DEAR EVAN HANSEN Sets September 18 Closing Date on Broadway- Page 2

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 1:26pm

Dionysus3 said: "A bad wig really killed a whole production."

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 1:49pm

Actually, I’m surprised the show lasted this long. In my opinion, it was very much “of the moment,” and the bloom was already off the rose as soon as Ben left. The last time I saw it was in March 2018, with Taylor Trensch and the rest of the OBC, and, even then, it felt less significant. They’ve had a great run, but I think it’s the right time to go.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 1:50pm

Well, it had to close eventually.  I thought the days were numbered when that perky self-congratulatory smiley face ad started running on TV.

[OhHiii]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 2:11pm

Worth noting that the West End production also announced closing recently. And the show opened and closed in Toronto. It just doesn't hold up. I agree with the poster who said that as soon as Ben left, the show dimmed significantly. 

Next up, Parade starring Ben Platt, produced by Marc Platt...

[RussT2]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 2:19pm

In the Fall of 2016 I'd heard rumblings about this show that was opening called DEAR EVAN HANSEN, but I knew nothing about the show except that it was about high school. I got preview tickets for November for $50 each and my bf and I went in completely clueless as to what we were in for. We were blown away. So happy we went in not knowing anything about the story. DEH opened a few weeks later and the rest is history. It had a good run, but if people aren't going to see it, maybe it's time to leave the room and make way for something new.

[blaxx]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 2:20pm

bdn223 said: "I am amazed they don't try to stick it out through the end of the year with a return of Ben for the final few months, or at least wait to see how Gaten effects ticket sales to see if they can continue to stunt cast for a little while longer.

I am guessing they are being forced out, but I wonder for what show...."

Reprising their Razzie nominated performance, Ben I-Still-Look-Sixteen Platt!

[Dionysus3]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 2:26pm

Yes, I was joking.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 2:37pm

CFA only needs about 3 weeks beyond DEH's closing date to have more performances (They are exactly 20 performances behind I'm guessing [but don't remember] that CFA RE-opened before DEH.) -- but, both will land in the top 50 - at least for the time being.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 2:39pm

Come From Away reopened on September 21, and Dear Evan Hansen reopened December 11.

[OhHiii]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 2:43pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "Come From Awayreopened on September 21, andDear Evan Hansenreopened December 11."

The reopening timing is what's going to make it possible for Come From Away to outrun this. Traditionally, Come From Away had a pretty strong Fall compared to most of the other shows, so it's possible they can make it to the end of the year/pack it up first Sunday in January.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 2:52pm

Looking forward to what shows will announce by Sunday or during the Tonys that will be taking over DEH and TINA.

[persephone88]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 3:18pm

We saw DEH when it was in previews, and I truly loved it, but the OBC really were a significant part of that show's success. I saw it twice more with different casts, and while enjoyable, it just did not have the same power as the original cast. It has had a good run and I expect will still tour for some time.

I kind of wish it were closing earlier so that Almost Famous could take the Music Box - that is such a wonderful theatre for a smaller show.

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 3:24pm

I also think bizarrely a lot of the masses didn't know really the premise of the show for years, and just had a vague idea it was inspiring so when the movie came out that was their first introduction to the story, so they weren't gonna work backwards to find out if the story is better served in a $150 theatre seat. 

[stoptheworld38]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 3:32pm

I absolutely loved DEH for the first few years after it opened, but I will say my love for it significantly diminished over the past year or so, whether that be due to the controversies surrounding it, or the movie, or (most likely) a combination of the 2. I did see the film when it came out and while I would not say I strongly disliked it or that it was bad, I liked it much less than I originally expected to when it was first announced, and I did think it was the weakest of all the movie musicals that came out this past year. (I also had not yet seen the stage version at that time, so did not have that to compare to). I did see the touring production this spring, which I did very much enjoy, and of which the cast was absolutely outstanding, but I probably wouldn't go far out of my way to see the show again.

