Evan Hansen

[Donna Lohr]

Posted: 4/14/17 at 11:37am

My daughter is "dying" to see Dear Evan Hansen with all of its original cast. She has heard in interviews of the actors that their contract is up in November and wants me to get tickets before Nov. We originally got tickets with a group going on 1/6/18, and she wants to sell those and go on a Wednesday matinee, where it seems to be the only time to get a group of tickets before Nov. My question is two part: Can you tell me if the show on Saturday 1/6/18 would have the original cast and can you tell me if the Wed matinee (we are looking at 9/20/17 or 9/27/17) would have all original cast in it and no one would be having a day off? We would schedule to a different Wed if need to. This is the most important thing to our girls who have studied the show to the Nth degree and are working/saving their money to buy their own ticket. We are hoping to give them their first Broadway experience exactly as they want to see it!

[froote]

Posted: 4/14/17 at 11:42am

I would think most of the original cast will have left by 2018 as they will have been doing the show for years if we include the out of town run and off-Broadway run. None of the cast have alternates so you should be fine for a Wednesday matinee providing no one is ill or on holiday.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/14/17 at 11:51am

Donna Lohr said: "We are hoping to give them their first Broadway experience exactly as they want to see it!"

I don't doubt you want the best for your kid, but this is an unrealistic expectation when it comes to live theatre.

[bear88]

Posted: 4/14/17 at 11:54am

You can never guarantee seeing the original cast. People have vacations or get sick. I assume your daughters' main interest is in seeing Ben Platt. He has apparently been very dedicated, and hadn't missed a show until Sunday. (Had we arrived the day before, we might have seen that Sunday show.)

Last year, we were excited about seeing Lin-Manuel Miranda in Hamilton, but he got laryngitis on his first night back from vacation. That's the way it goes sometimes. We saw Javier Munoz, and we loved the show anyway.

Others would know more, but my guess is that most of the original cast will move on after November. Platt, in particular. It's an exhausting role, and he must have plenty of offers.

[Glittergrrl]

Posted: 4/14/17 at 11:59am

It's impossible to predict if someone's going to get sick or take a day off, but you could definitely increase your chances by going through a ticket agency or buying resale.  You'll be able to get tickets for an earlier date, but it will probably cost you.  It just depends on how much you're willing to pay.

[LesWickedly]

Posted: 4/14/17 at 12:02pm

The OBC is scheduled to perform those earlier dates you listed, but can always miss due to illness. This is also a few months out and they could still have scheduled days off come up. Your chances of seeing the cast is very good though and I'm guessing a good portion, if not all of them, will be gone in January.

[whatdoesntkillme]

Posted: 4/14/17 at 12:31pm

I think another thing to keep in mind is that if one of them (more likely the supporting actors than the leads) gets an offer for a better job before their contract is up, they very well may leave the show before their contract is up. So you really never now. 

And that's okay. That's the nature of live theatre. The replacements very well may be better than the original cast--and you can't know that until you go and see. 

I think there's this huge glorification of the original cast that's only grown stronger with Hamilton, but is so utterly false. They don't just pull people off the streets to be replacements--everyone goes through the same audition process and is made sure to fit the director's standards. 

[ijest22]

Posted: 4/14/17 at 2:31pm

I'm sure that whoever performs the role will be great, but I really do think that you should do whatever you reasonably can to see Ben Platt.  He does give a "not to be missed" performance.  I just saw him (the day before he was out sick-- dodged a bullet there, but no sign of fatigue, vocal or otherwise), and immediately bought tickets to see it again in September.  I think the risk of absence due to vacation or illness is just one you have to live with, but I would definitely recommend shooting for September over January.