There’s nothing quite like seeing a musical on stage. But seeing as most of us can’t physically get to a stage to see a musical right now, seeing the movie version will have to do. One musical adaptation that’s hitting cinemas soon is Dear Evan Hansen.
Dear Evan Hansen is a proper movie adaptation of the Broadway hit. It’s not just a recording of the stage show like Hamilton on Disney+.
That being said, the Dear Evan Hansen movie shares plenty of similarities with its musical counterpart. Here’s what you need to know before you see it on the big screen.
Who is Evan Hansen?
Dear Evan Hansen was one of those musicals that quickly became renowned on Broadway, so it’s only natural a movie adaptation had to follow.
The story follows Evan Hansen, a socially anxious teen who writes therapeutic letters to himself. One of these letters is stolen by a fellow classmate, Connor, who later commits suicide. Connor’s parents think that their son wrote the letter himself and thus Evan inserts himself into Connor’s past, despite having no place there.
On a broader level, Dear Evan Hansen is all about trying to fit in as a teenager amongst the chaos of the social media world.
This turned out to be pretty relatable and the musical stage show picked up six Tony awards.
The film is expected to be pretty faithful to the musical, with a lot of the creative minds behind the stage show also serving as producers. However, some songs from the stage show won’t make it into the film and there will be some new songs written specifically for the movie version.
Dear Evan Hansen: Cast
While Ben Platt may be far from a high school teenager, he did make the role of Evan Hansen famous on stage so he’s really the best person for the role.
Colton Ryan is another Dear Evan Hansen musical star who is taking up their role in the film version as Connor.
Starring alongside them is a packed cast of stars including Julianne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, Amy Adams, Danny Pino and Nik Dodani.
The film is directed by Stephen Chbosky, who you may recognise as the director behind another coming of age teen film, Perks of Being a Wallflower. So, yeah, you’ll want to bring some tissues.
Dear Evan Hansen: Australian release date
Dear Evan Hansen was originally scheduled to release in Australia in cinemas on September 23. That has, somewhat unsurprisingly, since shifted as we tackle this current COVID-19 outbreak and the impacts of that.
The film is now slated for a much later release date – December 9, 2021. Fingers crossed that will be the last date change we see here, but unfortunately, you never know with these things.
Can I see a trailer?
Yes, friends. You can! Universal has dropped two – pretty moving – trailers for the film adaptation of the Dear Evan Hansen musical. The latest of which was released on September 20. You can find them both below.
If you need some musicals to watch while we wait (a little longer) for Dear Evan Hansen, here’s a list of some of the best you can find on streaming services in Australia.
This article has been updated to reflect changes in film release date and new trailer releases.
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