“Maybe Happy Ending,” a hit musical nominated for 10 Tony awards, will launch a national tour from Baltimore in the fall of 2026.
Producers announced this month that the multi-year tour will start at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre and will travel to more than 30 cities.
“Maybe Happy Ending” will be the seventh touring production in the past three years to launch at the Hippodrome, part of the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center at 12 N. Eutaw St.
The Hippodrome was the starting point for “The Wiz” in September of 2023; “& Juliet” in September of 2024, and “Life of Pi” in December of 2024. In the 2025-2026 season, it will be the starting point for “Water for Elephants” (Sept. 27 to Oct. 4, 2025) “The Phantom of the Opera” (November 7 to 15, 2025) and “The Great Gatsby” (Jan. 31 to Feb. 7, 2026.)
The M&T Bank Exchange, also part of the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, will be the site of the North American premiere of “Ceilidh,” a show that originated last year in Scotland, with performances in Baltimore from Sept. 6 to Oct. 12, 2025.
“We’re thrilled to launch the North American tour of ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ in the vibrant city of Baltimore, where the spirit of innovation and storytelling runs deep,” said France-Merrick Performing Arts Center president Ron Legler, in a statement. “It’s the perfect place to begin this journey of heart, humor and unexpected connection.”
“Maybe Happy Ending” opened in November 2024 at the Belasco Theatre in New York, starring Helen J. Shen and Darren Criss. It’s the story of Claire and Oliver, two South Korea-based Helperbots that have been deemed obsolete in the second half of the 21st century. They form an unlikely bond, setting off a surprising and romantic adventure that shows even robots can be swept off their feet.
Called a “robot romance” and a “robot love story,” the Broadway production has been nominated for Tony Awards in 10 categories, including Best Musical; Best Score and Book for Hue Park and Will Aronson; Best Direction of a Musical for Michael Arden; and Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for Criss. It’s tied with two other shows for the distinction of being the season’s most Tony-nominated show. Winners will be announced on June 8 in a ceremony at Radio City Music Hall.
The show won in four categories in the 2025 Outer Critics Circle Awards competition, including Outstanding Best New Musical; Outstanding Book of a Musical; Outstanding Score, and Outstanding Direction of a Musical. That’s more than any other production this year. It also won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award and the Richard Rodgers Award.
The cast and additional cities for the touring production will be announced at a later date. According to Playbill, Arden will direct the touring production.
Baltimore was well known as a “tryout town” for Broadway shows after the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre opened downtown in 1967, but it lost that reputation after that theater closed in 2004.
The Hippodrome became the starting point for national touring productions after the Maryland General Assembly in 2022 approved a Theatrical Production Tax Credit program that provides incentives for producers to launch their shows in Maryland. Legler pushed for creation of the tax credit program as a way to help the Hippodrome and other Maryland theaters compete with venues in other states that offer tax incentives.
The state gets an economic boost when touring productions originate in Maryland because the casts and crews spend time ahead of the performance dates for rehearsals, set and costume design and other activities, and they spend money for lodging, meals and other purchases while they’re in town.
“Ron Legler saw a tremendous opportunity to attract more union work and creative talent to Maryland,” said State Sen. Guy Guzzone, sponsor of the legislation that created the tax credit, after his bill passed. “Historically, Baltimore was known as a major tryout city for shows trying to get to Broadway. We hope this new incentive will reenergize Broadway producers and their creative teams to choose Maryland for their pre-Broadway activities.”
Legler had argued that the tax credit program would help lead to jobs for stagehands, musicians, costumers and others who lost work during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
“The last two years of the pandemic have been devastating for the live entertainment industry and the hundreds of union and creative workers who rely on live entertainment to pay their mortgages and put food on their families’ tables,” he said when the legislation was approved. “We applaud this bipartisan effort to support the performing arts in Maryland and help shorten the economic road to recovery for the industry.”
