SAME GIL. NEW VOICE.
STELLA COLE
STEPS INTO THE ROLE OF “GIL BRENTLEY” IN
MAYBE HAPPY ENDING
BEGINNING ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20
FOR FOUR-WEEK LIMITED RUN
(New York, NY) – The producers of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Maybe Happy Ending are pleased to announce celebrated jazz vocalist Stella Cole will bring her singular musicality to Broadway as she steps into the role of “Gil Brentley”
(pronounced Jill) for a special four-week limited engagement beginning on Tuesday, October 20 through Sunday, November 15, 2026. Cole takes over the role from original cast member Dez Duron who will take a short leave from the production, but will return to the Belasco Theatre on Tuesday, November 17, 2026.
STELLA COLE has been dreaming of making her Broadway debut for as long as she can remember, asking her family to sign her playbill while she played pretend in her living room at age 6. Cole is a rising star vocalist with a timeless sound, viral charisma and 1.7 million followers and over 100 million views. She’s built a global fanbase by breathing new life into jazz standards with a distinctive style that bridges vintage influences and modern sensibility. Her singing videos caught the attention of industry legends including James Taylor, David Foster, Michael Bublé, John Mayer, and Meghan Trainor. Cole’s collaboration with Postmodern Jukebox on Miley Cyrus’s Flowers have added over 10 million views and streams. Raised in Springfield, Illinois, Cole studied theatre at Northwestern University before pivoting during the pandemic to self-produced online content. After graduation she moved to New York, where her career quickly flourished with performances at Cafe Carlyle, Birdland, and Town Hall. In 2025 alone she played well over 100 headline shows around the U.S., Europe and Asia, establishing herself as one of the most in-demand young artists on the scene. Last year, Cole was named an Amazon Breakthrough Artist to Watch and signed her first major label record deal with Decca Records under Universal Music Group. She has since released two albums, It’s Magic and Stella Cole Live at Café Carlyle. Her star turn has included a duet with Tony Award-winner Darren Criss, appearances on The TODAY Show, Live with Kelly and Mark, and The Tamron Hall Show, and features in Elle and The Hollywood Reporter. Stella is represented by Gersh.
The Maybe Happy Ending cast currently stars Zachary Noah Piser, Hannah Kevitt, Dez Duron and Marcus Choi with Cathy Ang, Savy Jackson, Daniel May, Sam Simahk & Christopher James Tamayo as the standbys.
Maybe Happy Ending by Tony Award-winners and Grammy Award-nominees Will Aronson and Hue Park (Il Tenore, Ghost Bakery) is directed by Tony Award-winner Michael Arden (The Lost Boys, Parade, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol) and features Set and additional Video Design by Tony Award-winner Dane Laffrey (The Lost Boys, A Christmas Carol, Once on This Island), Costume Design by Tony Award-winner Clint Ramos (KPOP, Eclipsed), Lighting Design by Tony Award-nominee Ben Stanton (A Christmas Carol, Fun Home), Sound Design by Tony Award-winner Peter Hylenski (Moulin Rouge!: The Musical, Beetlejuice), Video Design by Tony Award-winner George Reeve (Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends); Deborah Abramson (The Gardens of Anuncia) is the Music Supervisor and John Yun is the Music Director. Casting is by The Telsey Office, Craig Burns, CSA, the Production Stage Manager is Justin Scribner and Foresight Theatrical is the General Manager.
Maybe Happy Ending opened on Broadway on November 12, 2024 at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44th St.) to immense critical and audience acclaim, with the show being selected as the “Best Theatre of 2024” by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, The Washington Post, Time Out NY and Entertainment Weekly and many others.
Maybe Happy Ending became the longest running show at the Belasco Theatre as of Tuesday, July 7 when it reached 688 performances. (The previous record was 687 performances for the show Dead End in 1937.)
Maybe Happy Ending is the story of a chance encounter that sparks connection, adventure, and maybe even love. It is the offbeat and captivating story of two outcasts near the end of their warranty who discover that even robots can be swept off their feet. Helmed by visionary director and Tony Award- winner Michael Arden with a dazzling scenic design by Tony Award-winner Dane Laffrey and book, music, and lyrics by the internationally acclaimed duo, Tony Award-winners Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending is a fresh, original musical that reminds us what it means to be human and that love is never obsolete.
Maybe Happy Ending was written in both Korean and English-language versions. The Korean-language version opened in December of 2016 at DaeMyung Culture Factory in Seoul and subsequently won six Korean Musical Awards including Best Musical. The English-language version was awarded the 2017 Richard Rodgers Production Award and had its U.S. premiere at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta in the 2019-2020 season under the direction of Michael Arden.
NATIONAL TOUR
The national tour, which recently launched Hippodrome Theatre at The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center in Baltimore, has stops planned in 30+ cities including Los Angeles, D.C., Chicago, Tampa, St. Louis, Detroit, San Francisco, Providence, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Las Vegas and many others.
Original Broadway cast members and Standbys Steven Huynh and Claire Kwon star as “Oliver” and “Claire” respectively in this multi-year North American tour.
2025 AWARD WINS
Winner of six Tony Awards: Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Actor in a Musical, Best Scenic Design of a Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score
Winner of six Drama Desk Award Awards: Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Lyrics, Outstanding Book of a Musical, Outstanding Music, Outstanding Direction of a Musical, Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical
Winner of four Outer Critics Circle Awards: Outstanding New Broadway Musical, Outstanding Director of a Musical, Outstanding Book of a Musical, Outstanding Score
Winner of two Drama League Awards: Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Direction of a Musical
Winner of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Outstanding Musical
ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST RECORDING
Grammy Award-nominated for Best Musical Theater Album, the Original Broadway Cast Recording for Maybe Happy Ending is available via Ghostlight Records, to stream or download, or purchase the CD and vinyl editions, please visit https://maybehappyending.lnk.to/OBCR. The album – which preserves the new romantic musical comedy’s score by the internationally acclaimed duo Will Aronson and Hue Park – is produced by Deborah Abramson, Ian Kagey, Will Aronson, and Hue Park. Both the CD and the vinyl include liner notes from Grammy nominated songwriter Stephen Trask, a synopsis, color production photography, and complete lyrics.
Maybe Happy Ending is produced by Jeffrey Richards, Hunter Arnold, Darren Criss, Dr. Pam Hurst- Della Pietra & Stephen Della Pietra, NHN Link Corporation, Greg & Lisa Love, Kayla Greenspan, Jayne Baron Sherman, Louise Gund, Spencer Ross, Yonge Street Theatricals, Ruth Hendel, Kaplan-Gopal-MMC, Adam Zotovich, At Rise Creative, Broadway Strategic Return Fund, Curt Cronin, FAHS Productions, Greg Field, Paul Gavriani/Michael Patrick, Rebecca Gold, Grace Street Creative Group, John Gore Organization, Willette Klausner, Kent Knudsen, James L. Nederlander, Salmira Productions, The Shubert Organization, Jacob Stuckelman & John Albert Harris, Wooran Foundation, You Should Smile More Productions, Ira Pittelman, Mark and David Golub Productions, Diego Kolankowsky, Takonkiet Viravan, Brad Blume, Will Aronson & Hue Park, Hugo Six, Clarissa Cueva, Ali Daylami, Maia Kayla Glasman, Patrick W. Jones, and Brandon J. Schwartz. Allan Williams serves as Executive Producer.