in real life.” [21:10]
• Verdict: Bland and instantly forgettable; the talent and smart minds involved make the result even more disappointing.

A WONDERFUL WORLD: THE LOUIS ARMSTRONG MUSICAL

[24:15]

The Show

• A jukebox/bio-musical starring James Monroe Iglehart as Armstrong.
• Structure: A chronicle of Armstrong’s life, focusing on marriages (four wives), career trajectory, encounters with racism, and relationship to Black community image.

The Bio-Musical Problem

• Matt’s critique of the post-Jersey Boys biographical musical formula:
  “Bio jukebox musicals covering a specific artist's life no longer can be interesting because the estate of those artists want to have as squeaky clean a presentation of that artist as possible.” [25:30]
• Cites Jersey Boys, Beautiful, and Ain’t Too Proud as examples and contrasts with Jelly’s Last Jam for its willingness to explore complexity and darkness.

On Armstrong’s Portrayal

• The musical softens every edge and excises real drama:
  • Each divorce or affair is justified away; issues of racial controversy (“Uncle Tom”) and community backlash are raised and then dropped.
  • “We're seeing one point made 30 minutes earlier and then never addressed again or even shown to have an effect ever again until it's convenient in that moment in history.”
• “Ultimately, the whole show is just ‘and then this happened, and then this happened.’ … That’s not exciting theatre, that’s just a Wikipedia page in concert.” [32:00]

Technical and Artistic Merits

• Music and vocals: “The best things I'll say about it are that the music is given great treatment. It is orchestrated well, it is sung incredibly well...”
• Choreography: Mixed—solo tap numbers strong, group tap “just sort of... not as creative.”
• Set and costumes: Costumes “looked a bit on the cheap side;” the set compared to “the Wicked set, but covered in brass.”
• Performances:
  • James Monroe Iglehart is likable but struggles with depth in dramatic scenes—“out of his depth, which is ironic because he's now one of the co-directors.”
  • Jenny Harney Fleming (as Lil Hardin) and Darlesia Cearcy (as Lucille Wilson) singled out for truly grounded and affecting performances.
    • “She is definitely a contender for the ‘I see what you're doing and tbh Bravo’ performance of the season.” [42:30]

Memorable Analogy

• On the show’s tepid approach:
  “It never gets hot, never even really bubbles. It just kind of sits there. It's not insulting. It's just bland. It's not forgettable like McNeal, but it is bland. And that is honestly just as bad as forgettable, in my opinion.” [48:45]

Overall

• Enjoyable in parts; technically fine, with strong vocals and moments of enjoyable choreography.
• Ultimately is “bland, tepid, underbaked, and never truly insightful or moving.”
• “You need to add some spice to the mix, have some honesty and some messiness to your show. … It’ll set you free, I tell you.”

MAYBE HAPPY ENDING

[50:40]

The Show

• Musical by Will Aronson and Hue Park (Korean premiere 2016; U.S. premiere 2020), directed by Michael Arden.
• Premise: Two abandoned “helper bots,” Oliver (Darren Criss, Model 3) and Claire (Helen J. Shen, Model 5), meet in a futuristic Seoul, searching for purpose, love, and connection.

Plot Summary & Key Themes

• Claire needs to borrow Oliver’s charger; they form an unlikely bond and leave the apartment to find Oliver’s original owner, only to discover his owner is dead.
• Together, they explore themes of connection, memory, grief, and identity.
• The climax: They choose to delete their memories of each other, only for fate to reunite them—echoing Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
• Ending: Sweet but perhaps not as powerful or ambiguous as Matt would have chosen—he suggests an alternative ending involving mutual unspoken recognition.

Positive Aspects

• “I really, really liked this musical. … It’s absolutely in the top tier of the current crop this season.” [56:15]
• Design: “The show looks beautiful. It is designed incredibly. … If you’re going to do a show like this on Broadway and you’re like, no, we are going to do Spectacle—this is absolutely the happy medium. It doesn’t feel overblown; it doesn’t feel over the top.”
• Score: “A really lovely score. … It’s the kind of warmth, like a scarf around your heart, you know? It was just really sweet. … This is an album I’ll listen to quite a bit.” [66:50]
• Acting:
  • Darren Criss: “He makes it all work. He really has down all the mannerisms for Oliver that you really buy it.”
  • Helen J. Shen: “She is using her head voice as much as possible to keep the lightness of the story going... she’s just more human-like.”
  • Chemistry: “They sell the bond as contentment, not settling—very realistic.”
  • Supporting roles: Marcus Choi, Junseo (James’s son), and Dez Duron as Gil Brentley the jazz singer, also praised.

Criticisms and Suggestions

• “About 15 minutes too long, maybe Happy Ending. There is some air that you could absolutely suck out of it, especially in the second half. … It also has a couple of different times where it feels like it is ending and it doesn’t, which adds to the length.” [59:20]
• Design/Directorial flaw: Sightline issues persist (a Michael Arden staple): “If you don’t get [the intricate design details], you don’t realize you’re missing anything, but when you see them, you understand, ‘oh, I would have gotten this plot point a lot sooner had I been able to see this.’” [61:00]
• Wishes the show took a more Miyazaki-esque approach by embracing ambiguity and not explaining every detail.

Notable Quotes

• “Falling into each other in a way where you recognize all of the good stuff about another person that keeps you content. And you watch them be content with each other. Not settle, but content.” [68:35]
• “It’s very good for the soul to see something that is endearing and sweet without being sugary and cloying. You know, that’s very hard to do. And this show was a big surprise for me, and I highly recommend it.” [74:35]

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On McNeal’s forgettability:
  “I walked out of the theater, and I couldn't remember a single thing about what I'd just seen. It was like Memento in real life. It was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in real life, which is crazy. So crazy, with all that intelligence and talent on stage for that to be the case.” [21:10]

• On A Wonderful World’s biographical sanitizing:
  “Bio jukebox musicals covering a specific artist’s life no longer can be interesting because the estate of those artists want to have as squeaky clean a presentation of that artist as possible.” [25:30]

• On Maybe Happy Ending’s emotional success:
  “This is a very warm musical and one that doesn’t feel precious. There’s enough humor to it, there’s enough adult humor to it, that it doesn’t feel trite. I very much appreciated that.” [66:30]

• Final recommendation:
  “I think it’s really good, and it’s very good for the soul to see something that is endearing and sweet without being sugary and cloying. … This show was a big surprise for me, and I highly recommend it.” [74:35]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• [00:13] Intro, Housekeeping, Podcast Reviews
• [07:15] Review: Strategic Love Play
• [11:20] Review: McNeal
• [24:15] Review: A Wonderful World
• [50:40] Review: Maybe Happy Ending

Final Thoughts

Matt Koplik offers incisive, entertaining, and unflinchingly honest reviews, leaving no stone unturned. From the earnest but bland A Wonderful World, through the utterly forgettable McNeal, to the surprisingly moving Maybe Happy Ending, this episode provides deep insights and practical recommendations for theatre-goers seeking more than just star casting or song medleys. If you want a review that is passionate but fair, unfiltered but reasoned, and full of memorable one-liners, Matt's voice stands out among Broadway podcasters.

For more reviews and the latest episodes, subscribe to Broadway Breakdown and check out Matt’s play “Yours Truly” streaming live November 16th.