DEAR EVAN HANSEN Sets September 18 Closing Date on Broadway- Page 4

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/9/22 at 1:25am

Maybe enough people saw it and realized the lead character is kind of awful?  "Good for you" is a banger though. But besides that, the songs all kind of sound the same with "Waving Through the Window" the clear stand out. Shrek's "Words Fail" is far better. 

I also still hate the design of the show. I get why it's. designed for 2nd stage but the fact that they changed nothing about the staging just felt weird to me on Broadway. They also tied it so close to social media - which we know is every changing - so I think it just doesn't feel as modern as it once did. 

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 6/9/22 at 12:27pm

IMO, the show was twice cursed, first by COVID (as was every other show) and then by the movie. Looking back, the show was doing really well until theater shut down in March, 2020. But if my memory is right, it was grossing close to $1 million/week or close to it, and my guess is that if COVID hadn't hit, it would have had another tremendous summer at the box office. 

And in my view, it wasn't so much the movie itself that hit the show hard (though it didn't help) but there was a ton if critical piling on about things like Ben looking too old (actually, he looked about the same age as all of his classmates) and a resentment that his father was a producer of the movie. In addition, many of the film critics didn't seem to understand that Evan was intended to be a conflicted character in terms of his choices. His deception started from a very good place, his desire not to inflict additional harm to Connor's family, and it spiraled downwards, out of control. I think that most theater critics understood this and far too many film critics didn't, 

It leaves me to wonder how the tour is doing. My guess is that it's underperforming expectations.

[joevitus]

Posted: 6/9/22 at 1:06pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "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."

I don't think the director had the control you assume. Seems to me he was a functionary of a producer who wanted his son to do it the way his son wanted to do it. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/9/22 at 2:18pm

Looks like here in LA it's selling kind of the same way all the touring shows have been selling. Orchestra is full, Mezz is eh, and balcony is empty. 

[dearalanaaaa]

Posted: 9/11/22 at 5:12pm

I hope it's okay to revive this old thread! A block of tickets for the final performance released at some time yesterday, there's about 15-20 left around $225 at the box office ($250 online), a lot lower than resale usually. I'm not a fan of the current Evan but Gaten will be killing it and the energy will be live either way!! Personally I've been enjoying this show for 5+ years so I'm excited to finally see the closure/end in a way.

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 9/11/22 at 9:01pm

Sorry if this has already been said but-while it’s so surreal that the show is closing, do we know what’s going into the Music Box next? 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 9/11/22 at 9:09pm

hearthemsing22 said: "Sorry if this has already been said but-while it’s so surreal that the show is closing, do we know what’s going into the Music Box next?"

Gabriel Byrne's Walking with Ghosts begins previews October 18 and opens October 27. 

[Evan Hansen2]

Posted: 9/17/22 at 3:12pm

I have an extra ticket to the closing performance of Dear Evan Hansen tomorrow at 3pm in row P of orchestra right. I paid $195 for it, and I’m just looking to get back what I paid. Message if you’re interested!

[DEHFanatic]

Posted: 9/17/22 at 6:00pm

I was at the final DEH matinee this afternoon and caught Mateo's last performance. My first time seeing him - he was phenomenal!! Here is the curtain call:

https://youtu.be/sVinLpeynAk

 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 9/18/22 at 2:15pm

Is anyone going today?

[suicidalmickeymouse]

Posted: 9/18/22 at 2:43pm

I’m here! Haven’t seen any Broadway-famous people yet but I do see a lot of fans wearing the polo lol.

[RW3]

Posted: 9/18/22 at 3:24pm

I had the chance of seeing the show at Arena so to see it become has been quite the privilege. Happy trails Dear Evan Hansen!

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 9/18/22 at 4:12pm

I hope Stacey Mindich has another show she’s producing in the pipeline. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 9/18/22 at 7:16pm

Any closing night reports / ancedotes, suicidalmickeymouse?

I saw fans were given light blue baseball caps that say "Waving Goodbye to Broadway - 9/18/22"

[suicidalmickeymouse]

Posted: 9/18/22 at 8:03pm

Finally headed home!!

First off, I’ve been to quite a few closings and I was worried that the fans would be too crazy with applause and standing ovations. I was pretty impressed. Everyone got extended entrance applause, and all songs got a lot of applause, but everyone was really respectful of the show. 
 

Everyone gave an amazing performance, and emotions only showed through at appropriately sad times during the show. Waving and So Big So Small were the standouts for me. 
 

