Following its world premiere in July 2015 at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and a subsequent Off-Broadway production in March to May 2016 at Second Stage Theatre, Dear Evan Hansen opened in December 2016 on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre with the infamous Pitch Perfect star, Ben Platt as Evan Hansen. In September, a national tour was launched, with the first international production scheduled to begin in March 2019 in Toronto.
Dear Evan Hansen is a stage musical that tells the story of an anxiety-ridden high school student, Evan Hansen, whose lie spins out of control and places him at the centre of attention. The musical is inspired by real-life experiences from Benj Pasek’s high school years. The hit Broadway sensation featured music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
In 2017, the hit musical went on to bag six awards out of nine nominations, including Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical for Ben Platt, Best Score for composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Best Book for Steven Levenson, Best Orchestrations for Alex Lacamoire, and Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Rachel Bay Jones at the 71st Tony Awards. The musical also won a Drama League Award for outstanding production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway production.
Dear Evan Hansen is set to break new grounds as the Tony Award-winning musical will make its London’s West End debut in 2019. While producer, Stacey Mindich intends to find a British company for the West End project, the musical will premiere at the Noël Coward Theatre. Although, details are yet to be released as to when it will run, additional information, including casting and exact dates, will be announced later on.
With a novelization of the story by Steven Levenson released on October 9, Dear Evan Hansen’s transfer to the West End will see the creative combination of the original Broadway creative team including director Michael Greif and producer Stacey Mindich.