'Dear Evan Hansen' filmmakers refine a hit Broadway musical
ABC News
Millions of people will get a chance to know the shy teenager Evan Hansen this month, but Ben Platt is waving farewell
NEW YORK -- Millions of people will get a chance to get to know the shy, teenager Evan Hansen this month, but Ben Platt is waving farewell.
The actor and singer is intimately intertwined with Evan, originating the role in 2015 and eventually leading the stage musical “Dear Evan Hansen” to its world debut in Washington, D.C. He soon took Evan off-Broadway, then to Broadway and Grammy triumphs. He is now unveiling the character on film, a final pairing.
“I really was very grateful and very privileged to have the opportunity to get back in and say one final goodbye," says Platt. “I’ve grown to love him and care for him so much because he’s obviously changed kind of everything about my life.”
Under Stephen Chbosky's direction, the movie is not a filmed version of the stage musical but a full cinematic rethinking, with new musical numbers and the development of a minor character in the musical into a full and complex young woman.
