“Lift your head and look around, you will be found.” Another exciting thing to be found, in the world of both theatre and movies, is the newly announced Dear Evan Hansen film adaptation! The film will be based upon the hit Broadway musical of the same title, and is being produced by Marc Platt and Adam Siegal for Universal Pictures.
The musical centers around a teenage boy named Evan Hansen, who struggles with mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression. When a classmate of his takes his own life and Evan is wrongly suspected of being his friend, he goes along with the story to gain a sense of being seen by others that he hadn’t felt before. This show has gone on to win six Tony awards, including best leading actor in a musical and best original musical, and has stolen the hearts of many theatre lovers and fans.
Almost every lead character has been casted and announced, and it looks to be filled to the brim with familiar faces. Oscar award winner Julianne Moore will be playing the part of Evan’s mother Heidi, which will be her first time ever appearing in a singing role. Amy Adams has been announced to play Cynthia Murphy, mother of Connor and Zoe. Adams has had experience in a musical environment, as she had singing roles in both Enchanted (2007) and The Muppets (2011). As for the younger roles in the movie, Kaitlyn Dever is heavily rumored to be playing Evan’s love interest Zoe Murphy. She recently starred in the movie Booksmart (2019), and has previously written and performed songs before. The Hate U Give’s Amandla Stenberg is going to be playing optimistic and outgoing Alana, and Atypical’s Nik Dodani will play Evan’s family friend Jared. Lastly, Colton Ryan, who understudied the roles of Evan, Connor and Jared in the Broadway show, will be playing Connor; the struggling student who takes his life.
Some more news regarding the film is the rumors that Ben Platt, who originated the role of Evan Hansen on Broadway, will return to play him in the movie. This has not yet been confirmed, but Platt himself has discussed his eagerness to place himself, yet again, in Evan’s shoes. Another exciting bit of information is that a collaboration will be made with the musicals composers, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, to create a brand new song for the movie. It will be sung by the character Alana (Amandla Stenberg).
As far as the public’s reactions to the announcements regarding the film, there have been a few worries. The most common being skepticism about Ben Platt’s ability to pull off playing a young teenager, as he himself looks much older, and the lack of Broadway performers in the cast. In my own opinion; I am just absolutely thrilled that they’ve decided to bring this show to the big screen. Platt has pulled off playing a teenager before, both on stage and in his tv show The Politician, so if he is for sure cast I think the directors will find a way to make it work. As for the lack of original Broadway cast members, this has always been something that troubles me with movie musicals. The original production of Dear Evan Hansen is filled with such talented actors and musicians, but I understand the need for big named actors/actresses. Especially in a musical film that not many people outside of theatre enthusiasts might be interested in seeing. All we can hope for is that popular actresses, such as Amy Adams and Julianne Moore, will draw more crowds for the film and that many people will go see it. The themes present in the musical of overcoming mental illness and opening up/talking about your feelings with other people in your life are so important.
Anytime a movie interpretation of a musical is announced, there is cause for excitement! I am all for musicals getting more mainstream attention, and people who wouldn’t normally go see a live show getting exposure to it from the movie. Dear Evan Hansen the movie might not be getting a theatrical release for another year or two, but I couldn’t be more thrilled!
My Little Corner 