The author is a Metro Detroit freelancer.
By Joey Yashinsky
Ben Levi Ross, 21, plays Evan Hansen.
(Photos: Matthew Murphy/Fisher Theatre)
It was Hamilton that had the Motor City all abuzz in 2019. Now "Dear Evan Hansen" is set to take the Detroit theater scene by storm in 2020.
The 2017 Tony winner for best musical, with five other award statues to its credit, will run at the Fisher Theatre from March 25 until April 5.
"Dear Evan Hansen"’s score comes from University of Michigan alums Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. The duo won an Academy Award in 2017 for Best Original Song courtesy of La La Land’s “City of Stars.”
The show focuses on an anxious teenager who gets himself into a pickle when a letter falls into the wrong hands and later creates a social media firestorm. Hit songs include “Waving Through a Window,” “Sincerely, Me,” and “For Forever.”
The hit play is still rolling along on Broadway and, in addition to the North American tour that will stop in Detroit, Dear Evan Hansen is also playing at the prestigious West End in London.
Ben Levi Ross and Jessica Phillips as Heidi Hansen.
Currently, the Broadway in Detroit series is running "A Bronx Tale," which concludes on Feb. 2. Other hit shows making their way to Motown this year are "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Fiddler on the Roof" and "The Color Purple." Mandy Patinkin will visit the Fisher for a Feb. 6 concert.
"Fiddler" will be on stage March 10-15. This is the second year on tour for a show that has been selling out theaters since its Broadway debut in 1964. One year later, it won the Tony for best musical.
(Little-known fact: the actual world premiere for "Fiddler" took place not in the Big Apple, but in Detroit, at the Fisher Theatre. That 1963 performance starred the legendary Zero Mostel.)
Dear Evan Hansen features an 8 p.m. curtain Tuesday through Saturday, with the Sunday evening show at for 6:30. Thursday and Sunday matinees are at 1 p.m., with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m.
Tickets begin at $39 and are available at the Fisher Theatre box office or by phone at (800) 982-2787. Online purchase is available at www.broadwayindetroit.com and www.ticketmaster.com.