After the show all cast members got big beautiful hydrangea bouquets, a producer starting giving a speech and invited up lots of former cast members. Ben was not there, but several Evan Hansens were there including Jordan Fisher and Andrew Barth Feldman. Will Roland was there too. Pasek and Paul came up, and Michael Greif gave the closing speech. By the end there was 60+ people on the stage, and they all took a final bow together. People stayed on the stage and hugged for a long time.

Stagedoor was nuts afterwards. Packed full. Current and past cast members came out to greet people. 
 

It was a great closing, I’m so glad I jumped on tix when they announced it!

[FLarnhill]

Posted: 9/18/22 at 8:38pm

Honestly, after becoming a walking punchline after the movie adaptation, I don't blame Platt for not showing up. This will be a repressed memory for him from now on.

[Andres LaFrazia]

Posted: 9/18/22 at 8:43pm

He’s also on tour right now 

[Fosse76]

Posted: 9/18/22 at 8:54pm

DEHFanatic said: "I was at the final DEH matinee this afternoon and caught Mateo's last performance. My first time seeing him - he was phenomenal!! Here is the curtain call:

https://youtu.be/sVinLpeynAk"

Seems odd to me that Garten wouldn't do the final two performances. The Sat. matinee wasn't the "final" matinee...today's performance was a matinee.

[DEHFanatic]

Posted: 9/18/22 at 8:56pm

The show was spectacular and it was an amazing experience to be there to say goodbye to this gem.

Yes the audience was given special hats with todays date and "Waving Goodbye to Broadway".

There was no special program.

Tons of alum were there, as well as the whole creative team.

After curtain speech here:

https://youtu.be/y-VyNhkC_Rs

 

[Fosse76]

Posted: 9/18/22 at 8:57pm

FLarnhill said: "Honestly, after becoming a walking punchline after the movie adaptation, I don't blame Platt for not showing up. This will be a repressed memory for him from now on."

Well, he made what were legitimate but  *inconsequential* criticisms about his age and appearance get to him, pretty much turning a lot of people against him. 

[DEHFanatic]

Posted: 9/18/22 at 9:42pm

Fosse76 said: "DEHFanatic said: "I was at the final DEH matinee this afternoon and caught Mateo's last performance. My first time seeing him - he was phenomenal!! Here is the curtain call:

https://youtu.be/sVinLpeynAk"

Seems odd to me that Garten wouldn't do the final two performances. The Sat. matinee wasn't the "final" matinee...today's performance was a matinee."

 

He was actually in the final 3 performances....both shows yesterday and today's finale.

 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 9/18/22 at 9:47pm

Fosse76 said: "DEHFanatic said: "I was at the final DEH matinee this afternoon and caught Mateo's last performance. My first time seeing him - he was phenomenal!! Here is the curtain call:

https://youtu.be/sVinLpeynAk"

Seems odd to me that Garten wouldn't do the final two performances. The Sat. matinee wasn't the "final" matinee...today's performance was a matinee."

Mateo Lizcano was the Evan alternate, and his last performance was yesterday's matinee. The post had nothing to do with Gaten.

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 9/18/22 at 10:22pm

FLarnhill said: "Honestly, after becoming a walking punchline after the movie adaptation, I don't blame Platt for not showing up. This will be a repressed memory for him from now on."

That seems like a leap for me. He also won a Tony Award for the role so I'm sure he'll have bad memories of the movie, but I'm not sure that would translate to his experience on Broadway. If anything, he might be more appreciative of his time on Broadway that was acclaimed.

[Wick3]

Posted: 9/18/22 at 10:52pm

Ben Platt has a concert in Nashville this evening that was planned months before DEH announced its final performance.

[FLarnhill]

Posted: 9/19/22 at 4:22am

Fosse76 said: "FLarnhill said: "Honestly, after becoming a walking punchline after the movie adaptation, I don't blame Platt for not showing up. This will be a repressed memory for him from now on."

Well, he made what were legitimate but *inconsequential* criticisms about his age and appearance get to him, pretty much turning a lot of people against him."

The age controversy may have overshadowed the actual film but I was talking more about the overall reception. The movie expanded on what didn't work about the show and left out the parts that did make it work. Casting a younger actor wouldn't solve the other issues (needless Oscar bait songs, removing the moments of comedic levity, the overall dull direction, Julianne Moore's "trrruck", etc).