Stage Door News

Toronto: Complete casting announced for the Canadian production of “Dear Evan Hansen”

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Dear Evan Hansen producers Stacey Mindich and David Mirvish are pleased to announce complete casting for the Canadian production of the multi Tony Award-winning musical. Performances begin March 5, 2019 at Toronto’s historic Royal Alexandra Theatre.

Jessica Sherman, seasoned Toronto actor and singer who has worked extensively in the U.K. will play ‘Heidi Hansen’, Charlottetown and Stratford Festivals favourite, Claire Rankin will play ‘Cynthia Murphy’, and Stratford and Shaw Festival actor Evan Buliung, recent Dora Award winner for The Musical Stage Company/Mirvish Productions’ Fun Home, will play ‘Larry Murphy’. Sean Patrick Dolan (CBC/Netflix’ Schitt’s Creek, The Detectives, Workin’ Moms) and Canadian country music singer/songwriter Stephanie La Rochelle (CBC’s Heartland, Over The Rainbow) round out the ‘Murphy’ family (as ‘Connor’ and ‘Zoe’, respectively), with Alessandro Costantini (Segal Centre’s Prom Queen) as ‘Jared Kleinman’, and Shakura Dickson (Outside The March/Crow’s Jerusalem) as ‘Alana Beck’ completing the on-stage company.  They join the previously announced Robert Markus in the title role.  

The cast also includes Zachary Noah Piser (as the ‘Evan’ alternate) along with understudies Erin Breen, Malinda Carroll, Jay Davis, David Jeffery, Laura Mae Nason and Kaitlyn Santa Juana.

“It is with great joy and pride that we announce the cast of the Canadian production of Dear Evan Hansen, which also happens to be the first international production of our show,” says lead producer Stacey Mindich. “We conducted extensive auditions all throughout Canada over an eight-month period to find the perfect actors to embody Dear Evan Hansen’s authentic characters and I am confident that we’ve assembled an amazing and talented group of artists, almost all of whom are Canadian. In fact, almost every province is represented in our cast. This is a very important and exciting chapter in the life of Dear Evan Hansen.”  

Dear Evan Hansen tickets are on sale through June 30, 2019. For ticketing information, please go to www.mirvish.com

The winner of six 2017 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Dear Evan Hansen features a book by Tony Award-winner Steven Levenson, a score by Academy Award, and Tony & Grammy Award-winning composers Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, and direction by 4-time Tony® Award nominee Michael Greif. The Grammy Award-winning Original Broadway Cast Recording of Dear Evan Hansen produced by Atlantic Records, was released in February 2017, making an extraordinary debut on the Billboard 200 and entering the chart at #8 – the highest charting debut position for an original cast album since 1961 – and went on to win the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album.  A new deluxe version of the cast recording, including six bonus tracks and a pop cover from Katy Perry of “Waving through a Window: is now available digitally.

Declared “One of the most remarkable shows in musical theater history” by the Washington Post’s Peter Marks, Dear Evan Hansen opened at the Music Box Theatre to rave reviews on December 4, 2016, where it’s broken all box office records and has struck a chord with critics and audiences alike. The first national tour is currently underway with performances scheduled across America, and international productions have been announced for Toronto (March 2019) and London (Fall 2019).  The Broadway production recently celebrated its two-year anniversary with a special donation to the Smithsonian, where the show’s iconic blue polo and arm cast will now be part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. 

Rolling Stone calls Dear Evan Hansen, “a game-changer that hits you like a shot in the heart” and The New York Times raves “a gut-punching, breathtaking knockout of a musical.” 

In addition to winning six 2017 Tony awards and a 2018 Grammy Award, Dear Evan Hansen has won numerous other awards, including the 2017 Drama League Award for Outstanding Musical Production and for the off-Broadway production, two Obie Awards, a Drama Desk Award, and two Outer Critics Circle Awards and two Helen Hayes Awards. 

Dear Evan Hansen features scenic 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 Justin Paul. Danny Mefford is the choreographer.  U.S. Casting by Tara Rubin Casting/Xavier Rubiano.  Sash Bischoff and Adam Quinn are the Associate Directors. Judith Schoenfeld is the Production Supervisor.

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