{"id":2962,"date":"2026-07-09T23:33:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T21:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.ticketmaster.com\/?p=67226"},"modified":"2026-07-09T23:33:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T21:33:35","slug":"zachary-noah-piser-on-why-joining-maybe-happy-ending-is-such-a-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myza.co.za\/events\/zachary-noah-piser-on-why-joining-maybe-happy-ending-is-such-a-gift\/","title":{"rendered":"Zachary Noah Piser on Why Joining Maybe Happy Ending Is \u201cSuch a Gift\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Consider Zachary Noah Piser the original prototype for the Helperbots of Maybe Happy Ending<\/i><\/a>. After all, long before the one-of-a-kind musical became a Tony-winning sensation on Broadway<\/a>, the Chinese-American actor played Oliver\u2014the vintage Helperbot-3 living out the rest of his battery life in a Seoul retirement facility for old-model robots\u2014in one of the show\u2019s earliest workshops.<\/p>\n

Now, four years and six Tony Awards for the show later (including one for Best Musical), Piser is stepping back into Oliver\u2019s jazz-loving shoes to headline Maybe Happy Ending<\/i> at the Belasco Theatre. \u201cWhen this came back around, it was not on my bingo card in any way,\u201d he admits, sitting down with Ticketmaster inside the Oak Room of the historic Algonquin Hotel\u2014yes, the same Beaux Arts building in Midtown Manhattan<\/a> where Lerner and Loewe famously wrote a little musical called My Fair Lady<\/i>.<\/p>\n

On the rainy day we met, the entire cast and creative team had come together at the Algonquin to celebrate the casting of Piser and Hannah Kevitt, who\u2019s been promoted from standby for Claire<\/a> to the show\u2019s official leading lady. With Oliver\u2019s beloved potted plant HwaBoon<\/a> looking on proudly from atop the grand piano, Piser, Kevitt and longtime cast members Marcus Choi and Dez Duron regaled the intimate crowd of journalists and influencers with acoustic renditions of \u201cWhere You Belong,\u201d \u201cThe Rainy Day We Met\u201d and \u201cThen I Can Let You Go.\u201d<\/p>\n

And there was even more exciting news to announce to the room: Not only is Maybe Happy Ending<\/i> officially extending its run through February 28, 2027, but as of July 7, the heartfelt musical all the way from Korea has\u2014with a battery life of 688 shows and counting\u2014become the longest-running show in the history of the Belasco Theatre<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Hannah Kevitt and Zachary Noah Piser in Maybe Happy Ending, photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Piser, whose resume boasts stints in Wicked<\/i><\/a>, Dear Evan Hansen<\/i> and the original Broadway casts of KPOP<\/i> and Redwood<\/i>, the opportunity to come back to Maybe Happy Ending<\/i> during such a historic run marks the kind of full-circle moment that\u2019s increasingly rare in the theater industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike, I’m not even having humility, I really didn’t think that this would happen,\u201d he says. \u201cEvery single day that I start the show, I always take a little giddy breath right before because I can’t believe that the person who did a workshop four years ago\u2014which I was like a completely different person then, literally!\u2014gets to do it now. It’s really very special, I’m really happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Below, Piser opens up to Ticketmaster about what makes his \u201cneurotic\u201d version of Oliver unique, the importance of Asian representation on the Broadway stage, how roles in Dear Evan Hansen<\/i> and KPOP<\/i> helped prepare him to play Oliver, what he learned from working with Idina Menzel in Redwood<\/i> and more.<\/p>\n

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So I normally like to start these conversations by asking what drew an actor to a particular show, but I didn’t realize you have a history with <\/b>Maybe Happy Ending<\/i><\/b>!<\/b><\/p>\n

Yeah! So, around the time I was doing Dear Evan Hansen<\/i>, I was doing a play at Williamstown Theatre Festival, and that’s where I met [Maybe Happy Ending<\/i> director] Michael [Arden]. It was our first time meeting, and he was like, “I think you’d be really right for this role, we’re deciding if we want to bring it to New York<\/a>, it’s been in Korea. We’ll be in touch.” And, you know, you hear that all the time, but then he actually did get in touch. Then, in 2022, I was doing Evan Hansen<\/i> with very little time on my hands, but I was like, “Anything Michael does, of course!” I did a big workshop of the show, and then a couple years passed, the options dropped, they had new producers come on board. And it was the same season I did Redwood<\/i> with Idina [Menzel]. And the moment when Mother calls, I was like, “Yeah!”<\/p>\n

So when this came back around, it was not on my bingo card in any way. Like, I’m not even having humility, I really didn’t think that this would happen. And so when it did, especially with a show like this that exists because people love it, because it is so goddamn good, it’s original, it is beautiful, it’s simple, it’s heartbreaking, it’s unexpected\u2014to step into it and lead this show\u2026it’s like, every single day that I start the show, I always take a little giddy breath right before because I can’t believe that the person who did a workshop four years ago\u2014which I was like a completely different person then, literally!\u2014gets to do it now. It’s really very special, I’m really happy.<\/p>\n

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@maybehappyendingbway<\/a> <\/p>\n

On replay tbh \"\ud83d\udd01\" @zach_piser and @hannah.kevitt perform \u201cRainy Day We Met\u201d at the @algonquinnyc \"\ud83c\udfa5\": @primmecreative #maybehappyending<\/a> #broadway<\/a> #musicaltheatre<\/a> #maybehappyending\"\ud83e\udd16\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u266c original sound – maybehappyendingbway<\/a> <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n