Almost 6 years (shutdown aside) is quite a good run, so I'm grateful they've lasted this long. I'm sad in many ways to see it go, but various factors just have led to it not aging well, and the time has to come eventually. Plus, as of now it is still set to tour for (at least) another year, plus following the Broadway closing we'll probably see the rights go out to regional/community theatres/schools, so it's not like this is the complete end of DEH overall.

[Wick3]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 4:18pm

Sad to hear this but this is a business and if ticket sales are down then it makes sense to close. It did have a healthy run and recouped money for its investors.

I think it was the combination of both Ben Platt & Rachel Bay Jones that made this musical a phenomenon back in 2016/2017.

I've seen all the other Evans and Heidis on Broadway and somehow I never felt the same emotions I did when watching Ben & Rachel perform.

Onto the next.

[DEHFanatic]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 4:23pm

OH NOOOOO.  I've been dreading this day since that abomination of a movie was released. 

Words Fail.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 4:39pm

I had a feeling that this show was going to hit big in early fall 2016, following such exceptional reviews at Second Stage, along with a demo recording of "Waving Through a Window" that I was starting to wear out on the official show website. 

A couple of months before first preview, I met both Ben and Rachel at the BC/EFA Flea Market and Grand Auction, and I told them they would possibly be in the first post-Hamilton smash original musical about to hit Broadway. 

I met them again at stage door following my performance in early 2017, and they both (as we know) won Tonys.

 

Although no one deserves to disappear, I will admit that Dear Evan Hansen - once the juggernaut I had promised Platt and Jones - has simply run its course. 

 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 5:11pm

Platt on his Insta story:

”DEH brought the most amazing people into my life and changed it in every way - I’ll be grateful for forever”

 

[OceansJenny]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 5:33pm

So when’s a good time to go before closing? Is it worth revisiting with the current cast?

[Jarethan]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 5:44pm

quizking101 said: "Damn. A giant has fallen. Though I kinda figured this would happen soon after the major black eye that god-awful movie gave to the show’s brand…"

Not sure if that is the reason.  The Phantom movie was a disaster — although I did enjoy it — and the show is still running more than a decade later.  I think there were a few others,  it can’t recall right now, so I may be wrong.  
 

i wonder if it is suffering from the same disease some of the more serious shows have been suffering…’if I am going to have to wear a mask, I want to be sure that it will make me happy OR that it has stars’.  Realize it is a musical, but seems to be similar to Hangmen, The Minutes, North Country, and other shows; despite very good reviews, they are not incenting people to attend.  OR maybe it just reached the end of the line, which seems to be the case with CFA also.  We will never know how many performances they would have run if Covid had not occurred, but I imagine their eventual total number of performances will have been seriously impacted.

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 5:46pm

I hadn’t planned on seeing the show again but once they announced Gaten Matarazzo as Jared, I knew I’d have to go back next month! 

[ATerrifyingAndImposingFigure]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 5:47pm

Sad to hear this, mostly because I truly believe the movie did damage the show and it's business and it's discomforting to see the infinitely superior stage version unable to continue and overcome the negativity that the film inspired. There is legitimate criticism to be made about the show, but I loved my night with it and feel that it's not the black and white story so many try to make it out as.

Platt was woefully wrong to do the movie, but his stage performance is one of the finest I've ever seen. Same goes for Rachel Bay Jones.

[willep]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 6:01pm

The movie only made $20 million. Nobody saw it.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 6:18pm

I don't want to relitigate that movie, but there's a world in which he could have been great in it. The director should be shouldering the blame for that movie; Platt did the job that his father hired him to do. It's hard to recreate a magical stage performance on screen, especially in a quieter, smaller movie. Merman similarly tried and failed in Call Me Madam.

[A Canadian in NYC]

Posted: 6/7/22 at 6:50pm

I really loved this show with the OBC. How Ben Platt (and others) did that performance for as long as he did will always amaze me. I’ve never cried so hard at a live performance.  I will always be grateful that I saw this show on Broadway. 
The movie…. Not so much.   But oh well.