Ben Platt sets the date

[foxy]

Ben will be leaving the show Dear Evan Hansen Sunday, November 19. His replacement has not been announced. It will be very interesting to see who steps in and perhaps more so to see what Ben does next. I'm sure he needs a good rest. Tickets will be even harder to come by I expect.

[Cooper]

Those are going to be some big shoes to fill. Tony winning actor Ben Platt is excellent & so believable as Evan Hansen.

 

Can't imagine how much tickets will now cost, they're already higher than a lot of airline seats.

[Cooper]

Ben Platt will be making a guest appearance on the October 5th episode of Will & Grace.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/www.hollywoodreporter.com/amp/live-feed/will-grace-ben-platt-guest-star-1028590

[N13]

One of the greatest performances of all time imho! It will be interesting to see who replaces, excuse me, fills in for him.

[foxy]

Just wondering if anyone has approached Donna Murphy about stepping in for Ben?

[N13]

Just wondering if anyone has approached Donna Murphy about stepping in for Ben?

[Cooper]

Can Tony winner, Alex Sharp, sing? He gave an excellent performance as 15 yo Christopher in "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time". He's 27 yo but still has a very youthful look. If he can sing, I think he might be a good choice to fill Ben Platt's shoes.

 

[foxy]

He certainly looks the part. It would be nice if, like him, a complete unknown actor can get the role. A star might be born in true Broadway tradition (or fantasy). Besides an unknown will work for scale so ticket prices might drop.

[Cooper]

Taylor Trensch (Hello, Dolly!) will replace Ben Platt in in Broadway's Dear Evan Hansen beginning mid-January 2018. Platt departs the cast on November 19.

 

In the interim, Noah Galvin (The Real O'Neals) will join the company in the title role, performing from November 21 through January. Original cast members Laura Dreyfuss, Rachel Bay Jones, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Mike Faist, Michael Park, and Will Roland will remain with the musical through May 2018, with Kristolyn Lloyd remaining with the show through February 2018.

[foxy]

 

Taylor should be interesting

[N13]

 

Taylor should be interesting

 

If this is the 'best' I hate to think what the worst is. I see no charm, charisma or restraint. He strikes me as one of those performers one can never like as much as he likes himself. And he can't sing either. I hope he doesn't turn it into a joke.

[foxy]

I loved the show with Ben Platt. Maybe I'll just stick with that memory.

[N13]

I loved the show with Ben Platt. Maybe I'll just stick with that memory.

 

Absolutely!

[Cooper]

 

 

Ben Platt is waving goodbye to “Dear Evan Hansen” (presumably through a window).

 

His temporary replacement beginning Nov. 21 is Noah Galvin, who previously starred on the ABC sitcom “The Real O’Neals.” Galvin is expected to play Evan through January of 2018 when Taylor Trensch will take over, following his run in “Hello, Dolly!”

[Cooper]

I'd be extremely disappointed if I had purchased tickets in advance for "Dear Evan Hansen" only to find out that Ben Platt's understudy was playing the role of Evan Hansen. Ben was out all last week due to vocal issues:

 

Ben Platt, the winner of this year’s Tony award for best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical, is not appearing in the show at Broadway’s Music Box Theater Aug. 22-27 due to doctor-imposed vocal rest.

 

Platt will also be out September 3 at 3 p.m. and September 6 at 8 p.m., according to information from the show.

[Cooper]

One of my favorite songs & scenes from DEH. Hope the replacements can nail this song: "You Will Be Found".

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNf99gbrotY

[N13]

One of my favorite songs & scenes from DEH. Hope the replacements can nail this song: "You Will Be Found".

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNf99gbrotY

As it did in the show......brought tears to my eyes.

[N13]

This one is the killer!

 

[Cooper]

As it did in the show......brought tears to my eyes.

What I liked about this video is that the entire cast, including the understudies, performed on the Today Show.

[Cooper]

Ben Platt to Play Modified Performance Schedule Through Remainder of Dear Evan Hansen Run

 

Ben Platt, who is set to conclude his Tony-winning turn as the title role in Broadway's Dear Evan Hansen November 19, will no longer play select performances throughout the remainder of his run.

 

Standby Michael Lee Brown will take center stage as Evan for the Sunday, September 3 matinee, as well as Wednesday and Saturday matinee performances through November 11. Platt is currently scheduled to play all shows during his final week.

[+ WhamIAm]

Ben Platt to Play Modified Performance Schedule Through Remainder of Dear Evan Hansen Run

 

Ben Platt, who is set to conclude his Tony-winning turn as the title role in Broadway's Dear Evan Hansen November 19, will no longer play select performances throughout the remainder of his run.

