Dear Evan Hansen national tour cast- Page 4

[Elegance101]

Posted: 8/1/18 at 1:05pm

I feel like they were giving Stephen a chance to do the role before hitting the road. Not sure it was a desperate emergency.

[singer234]

Posted: 8/1/18 at 4:43pm

I’m guessing they cast a new female swing, because Ashley De La Rosa is joining Mean Girls as the Regina standby very soon/if not already.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 9/10/18 at 2:05pm

Have they mentioned anything on whether the virtual community voices will be identical as the broadway company or is there a new group of virtual community voices? If I remember correctly, the off-broadway and arena stage runs had different actors as the voices.

[Elegance101]

Posted: 9/10/18 at 2:12pm

Call_me_jorge said: "Have they mentioned anything on whether the virtual community voices will be identical as the broadway company or is there a new group of virtual community voices? If I remember correctly, the off-broadway and arena stage runs had different actors as the voices."

I think it would be the same. They were rewriting the show during its two initial runs, so they needed to have different voices do the newly written parts, but now that the show is set, I don't see why they would change it.

[ggersten]

Posted: 10/3/18 at 2:19am

Just back from the 10/2 performance in Denver.  It's late. This was my first time seeing the show.

To answer the prior questions:  the Virtual Community Voices listed in the program are:  Becca Ayers, Mary Bacon, Gerard Canonico, Jenn Colella, Adam Halpin, Mykal Kilgore, Stephen Kunken, Tamika Lawrence, Carrie Manolakos, Ken Marks, Asa Somers, Jason Tam, Brenda Wehle, Natalie Weiss, Tim Young, Remy Zaken.

Stephen Christopher Anthony plays Evan Thursday and Saturday matinees and Sunday evening.

John Hemphill is the understudy for Larry Murphy.

Anthony and Noah Kesserman are understudies for Evan, Jared and Connor.

Jane Pfitsch and Coleen Sexton are listed as understudies for Cynthia Murphy and Heidi Hansen.

Ciara Alyse Harris and Maria Wirries are understudies for Alana and Zoe.

I thought the cast was pretty strong. 

Maggie McKenna (Zoe) slipped back into her native accent every now and then, but was otherwise just a powerhouse on stage.  Jessica Phillips was terrific as Heidi Hansen and So Big, So Small was heartbreaking.  Marrick Smith was a "strongish" Connor - which to me adds to the unsolved mystery of Connor's drug use and suicide - although I didn't actually spend a lot of time wondering about either.  Lots to infer - but nothing definitive.  Aaron Lazar and Christiane Noll did what they could with Conor's parents - but I had problems with the way those characters are written.  I thought Jared Goldsmith as Jared and Phoebe Koyabe as Alana were okay - nothing standoutish, nothing to complain about.  Ok - Jared reminded me of Curtis Armstrong as Tom Cruise's friend in Risky Business which was a little disconcerting.  I wasn't a fan of how Alana was written - even as comic relief.    

Ben Levi Ross was Evan Hansen - and he was very good.  Words Fail almost broke my heart - but just missed.  To me, he seemed to warm up as the evening went on - and not just because Evan's confidence grows during the show.  It was little things.  For example, it seemed like his higher notes in Act One - especially on Waving Through A Window - were hit and miss.  It seemed like he avoided those notes later in the show.  There were several nice touches - including a bit of OCD with the college scholarship papers.  But overall, I enjoyed his performance.

The last five minutes of Act One - You Will Be Found - were some of the strongest and most emotional moments I've seen on the stage.  Ok - I teared up - well maybe some flowed.  But there was a lot of that going on around me.

All that said, my daughter was very emotional - luckily we had tissues..  She, of course, has listened to the OBCR many many many times - but found (as I did) that the songs work so much better and have so much more heft in the context of the show.  

We sat in the third row of the Balcony - which had a pretty great view of the show - although I couldn't read all the projections, due to my eyesight!  However, the sound in Act One was pretty uneven.  It was difficult to hear lyrics and even some dialog.  After a week in the theatre, I would have thought those problems would have been solved or minimized.  The sound did seem to improve about midway through Act One.  

Last silly thought - it seemed like they spent so much money on projections that there was no money left over for any set pieces.  Yes, I know the minimal set pieces had to be deliberate - and allowed the show to zip along even though it started around 7:40 and ended about 10:25 (with an intermission).  But it was kind of striking.  

[BwayLB]

Posted: 10/4/18 at 1:35am

I’m going Saturday January 5th Costa Mesa 2 pm so there will be a guarantee of understudies?

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/4/18 at 1:38am

willrolandsframes said: "I think Ben is a great choice but I would've rather seen MLB get the nod here, solely because Ben is more versatile with all of the male roles in my opinion than Michael is. This is a similar sentiment to the argument that Andrew Chappelle needed to remain a swing in Hamilton instead of moving to a single, principal role, since he is incredible at all of the parts.

Nonetheless, I'm sure Ben will do a fantastic job."

Ask your Human Resources department. Refusing to promote an employee because he or she is so valuable filling in for everyone is NOT the way to keep a valued worker, much less good for morale in general.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/4/18 at 1:52am

broadwaynerdnewbie said: "I think you can cast a POC as Evan and still have people be sympathetic to Evan and have the audienceremain on his side as the audience does on broadway. I think you can do that because yes those that see the tour probably aren’t nearly as invested and up to date on all the show details most people know the general gist of the story. Even without a POC lead I hope they’ll cast more POC in the tour than just Alana because if not I’ll be disappointed, and frankly disgusted.

i love this show but it needs to be better about casting POC across all the roles, I’m tired of the same looking white boy being cast as a lead and understudy. It’s 2018 and they need to do better, as does the rest of broadway etc. it’s not just a DEH problem."

