Take a deep breath, music theatre fans, because Dear Evan Hansen is making its Melbourne premiere in December 2024. This musical tracing the story of an anxious high schooler forced into the spotlight has six Tony Awards under its belt and is known for being a raw, moving reflection on contemporary life.
Last year, Sydney Theatre Company announced that it would bring Dear Evan Hansen to Australia for the first time ever, in a co-production with major musical producer Michael Cassel Group. Adding to this momentous news was the fact that this is the first original staging of the musical to be licensed since it was originated. Dear Evan Hansen will have its Australian premiere in Sydney in October, and now we can finally confirm that it's also going on tour. The exact details are still under wraps, but what we do know is that the show will move audiences at Arts Centre Melbourne's Playhouse Theatre in December.
Multiple award-winning performer Verity Hunt-Ballard, who first won hearts as the world’s favourite nanny in the original Australian production of Mary Poppins, will play Evan’s mother Heidi Hansen. Music theatre icon Natalie O’Donnell, who starred as Donna in Mamma Mia! before joining the Australian company of Come From Away, will star as Cynthia Murphy; while legendary theatre star Martin Crewes plays her husband Larry Murphy.
Newcomer Georgia Laga’aia steps into the role of Zoe Murphy – and yes, that name looks familiar because she is one of the eight children of Jay Laga’aia (legend of the stage, and also of Play School) – her sister Catherine’s name has also been in the news recently as she just landed the lead role in Disney’s live-action version of Moana. Talk about a talented family!
Meanwhile, Carmel Rodrigues plays the role of Alana Beck, following her critically acclaimed turn as Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray. Harry Targett also joins the cast as Connor Murphy, and Jacob Rozario is Jared Kleinman. Rounding out the cast are Lawrence Hawkins, Jessica Kok and Ariyan Sharma.
While the lion's share of the Dear Evan Hansen cast was announced in June, one crucial role was still yet to be confirmed – and that would be *the* Evan Hansen, the character originated by Broadway legend Ben Platt. Well, the wait is over. Rising star Beau Woodbridge has finally been announced as the lead in the upcoming tour. An Aussie boy, Woodbridge began his career at a young age, playing key roles in mainstage musicals before moving to London to study Musical Theatre at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music, where he has recently performed the role of Melchior in Spring Awakening. As a kid, Woodbridge played Gustave in Love Never Dies, Michael Banks in Mary Poppins for the New Zealand tour, Jeremy in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Louis in The King And I.
Speaking about the exciting announcement, Beau said: “Evan has been a dream role of mine since I was lucky enough to see the original Broadway production when I was 14. I was just in awe of the show because you feel so connected to the characters in this story and I can’t wait to bring that experience to audiences in Australia with our company."
Word to the wise, if you haven’t watched the 2021 screen adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen yet – don’t do it. Platt reprised his role for the movie, but the general consensus from critics is that the actor had aged out of convincingly playing a teenager by the time they got around to making the film. It goes down as one of the many screen-to-stage adaptations that don’t quite capture the magic of the original.
So, how lucky are we to experience Dear Evan Hansen live in this original new staging? With Dean Bryant at the helm – the same director behind STC and MTC’s incredible co-production of Fun Home, the Tony Award-winning musical based on Alison Bechdel’s queer graphic memoir – this raw tale of teen angst and tragedy is in safe hands.
“I'm thrilled with the cast we've assembled to bring a brand new production of Dear Evan Hansen to life,” said Bryant. “A combination of the country's best singing actors will join the most electric new talent we've got, selected from the thousands of passionate young performers we saw during the casting process. An incredible mix of heartbreaking drama and pounding rock musical, I can't wait for the public to experience the show across Australia over the next year."
Tickets for the Melbourne season of Dear Evan Hansen will go on sale later this year. In the meantime, you can sign up for the waitlist over here.
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