 

Standby Michael Lee Brown will take center stage as Evan for the Sunday, September 3 matinee, as well as Wednesday and Saturday matinee performances through November 11. Platt is currently scheduled to play all shows during his final week.

 

I saw Michael Lee Brown subbing in during that vocal rest week. (Saw Ben Plat early in his run). While MLB had incredible shoes to fill, he was amazing. A very different Evan, and he has a great voice. I got pretty verklempft at Ben's performance, but MLB made me ugly cry. I wouldn't say better or worse, I'd call it different but equal. I went through alot of Evan Hansen's stuff as a kid (socially inept, anxiety, depression, isolation, a suicide attempt), but related somewhat more to MLB's performance. I was actually disappointed to hear the producers went to stunt casting rather than promoting MLB.

 

In any event, if you can't see Ben Platt, defo try to see MLB.

 

PS -- extra benefit -- once Ben's vocal rest was announced, tickets opened up for that week and went from insanely expensive to just pretty expensive. I got an orchestra aisle seat for $250, I seem to recall paying around $400 for Ben Platt.

[bostonman]

Platt is wonderful. But I'd love to see a fresh take on the role, preferably without the odd and rather distracting physical tics that Platt does. (I will assume that those are not a required part of the production.)

[bostonman]

Ben Platt, who is set to conclude his Tony-winning turn as the title role in Broadway's Dear Evan Hansen November 19, will no longer play select performances throughout the remainder of his run.

 

I can't resist trying to parse this bit of doublespeak, lol. (And yes, I know what they mean to say.)

 

He will "no longer play select performances?" - as if to say that all along he was playing "select performances" lol? Does this mean that he will no longer play the best (i.e. "select") ones? Or that he's no longer deciding (i.e. "selecting") which ones he's going to do?

 

No. What of course they mean is that he will no longer play every performance in a week. Or that he will play "selected" performances - i.e. he's only selecting certain dates to perform.

 

In trying to make this sound like a good thing instead of "you might not get to see the star you're coming to see," it seems to me that they're trying a little too hard to bend the English language over backwards lol.

[Cooper]

I saw Michael Lee Brown subbing in during that vocal rest week. (Saw Ben Plat early in his run). While MLB had incredible shoes to fill, he was amazing. A very different Evan, and he has a great voice. I got pretty verklempft at Ben's performance, but MLB made me ugly cry. I wouldn't say better or worse, I'd call it different but equal. I was actually disappointed to hear the producers went to stunt casting rather than promoting MLB.

 

In any event, if you can't see Ben Platt, defo try to see MLB.

 

I saw DEH 2x's both with Ben Platt & the original cast. I see that MLB is the understudy not only for the role of Evan Hansen but also Connor Murphy & Jared Kleinman. He must know every line in that musical. Perhaps he'll stay on as the understudy.

• 
  Michael Lee Brown
  PERFORMER
  http://static.playbill.com/dims4/default/e8af34f/2147483647/crop/733x874%2B1%2B0/resize/300x358%3E/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.playbill.com%2Fc7%2Fb7%2F548cfc89412b9ac6562f4571f38f%2Fmichael-lee-brown.jpg
   
  ROLES (3)
  http://static.playbill.com/dims4/default/2340ae5/2147483647/thumbnail/60x90/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.playbill.com%2F1b%2Fb2%2F1813d8e64a90a8cda8224c44d8f8%2Fdear-evan-hansen-playbill-2016-11-14-web.jpg DEAR EVAN HANSEN (2016)
  OPENED DEC 4, 2016
  
  • AS EVAN HANSEN (UNDERSTUDY - ORIGINAL)
    
  • AS JARED KLEINMAN (UNDERSTUDY - ORIGINAL)
    
  • AS CONNOR MURPHY (UNDERSTUDY - ORIGINAL)
    

[bostonman]

There are actually 2 understudies for Evan/Jared/Connor - the other is Colton Ryan. Ironically perhaps, Ryan is also the lead in a currently developing musical, It's Kind Of A Funny Story, also concerning teen suicide.

 

There are different kinds of understudy situations/contracts - the most common (especially in a large-cast show) is to have cast members understudy other roles, and then usually a few "standbys" who cover designated roles (often the stars have standbys), and/or "swings" who are ready to fill in a number of smaller/ensemble roles when other understudies are on in larger roles. It seems to me that all the understudies in this show are technically standbys, though they're not listed that way. (Except for the standby for the father.)

 

When I did a long-running production of Nunsense many years ago - a cast of 5 women - we had one "standby" understudy who could play 2 of the roles, plus a few women in the principle cast who could play anywhere from 2 to all 5 of the parts. (Not that they'd be naturally suited to all the roles, especially age-wise, but they could do them if we ever needed it.) So it's certainly not uncommon for various actors to know multiple roles.