I think you should stay home, wear your **** hat, and watch THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

Demanding each and every show (particularly a small cast show like DEH) meet some arbitrary definition of diversity has nothing to do with the process of theater and everything to do with imposing your superficial political views on the rest of society.

Note: I probably AGREE with your core political values. I'm just challenging your methods.

 

[MauraLovesMusicals]

Posted: 10/4/18 at 10:28am

correct me if i’m wrong but there’s been at least one person of color who has played evan before, right? i swear there was someone who’s a person of color and tweeted the show if he could play evan and a year later, he auditioned and was put in as a stand by or something??? i can’t get on twitter right now to check but i swear this happened

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 10/4/18 at 10:36am

You're probably thinking of Roman Banks.

[MauraLovesMusicals]

Posted: 10/4/18 at 12:10pm

LizzieCurry said: "You're probably thinking of Roman Banks."

yes! i’ve heard him sing, he’s amazing!

 

 

 

[azleafcat]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 2:59pm

BwayLB said: "I’m going Saturday January 5th Costa Mesa 2 pm so there will be a guarantee of understudies?"

I’m also going to see it on a Saturday Afternoon, though in Tempe, which only has a one week run, so the performance schedule could be different in Tempe.  

I see that Costa Mesa does have a two week run, so it could be different than the current Denver schedule.

Updated On: 10/12/18 at 02:59 PM

[BwayLB]

Posted: 10/12/18 at 3:43pm

If understudies are on, won't be a big deal as long as I enjoy the show. Most of the time when I see a touring show, at least all or most of the principal actors are present.

[defygravity2]

Posted: 10/18/18 at 3:52am

Saw opening night tonight in LA, and liked it! The Ahmanson theater is my least favorite theater venue in LA, and I was worried this show would be swallowed up in such a large venue. Aside from some rough sound mixing (some voices were louder than others), the show was good. I saw the OBC cast in NY and had standing room seats, so it was nice to see the entire projection screens from the Ahmanson balcony. I won't compare the OBC with the touring cast, but this cast is strong, and the audience was on its feet at the conclusion of the last note. I am so glad the west coast fans finally get to see this gem of a show! Thank you for the free baseball hats as we left the theater....a fun opening night surprise!

[emo_geek]

Posted: 10/18/18 at 6:40pm

My friend is at today's (random) Thursday Matinee. They have had to pause 4 times due to technical difficulties. Yes FOUR! 

[Jocelyn3]

Posted: 10/18/18 at 6:55pm

I’m here too. It’s nuts. Just stopped leading into You will Be Found. Now taking 20 minute intermission then they will end Act 1, then take another short break, it was announced. Talk about killing the moment. Sheesh.

[BwayLB]

Posted: 10/18/18 at 7:08pm

emo_geek said: "My friend is at today's (random) Thursday Matinee. They have had to pause 4 times due to technical difficulties. Yes FOUR!"

The last time I been through that was last month seeing On Your Feet. The show had to pause between Coming Out of the Dark and the curtain call medley.

[emo_geek]

Posted: 10/18/18 at 7:26pm

The box office was issuing refunds but my friend chose to stay. 

Edit: Just got a text- they just stopped again for #5

Updated On: 10/18/18 at 07:26 PM

[PepperedShepherd]

Posted: 10/19/18 at 1:48pm

emo_geek said: "The box office was issuing refunds but my friend chose to stay.

Edit: Just got a text- they just stopped again for #5"

 

A friend of mine was at the matinee and also chose to stay. He sent me a text that one of the stoppages was 35 minutes long and that the show didn't get out until almost 6:00PM.  That is really unconscionable.

 

 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 10/19/18 at 1:50pm

Coukd you tell what was wrong with the set exactly or was it more behind the scenes stuff?

[snowyuke]

Posted: 10/20/18 at 5:26pm

He was part of the show's ensemble on broadway before joinging the tour as Evan, but never actually got to star as Evan in the Broadway cast.

[Elegance101]

Posted: 10/21/18 at 1:14am

snowyuke said: "He was part of the show's ensemble on broadway before joinging the tour as Evan, but never actually got to star as Evan in the Broadway cast."

Are you talking about Ben Levi Ross? Not sure why you mentioned this, but he was an offstage understudy (different than ensemble) on Broadway and he did go on at least once for Evan on Broadway.

[defygravity2]

Posted: 1/4/19 at 11:40am

Just saw DEH for the 5th time last night in Costa Mesa, and have been able to enjoy three different Evans over the course of the past couple years. Of course, Ben Platt is in a league of his own, but I was pleasantly surprised by the alternate Evan, Stephen Christopher Anthony! He plays Evan more understated than Ben Levi Ross---not good or bad...just different. (I actually preferred it). His vocals were strong last night. Saw an understudy for Heidi, and I wasn't a fan...she played Heidi colder/angrier/more detached than Jessica Phillips or Rachel Bay Jones. As a mom, I missed the sweetness and compassion in Heidi Hansen's desperation to connect with her troubled son. The touring cast is strong.....you won't be disappointed. For those holding Thursday night and weekend matinee tickets, you are seeing a very strong performance for Evan. Enjoy!

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 1/4/19 at 12:45pm

Does anyone know if the alternate schedule has been consistent with each city? I bought a matinee ticket for the Chicago stop specifically so I could see Stephen.

[LesWickedly]

Posted: 1/4/19 at 1:00pm

The only thing that isn't consistent is Ben. He misses quite a lot. Thursday nights aren't an alternate performance, he was just out. I've seen both though and Stephen is better in my opinion so no worries if Ben is not there. Yes you will see Stephen at the matinee.