Dear Evan Hansen at Hangar Theatre

Named by The Washington Post as “One of the most remarkable shows in musical-theater history,” Dear Evan Hansen runs July 9-18 at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca.

In the stunning, Tony-Award-winning musical, a teenager evolves from an anxious outsider to connecting authentically with those around him in a journey filled with humor, heartache and discovery.

A powerful, heartwarming story about learning to accept, embrace and celebrate exactly who you are, Dear Evan Hansen is laugh-out-loud funny, thrilling and deeply inspiring.

The preview performance is at 7:30 p.m. on July 9. The opening performance begins at 7:30 p.m. on July 10. Performances are at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. July 11 and at 2:30 p.m. July 12. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. July 14 through July 18, with a matinee at 2:30 p.m. July 18.

Post-show talkbacks will be held July 12 and July 14. The July 12 discussion will feature representatives of four mental health organizations – National Alliance on Mental Illness Finger Lakes, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Suicide Prevention and Crisis Services and the Mental Health Association in Tompkins County – staffing an informational table at performances. The July 14 talkback will feature cast and creative team members.

More information about the show and tickets can be found here. Mainstage season sponsors are Travis Hyde, Cornell University and Levene Gouldin & Thompson, LLP. Sponsors for Dear Evan Hansen are Tompkins Community Bank, Ithaca Bakery and WVBR.

Director Gavin Mayer said, "For me, the show is about connection and how sometimes social media – the thing we think will connect us – is actually the thing that gets in the way. We all long to be seen and feel valued and important to someone, and that is one of the major themes the show conveys.”

Dear Evan Hansen also addresses the impact of a suicide. “The show also really recognizes the complex nature of the grieving process. With such complicated themes, it's also important to acknowledge the joy in the show," Mayer said.

Musical Director Ben Kapilow said the music of Dear Evan Hansen “blends the rigor and storytelling of musical theatre composition with a contemporary pop-rock sound.”

“While the instrumentation and grooves are rooted in pop and rock, the instrumental writing, harmonies and vocal lines have a level of complexity and precision that goes far beyond what you would find in most pop-rock music,” he said.

Dear Evan Hansen is Choreographer Director Aimee Rials’s fourth collaboration with the Hangar. She also directed choreography for Waitress, Ride the Cyclone and Fun Home.

Hangar Theatre Producing Artistic Director Shirley Serotsky reflected on the long-lasting impact of this show. “I saw Dear Evan Hansen in 2015 during its pre-Broadway run in Washington, D.C. I was eight months pregnant at the time, and so deeply moved by the production. I remember sitting in my seat at the end of the show, stunned by the remarkable storytelling. My kid is now almost 11, and deep in the throes of learning about friendship and social structures – and of course, social media. This show means even more to me now. It is a very special production.”

Casting Director Michael Cassara, CSA, helped assemble the cast, which features two performers from the Dear Evan Hansen National Tour, Michael Raul Perez as Evan and Monica Blume as Cynthia Murphy. The Hangar is thrilled to share their seasoned performances with the community, in its unique, intimate space. Perez reflected on the experience, sharing "I think this show craves intimacy … it is so grounded and nuanced, I think you just get so much more from it being able to really see the actors up close and personal.” Blume added, Dear Evan Hansen is the perfect show to have in a smaller, more intimate venue because it's … a show filled with beautiful, heartbreaking and moving moments of connection (and disconnection) … you might not always be able to catch the nuances if you're sitting high up in a balcony.”

Full cast credits include: Monica Blume as Cynthia Murphy (Dear Evan Hansen, National Tour, Cirque Musica Holiday Wonderland, National Tour, Beautiful, Weathervane Theatre, Kinky Boots, Fulton Theatre/Maine State Music Theatre, Blue Bloods, CBS); Mary Malaney as Heidi Hansen (Waitress, Hangar Theatre, Bonnie and Clyde, The REV, Ragtime and The Sound of Music, Ogunquit Playhouse); Emily Marx as Zoe Murphy (Spring Awakening, Tick, Tick. . .Boom!, Little Women, Ithaca College); Michael Raul Perez* as Evan Hansen (Dear Evan Hansen, National Tour, Uncle Frank, Amazon Prime, Insatiable, Netflix); Erica Reyes as Alena Beck (Daughters (Hijas), Kitchen Theatre, Evita (The REV), The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Ithaca College); Daniel Siani as Connor Murphy (The Equalizer, CBS, Bull, CBS; Adam Simancas as Jared Kleinman (Dreamgirls, Ithaca College, Rent, Professional Performing Arts High School, Songs for A New World, Ithaca College), and Jesse Swimm* as Larry Hansen (School of Rock the Musical and Mary Poppins, Broadway, Billy Elliot, Goodspeed Opera House, Elf the Musical, Bucks County Playhouse).

The design and production team includes Debra Kim Sivigny+ (Scenic Design), Iris Estelle (Costume Design), Sara Gosses (Lighting Design), Caisa Sanburg (Sound Design), Tyler Perry+ (Projections Design), Kayla Owen* (Production Stage Manager), Quin Frederich (Assistant Stage Manager) and Lucas Hibbert(Assistant Stage Manager).

The Hangar Theatre gratefully acknowledges our 2026 sponsors. Thank you to Cornell University, Partner in Education; Travis Hyde Properties, Partner in Hospitality; Mainstage Pay What You Will Sponsor Levene Gouldin & Thompson, LLP; CSP Management, The Outlook and Tompkins Community Bank, Mainstage Underwriting Sponsors; Rachel Philipson Photography and Design, Photography Sponsor, and Mighty Yoga, Health and Wellness Sponsor.

Thank you, also, to Mainstage Sponsors Centralus Health, HOLT/Taitem/T.G. Miller, The Hotel Ithaca, Stacia Zabusky & Don Spector, Ithaca Bakery, Miller Mayer Attorneys at Law; P.W. Wood & Son, Inc., & Dryden Mutual Insurance, Therm Inc., and KIDDSTUFF Free and Subsidized Ticket Sponsor Wegmans.

Mainstage Media Sponsors include the Cayuga Media Group, WVBR and the Ithaca Voice; KIDDSTUFF Supporting Show Sponsors include Beginnings Credit Union, Guthrie, Ithaca Community Childcare Center, Northeast Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, We Rock the Spectrum KID’s GYM and WellBeing Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Media Sponsors are Ithaca Child, Ithaca Times and WSKG.

The Hangar Theatre is committed to making theatre accessible to the entire community through its Pay What You Will program. Patrons may pay what they can afford to see any show of their choice in our Mainstage and KIDDSTUFF series. Pay What You Will is possible thanks to the generosity of our Mainstage Pay What You Will Sponsor Levene Gouldin & Thompson, LLP, and KIDDSTUFF Free and Subsidized Ticket Sponsor Wegmans. Pay What You Will tickets can be purchased at the door, or call 607-273-2787.