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Dear Evan Hansen musical film: Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Steven Levenson offer an update

The creators of ”Dear Evan Hansen” were in London where they offered an update on the musical’s progress towards the big screen and how it’s been seeing the show flourish

Left to right: Sam Tutty, Justin Paul, Rebecca McKinnis, Alex Lacamoire, Steven Levenson and Benj Pasek
Left to right: Sam Tutty, Justin Paul, Rebecca McKinnis, Alex Lacamoire, Steven Levenson and Benj Pasek
© Dan Wooller for WhatsOnStage
The creators of Dear Evan Hansen were in London recently so WhatsOnStage caught up with them to find out more about the show's progress towards the big screen and how it's been faring in the UK.

Opening to a raft of five-star reviews, two WhatsOnStage Awards and seven Olivier Award nominations, the hit musical follows a teenager, Evan, who pretends to be friends with a deceased pupil to become popular at school. It includes numbers such as "You Will Be Found" and "For Forever".

Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Steven Levenson discussed the eagerly anticipated film version of the hit show, which is currently in development:

They also waxed lyrical about running in the West End and the power of the British cast:

Sam Tutty leads a cast including Rebecca McKinnis (Heidi Hansen), Lucy Anderson (Zoe Murphy), Doug Colling (Conor Murphy), Lauren Ward (Cynthia Murphy), Rupert Young (Larry Murphy), Jack Loxton (Jared Kleinman) and Nicole Raquel Dennis (Alana Beck).

David Breeds covers the roles of Evan, Connor and Jared, Alex Thomas-Smith covers the roles of Evan and Jared while Marcus Harman plays alternate Evan Hansen and cover for Connor and Jared. Haydn Cox covers Connor and Jared.

Tricia Adele-Turner and Hannah Lindsey cover Heidi and Cynthia, while Natalie Kassanga and Courtney Stapleton covers Zoe and Alana. James Winter and Mark Peachey both cover Larry.

It has words and music by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and is directed by Michael Greif, with choreography by Danny Mefford, design by David Korins, projection design by Peter Nigrini, costume design by Emily Rebholz, lighting design by Japhy Weideman, sound design by Nevin Steinberg and hair design by David Brian Brown. Music supervision, orchestrations and additional arrangements are by Alex Lacamoire. Ben Cohn is the associate music supervisor. Vocal arrangements and additional arrangements are by Paul.

WhatsOnStage said of this five-star show: "Dear Evan Hansen is a desperately powerful exploration of a troubled teen sacrificing the truth for a sense of comfort – startlingly relevant for a world swaddled in screens and fleeting fictions."

The show is currently booking until June 2020.