The Broadway musical sensation Dear Evan Hansen, which has been captivating Broadway audiences since it opened on Broadway in December of 2016, is set to tour the country with Ben Levi Ross in the title role. Commencing at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts in September of 2018, the cast will also include Maggie McKenna, Jessica Phillips, Christiane Noll (Jekyll and Hyde, Ragtime), Marrick Smith, Aaron Lazar (Les Miserables, The Light in the Piazza), Jared Goldsmith, and Phoebe Koyabe. Tickets for the tour go on sale on Friday, June 8, 2018.
Dear Evan Hansen producer Stacey Mindich is pleased to announce complete casting for the Tony Award-winning musical’s First National Tour, beginning performances this September in Denver. Stage and TV star Jessica Phillips will play ‘Heidi Hansen’, Tony Award-nominee Christiane Noll will play ‘Cynthia Murphy’, and Broadway veteran Aaron Lazar will play ‘Larry Murphy.’ Marrick Smith and Maggie McKenna round out the Murphy family (as Connor and Zoe, respectively), with Jared Goldsmith as ‘Jared Kleinman’ and Phoebe Koyabe as ‘Alana Beck’ completing the on-stage company. They join the previously announced Ben Levi Ross in the title role. The cast also includes Stephen Christopher Anthony (as the Evan alternate) along with understudies Ashley De La Rosa, Noah Kieserman, Jane Pfitsch, Coleen Sexton, and Maria Wirries.
Dear Evan Hansen will begin performances in September 2018 at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (September 25 – October 13, 2018), followed by engagements in Los Angeles (October 17 – November 25, 2018) and San Francisco (December 5 – December 30, 2018). Tickets for these three cities go on sale tomorrow, June 8 (10:00 am PT / 11:00 am MT). For more information about the tour, please visit www.dearevanhansen.com.
In addition to the touring production and the record-breaking Broadway production, Dear Evan Hansen will launch its first international production in Canada, in March 2019 at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre.
Dear Evan Hansen won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Musical, as did Steven Levenson’s book, Benj Pasek and Justin Pauls’ score, Alex Lacamoire’s orchestrations, and acting awards for Ben Platt (who originated the role of Evan), and Rachel Bay Jones. Director Michael Greif, actor Mike Faist, and lighting designer Japhy Weideman were nominated for their work as well.
Mark Robinson is the author of the two-volume encyclopedia The World of Musicals and maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.