“Dear Evan Hansen” has solidified plans for its buzzed-about Broadway transfer, with producer Stacey Mindich planning a November opening at a Shubert Organization theater.
The musical, which premiered in DC in 2015 and is currently playing an Off Broadway run at Second Stage Theater, follows Evan Hansen, a high school student, who pretends to be close friends with a teenager named Connor, who recently committed suicide, in order to help Connor’s parents in their grief.
Ben Platt, known for his work on “Pitch Perfect,” plays Evan in the musical, which is directed by Michael Greif (“Rent,” “Next to Normal”) and has a score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (“Dogfight,” “A Christmas Story”) and a book by Steven Levenson.
“Dear Evan Hansen” recently received two 2016 Obie Awards — one presented to writers Levenson, Pasek and Paul and an acting honor for Platt. The musical also received the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical and the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Musical.
The musical features scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Emily Rebholz, lighting design by Japhy Weideman, sound design by Nevin Steinberg and projection design by Peter Nigrini. The musical director is Ben Cohn and the music supervisor is Alex Lacamoire. Danny Mefford is the choreographer.
“Dear Evan Hansen” concludes its run at Second Stage this Sunday.
