Swing Joined: 4/14/18
Love this show so much. Will and George made it work so well. It was such a dynamic and honest performance. I met them both after and they were really nice. But to listen 8,000 times to the cast recording, it's a shame the producers or writers or director or whoever decided to take a chance on someone else instead of someone like Will who I think a lot of us really loved in the role. I know this is how it goes. But this was the wrong choice and I hope whoever made it will remember that.
Welcome to show biz kid. They need well known people this kinda stuff happens all the time, and this is a great idea. Replacing a unkown with someone who is more known in the theatre community will only bring in more ticket sales.
Featured Actor Joined: 3/27/16
Bwayfan292 said: "Welcome to show biz kid. They need well known people this kinda stuff happens all the time, and this is a great idea. Replacing a unkown with someone who is more known in the theatre community will only bring in more ticket sales."
The fact that you think Will Roland is “well known” is comical
JVJ93 said: "Bwayfan292 said: "Welcome to show biz kid. They need well known people this kinda stuff happens all the time, and this is a great idea. Replacing a unkown with someone who is more known in the theatre community will only bring in more ticket sales."
The fact that you think Will Roland is “well known” is comical"
He is more well known than Will connolly.
Well known to this show's target audience? Absolutely. He's an original cast member of a smash hit broadway musical that the producers of Be More Chill are consciously trying to emulate.
That theory worked really well for Oak.
We also need to remember that Will Connolly is 34 and totally looks his age. No dig against him, as I’m in the same age bracket, but a lot can change in a few years. His twitter post seemed as if he wasn’t losing sleep.
Will Roland is to appeal to those hormonal teens with a celebrity crush on him. Will Connolly didn't age well enough to play the role again, while people like Salazar and Hsu did. I'm willing to give Roland a shot, but I feel like he does better as cocky characters (he might make a good squip or Rich). He's going to get stuck preforming in shows with a rabid fanbase of 12-17 year olds with dyed hair and claiming mental illnesses.
CurtainPullDowner said: "That theory worked really well for Oak.
"
True. And unfortunate, as Oak had a good take on the role. (Saw him twice.)
This connolly?
https://twitter.com/i/moments/984749790960472065
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/11/11
The young person fanbase of Dear Evan Hansen is really really large.
It's pretty brilliant marketing to cast someone from it in a show that also has a very large teen fanbase.
Stand-by Joined: 2/26/17
As Will Roland's frames, I fully support this casting in every way.
Chorus Member Joined: 7/22/17
I looked at Connolly's tweet (very classy) but couldn't help but notice Michael Mitnick's response "A very classy post from a guy put in a really crappy position. Here's to the success of the show, but Will Connolly should be part of it." what does this mean? "a really crappy position"? Anyone think this means anything or is he just blowing smoke?
Updated On: 4/14/18 at 03:48 PM
"He's going to get stuck preforming in shows with a rabid fanbase of 12-17 year olds with dyed hair and claiming mental illnesses."
This is my favorite thing I have ever read on this board. I just busted a gut laughing.
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