'Dear Evan Hansen' Opens Record-Breaking Engagement at Ahmanson

“DEAR EVAN HANSEN” OPENS RECORD-BREAKING LA ENGAGEMENT AS HIGHEST WEEKLY GROSSING SHOW IN AHMANSON THEATRE HISTORY

Tony Award-Winning Musical Opens Tonight

A record-breaking show on Broadway and now on National Tour, “Dear Evan Hansen” opens its Los Angeles engagement tonight, October 19, having already shattered all weekly box office revenue records in Ahmanson and Center Theatre Group’s over 50-year history. Earlier this summer, the First National Tour of “Dear Evan Hansen” also made history as the fastest-selling show in the history of ASU Gammage Auditorium in Tempe, AZ.

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 Grammy®, Tony® and Academy Award® winners Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (“La La Land,” “The Greatest Showman”) and direction by four-time Tony® Award nominee Michael Greif (“Rent,” “Next to Normal”). Currently in previews, “Dear Evan Hansen” continues through November 25 at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre. An engagement at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa follows from January 1 to 13, 2019.

The “Dear Evan Hansen” first national tour cast features Ben Levi Ross in the title role. Stage and TV star Jessica Phillips plays Heidi Hansen. Tony Award nominee Christiane Noll plays Cynthia Murphy and Broadway veteran Aaron Lazar plays Larry Murphy. Marrick Smith and Maggie McKenna round out the Murphy family (as Connor and Zoe, respectively), while Jared Goldsmith as Jared Kleinman and Phoebe Koyabe as Alana Beck complete the on-stage company.

The cast also includes Stephen Christopher Anthony (as the Evan alternate) along with understudies Ciara Alyse Harris, John Hemphill, Noah Kieserman, Jane Pfitsch, Coleen Sexton and Maria Wirries. Maggie McKenna is appearing with the permission of Actors’ Equity Association. The Producers gratefully acknowledge Actors’ Equity Association for its assistance of this production.

“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/Lindsay Levine. Adrienne Campbell-Holt, Sash Bischoff and Adam Quinn are the Associate Directors. Judith Schoenfeld is the Production Supervisor.

Following its run in Los Angeles, “Dear Evan Hansen” will move to ASU Gammage in Tempe, Arizona (November 27 – December 2, 2018), The Curran in San Francisco (December 5 – December 30, 2018) and the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa (January 1 – 13, 2019). The first year of the tour route will continue as follows, with additional cities to be announced at a later date:

Los Angeles, CA, Ahmanson Theatre 10/17/18-11/25/18

Tempe, AZ ASU Gammage 11/27/18-12/2/18

San Francisco, CA The Curran 12/5/18-12/30/18

Costa Mesa, CA Segerstrom Center 1/1/19-1/13/19

Las Vegas, NV The Smith Center 1/15/19-1/20/19

Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre 1/23/19-2/2/19

Des Moines, IA Des Moines Civic Center 2/5/19-2/10/19

Chicago, IL Oriental Theatre 2/12/19-3/10/19

Durham, NC Durham Performing Arts Center 3/12/19-3/17/19

Charlotte, NC Belk Theatre – Blumenthal Performing Arts 3/19/19-3/24/19

Ft. Lauderdale, FL Broward Center for the Arts 3/26/19-4/7/19

Tampa, FL Straz Center 4/9/19-4/14/19

Orlando, FL Dr. Phillips Center 4/16/19-4/21/19

Atlanta, GA The Fox Theatre 4/23/19-4/28/19

Cincinnati, OH Aronoff Center 4/30/19-5/12/19

Buffalo, NY Shea’s Performing Arts Center 5/14/19-5/19/19

Pittsburgh, PA Pittsburgh Cultural Trust – Heinz Hall 5/21/19-5/26/19

Minneapolis, MN The Orpheum 5/28/19-6/9/19

Cleveland, OH Playhouse Square – Connor Palace 6/11/19-6/30/19

Greenville, SC Peace Center 7/2/19-7/7/19

Boston, MA Boston Opera House 7/10/19-8/4/19

Washington, D.C. The Kennedy Center 8/6/19-9/8/19

For more information about the tour, please visit www.dearevanhansen.com.

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.

In addition to winning six Tony awards, “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, two Outer Critics Circle Awards and two Helen Hayes Awards. The show’s original cast recently won a Daytime Emmy Award for “Best Musical Performance on a Daytime Talk Show” for their April 2017 performance of “You Will Be Found” on NBC’s “Today Show,” only the second Broadway show in history to win that category.

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 Theater Album.
A special edition coffee table book authored by Levenson, Pasek and Paul, “Dear Evan Hansen: through the window” (Grand Central Publishing / Melcher) is now available, offering an in-depth, all-access look at the musical, including never-before-seen production photos and cast portraits, behind-the-scenes stories and a fully annotated script by the authors.

In addition to the touring production and the record-breaking Broadway production, “Dear Evan Hansen” will launch its first international production in Canada, in March 2019 at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre.

The touring production of “Dear Evan Hansen” is produced by Stacey Mindich. The co-producers are Mickey Liddell, Hunter Arnold, Caiola Productions, Double Gemini Productions, Fakston Productions, Roy Furman, Harris Karma Productions, On Your Marks Group, Darren Bagert, Roger & William Berlind, Bob Boyett, Colin Callender, Caitlin Clements, Freddy DeMann, Dante Di Loreto, Bonnie & Kenneth Feld, FickStern Productions, Eric & Marsi Gardiner, Robert Greenblatt, Jere Harris and Darren DeVerna, The John Gore Organization, Mike Kriak, David Mirvish, Eva Price, Zeilinger Productions, Adam Zotovich, Ambassador Theatre Group, Independent Presenters Network, and the Shubert Organization, in association with Arena Stage, Molly Smith and Edgar Dobie, and Second Stage Theatre, Carole Rothman and Casey Reitz. Wendy Orshan and Jeffrey M. Wilson are Executive Producers.

Center Theatre Group, one of the nation’s preeminent arts and cultural organizations, is Los Angeles’ leading nonprofit theatre company, which, under Artistic Director Michael Ritchie, programs seasons at the 736-seat Mark Taper Forum and 1600 to 2000-seat Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles, and the 317-seat Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. In addition to presenting and producing the broadest range of theatrical entertainment in the country, Center Theatre Group is one of the nation’s leading producers of ambitious new works through commissions and world premiere productions and a leader in interactive community engagement and education programs that reach across generations, demographics and circumstance to serve Los Angeles.

Tickets for “Dear Evan Hansen” are available by calling (213) 972-4400, online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org, or by visiting the Center Theatre Group Box Office located at the Ahmanson Theatre. Tickets range from $99 – $285 (ticket prices are subject to change). The Ahmanson Theatre is located at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, 90012.

# # #

October 19, 2018