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Theatrical licensor Music Theatre International (MTI) announced that the Tony®, Grammy® and Olivier Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen is now available for licensing.
Featuring a Tony Award-winning book by Steven Levenson (Fosse/Verdon), and a score by Grammy®, Tony®, Emmy® and Academy Award® winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (The Greatest Showman, La La Land, Dogfight, James and the Giant Peach), Dear Evan Hansen is a new classic, with a message that has resonated with audiences around the world: “You Will Be Found.”
Seventeen-year-old Evan Hansen has felt invisible his entire life. But when a tragedy shocks his community and thrusts him into the center of a rapidly evolving controversy, Evan is given the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to be somebody else. As his web of well-intentioned lies begins to unravel, though, Evan is forced to confront the fact that the price of belonging may be far steeper than he bargained for.
“When we first began writing Dear Evan Hansen, we could never have imagined the journey that lay ahead,” said book writer Levenson, and composers Pasek and Paul. “Now, fifteen years later, we are thrilled that groups and theaters across the country and around the world will have a chance to bring the show to their communities. We hope Evan’s story continues to inspire and ignite conversation with new audiences, and we can’t wait to see how directors, actors, and designers put their own stamp on Dear Evan Hansen.”
Dear Evan Hansen had its world premiere on July 30, 2015, at Washington, DC’s renowned Arena Stage, followed by an Off-Broadway run at Second Stage Theater in the spring of 2016. It opened on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre on December 4th of that same year.
The hit musical enjoyed rave reviews, striking an emotional chord with critics and audiences alike. It went on to win six Tony Awards, including Best Musical; the Drama League Award for Outstanding Musical Production; two Obie Awards; a Drama Desk Award; two Outer Critics Circle Awards and two Helen Hayes Awards.
Dear Evan Hansen’s impact on the cultural zeitgeist, both inside and outside the musical theatre community, is undeniable. The show’s now-iconic blue polo and arm cast are part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.
The original Broadway cast recording of Dear Evan Hansen, released by Atlantic Records in 2017, made an extraordinary debut on the Billboard 200, entering the chart at No. 8—the highest charting debut position for an original cast recording since 1961. It later won Best Musical Theater Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.
Dear Evan Hansen was also adapted into a young adult novel by actor and singer-songwriter Val Emmich in collaboration with Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. The book was released by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on October 9, 2018, and debuted at No. 2 on The New York Times Best Sellers list less than three weeks later.
“Dear Evan Hansen holds a special place in the hearts of so many theatergoers,
including me,” said President and CEO of Music Theatre International Drew Cohen.
“This story resonated with so many audience members and performers during its
award-winning run on Broadway. Everyone at MTI is looking forward to delivering the
show’s incredible brand of laughter and tears around the world.”
More information about Dear Evan Hansen and licensing rights can be found here.
About Music Theatre International
Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world’s leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting theatres from around the world the rights to perform the greatest selection of musicals from Broadway and beyond. Founded in 1952 by composer Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker, MTI is a driving force in advancing musical theatre as a vibrant and engaging art form.
MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and bookwriters of these musicals to provide official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 70,000 professional, community and school theatres in the US and in over 60 countries worldwide.
MTI is particularly dedicated to educational theatre and supporting underserved theatre communities and has created special collections to meet the needs of various types of performers and audiences. MTI’s Broadway Junior® shows are 30- and 60-minute musicals for performance by elementary and middle school-aged performers, while MTI’s School Editions™ are musicals annotated for performance by high school students.
