‘Dear Evan Hansen’ comes to Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Theater lovers will be able to catch the touring production of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “Dear Evan Hansen” when it stops this week for a series of shows at the Murat Theatre in Indianapolis.
“Dear Evan Hansen” tells the story of Evan Hansen, a high school senior with anxiety, and the events that unfold after he is assigned by his therapist to write letters to himself.
The play has an “epic storyline” in which “something tragic happens and people come together because of that tragedy,” says cast member Daniel Robert Sullivan.
“It has these soaring pop musical anthems, but really, it’s a show about connection,” Sullivan said. “This is a show that when you go in, you’re gonna see spectacle, you’re gonna see great songs, but you’re gonna come out feeling more connected to the people that you love.”
Sullivan says teenagers and adults make up two distinct audiences for “Dear Evan Hansen.”
“The teenagers are the ones who are into the friendship storyline,” Sullivan said. “For the adult audience, I say it’s about the love and connection. It’s like adults learning to connect with their children in a way that is different than we do every day.”
The traveling production was shut down for nearly two years because of coronavirus, and Sullivan says audiences seem extra happy to be in one physical, shared space again.
“I would say [it’s] like, double the joy that we used to get from the show. It’s doubled because they’re feeling it. They’re like, ‘Oh, this went away for a while. We didn’t have this for a while and now we can have it again,’” Sullivan said.
“Dear Evan Hansen” runs Tuesday through Sunday at the Murat Theatre at Old National Centre. Tickets to all performances are available online.