Producers of Dear Evan Hansen want British actor to play lead for West End production

According to the Daily Mail, the producers of the Broadway hit musical Dear Evan Hansen plan to  cast a British actor as part of plans to transfer the show to the West End, with producer Stacey Mindich saying  that the lead of a UK production of Dear Evan Hansen "has to be played by a British actor", and that they would also use colour-blind casting. Adding: We’re at an exploratory phase for London. I want audiences to feel as close to Evan as possible.”

Dear Evan Hansen has taken Broadway by storm since opening at the Music Box Theatre in 2016,  picking up six Tony Awards including Best Original Score for song-writing duo Pasek and Paul, Best Book of a Musical for Steven Levenson, and Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for Ben Platt.

The musical is about a teenage boy who suffers from social anxiety disorder, making it difficult for him to talk to and connect with other people. When one of his classmates dies, he develops a story that brings him closer to the grieving family, but also helps him to develop.

It has a score by Pasek and Paul, the award-winning song-writing team behind blockbuster film La La Land and The Greatest Showman, and a musical adaptation of James and the Giant Peach and the Tony-nominated A Christmas Story: The Musical.

Details of the planned West End transfer are still to be announced.