The Aussie premiere of Dear Evan Hansen confirms cast + announces national tour

When Sydney Theatre Company announced the Australian premiere of Dear Evan Hansen as part of the company’s bumper 2024 Season, the news piqued the interest of musical theatre fans right across the country. An instant hit on Broadway for its deeply personal and profoundly contemporary take on life and the way we live it, this Aussie production opening in October this year is the first original staging of the musical to be licensed since it was originated. 

Details about the co-production with major musical producer the Michael Cassel Group have been fairly light, until now. Following an exhaustive national search, the cast was finally announced over the weekend, featuring an array of Aussie theatre icons and promising newcomers. And, following impassioned audience demand since the Sydney season was announced, the producers have revealed that the production will also tour nationally – heading to Melbourne, Canberra and Adelaide. 

Multiple award-winning performer Verity Hunt-Ballard, who first won Australia’s 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. 

The performer taking on the role of Evan Hansen himself will be announced in August. Considering that it’s one of Broadway legend Ben Platt’s most iconic roles, those are some big shoes to fill. 

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 doesn’t quite capture the magic of the original. 

So, how lucky are we that we get 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."

Dear Evan Hansen will celebrate its Australian premiere at the Roslyn Packer Theatre in Sydney on October 12, 2024, before playing seasons in Melbourne from December 2024, Canberra from February 2025, and Adelaide from April 2025.

Tickets for the Sydney season are on sale now; and the Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra seasons will go on sale later this year. A waitlist for the tour and tickets for the Sydney season are available at dearevanhansenmusical.com.au.