Gerald Caesar joins Dear Evan Hansen musical film

The upcoming film production of Dear Evan Hansen has added a Broadway performer to its cast.

Gerald Caesar, who has credits including Choir Boy and A Bronx Tale, will be one of the students in the film, with an official character name to be revealed. He starred as Simba in the US national tour of The Lion King.

Caesar joins a cast including original Tony-winning star Ben Platt in the title role, as well as Amy Adams as Cynthia, Julianne Moore as Heidi, Kaitlyn Dever as Zoe Murphy, Danny Pino as Zoe's stepfather, Amandla Stenberg as Alana, Nik Dodani as Jared, and Colton Ryan as Connor. The film's shooting location is Atlanta Georgia.

Steven Levenson will pen the script from his original stage version, with Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) directing. Music and lyrics are by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Platt's father, producer Marc Platt, and Adam Siegel will produce through Marc Platt Productions. Pasek and Paul are executive-producing.

With a Tony-winning score by Pasek and Paul, and a Tony-winning book by Levenson, Dear Evan Hansen is described as follows: "A letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never meant to be told, a life he never dreamed he could have. Evan Hansen is about to get the one thing he's always wanted: a chance to finally fit in."

With a variety of new students being added to the cast, the film will flesh out the world of lead character Evan's high school life.

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."