John Hemphill (Larry Murphy),
Lili Thomas (Cynthia Murphy), and
Alaina Anderson (Zoe Murphy).
Photo Credit: Evan Zimmerman
A letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never meant in order to be told, a life he in no way dreamed he could have. Evan Hansen is about to get the one thing he’s always wanted: a chance to finally fit in. Dear Evan Hansen is the deeply personal and profoundly contemporary musical about life and the way we live it. From September 27th to October 9th, this inspiring and remarkable show will visit the Fisher Theatre in Detroit. BroadwayWorld Detroit had an opportunity to speak with Ian Coursey , a current University of Michigan student on tour with the show, about his roles plus the importance of the show. Check this out below!
BroadwayWorld Detroit: Can you give our readers a brief background associated with yourself and your theatre career as in order to how you got to Dear Evan Hansen for an introduction?
Ian Coursey (he/him): Yeah, absolutely. I grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland. I always loved theatre from the really young age, but I also loved baseball. I have a good older brother who played baseball their whole existence. I was kind of following his path with that. Growing up, I played football. But I was furthermore involved within a youth Shakespearean company in the area where I live. I usually loved it. But I wasn’t extremely passionate about it until I got to high school. I has been playing baseball my freshman year. Yet my best friend in the time told me to go audition for the particular school music, which was Titanic . And I never ever had a voice lesson before that will; I’ve by no means auditioned for a show; never been in a musical. I auditioned. And We got the great role, and I actually had a blast. And from that moment on, I kind of We dropped football.
I signed up with regard to as many shows as I could. I started doing like three to four displays at a time. I actually found my voice teacher, an alum of the high school. He started teaching me voice and completely transformed our life. I’m very grateful to him. I did the University of Michigan musical theater intensive, MPulse, the summer going into my senior year, I think, or maybe the junior 12 months. I fell in love with the University of Michigan and the faculty there. I went through college auditions, and I ended up getting into Michigan. I am currently a junior at the University associated with Michigan, yet I’m taking a year off to do Dear Evan Hansen . About the second semester last year, I acquired a self-tape request through Tara Rubin Casting, who casts Beloved Evan Hansen . We sent in a tape for the Connor and Jared understudy, which is what I is doing right now. That got me a final call back, and that ended up getting me the roles. And here I am!
You mentioned that you cover the particular roles of Connor plus Jared. Can you tell our readers what that involves for a person?
So, these are two different tracks in the display. And they’re very different songs. Fun fact, my older brother’s name is Connor. So it’s, it’s very fun. Whenever I get to go on regarding Connor, I actually get in order to write his name on the cast. But it’s interesting because they’re such different characters. They’re kind associated with polar opposites if you put them on a spectrum together. Growing up, I never really played the funny, nerdy guy. Yet when I got the season casting materials and saw that I was in intended for Jared, I had been over the particular moon because it’s something that We hadn’t actually done before. It’s something that I can explore plus challenge myself with acting-wise.
I found the way into Connor a little easier than Jared, but switching between the two is so much enjoyable because they may so various. Connor doesn’t have as much stage period as Jared in the show – a fair amount but Connor has some of my favorite songs within the display. So , I actually love going on for both of them. I possess gone on to get Connor a good quantity, actually. During my first week upon contracts, our own principal Connor, Nikhil, who is fantastic. He took an one-week vacation, so I got to go on pertaining to Connor the whole week. I did eight shows in Boise, Idaho, and it was a blast! My parents have got to come out meant for my birthday and see the show. It’s always the great gift to be able to go on and become either associated with the characters; they’re each so much fun.
Would you be friends with Connor or Jared in real life?
Oh, that’s tricky. You know, I think I could end up being friends with Jared. We think I would want in order to be buddies with Connor, but I think he shuts himself off to a lot of people just because associated with, you know, his emotions and what he’s going through. I actually think if I found a way to connect along with him like he tries to carry out with Evan, which does not end up too well, I believe we’d be great friends. This individual has a great side. He has a lot of sarcasm and wit that he gets to display early on inside the show, which I think the lot of people would find amusing and would love to be close friends with your pet. But he has his complications. Jared is just a blast. He can be annoying at times. But We think I might be friends with all of them.
How would you describe Dear Evan Hansen within your own words?
I think it is a show to which anyone in the particular audience can connect. I actually think there’s a character for everyone in this. Whether you’re a parent or identify more as Evan, Alana, or Jared, I think it’s a display that teaches people how to connect and take care of those you care about. I believe the beautiful thing about this show is that it opens up new doors of communication for the audience. I just saw an Instagram post the other day of the mother plus son that left the particular show in New York, and they’re so thankful due to the fact now that will they’ve seen the musical, they could talk about what happened and have these important conversations that maybe some of the characters in the display don’t get to have. So, it’s really gorgeous that it shows the audience how you can end up being, especially with social media, which can be a very dangerous thing, plus a very helpful thing. It instructs kids how to set their boundaries on social networking, how in order to use it to their advantage, and what not to do.
Adding on to that, why do a person think this show is such an essential piece of theatre?
We think this came each time when all of us desperately needed it. I actually think its presence during the pandemic had been very important with a lot of kids being online for school and social media marketing being the only thing they really have for this particular sense associated with connection. I think many ways are similar to Evan; they were trying to use it in order to connect with people. There’s a part of the show for everybody. And they can learn from these characters.
Okay, we’ll simplify it more, explain the present in five words.
Okay, excellent. Communication, love, connection, trust, and friendship.
Oh, I such as those.
And family. I’ll throw a family within there.
Do you have a favorite song to perform and the reason why?
I love doing ‘Sincerely, Me’ as both Connor and Jared. But it can just such a blast to be up there and look at whoever’s playing Connor, Jared, or Evan in the eyes and just be along with them for that moment, dance, and have fun. It is pretty much the only big dancing number within the show. And the particular audience goes crazy every time, and it’s such a fun song to sing. Being upward there with my buddies, doing what we love to do, and singing an excellent song is always so much fun.
I know you’re not from The state of michigan, but if you’re attending U of M. Therefore , a person must understand that the Fisher Theatre is an iconic stage. What is it like knowing that you’re heading to perform on this?
Absolutely. It’s type of funny. Last semester, I went to the Fisher Theatre plus saw An Officer and A Gentleman. That was the 1st time I’d been to the Fisher Theatre. We walked in with our roommate and was like, ‘oh my gosh, this is stunning. ‘ Never in the million years did I actually think I would be using the show which performing there a few months later. And is actually really special to me in order to be that will close to campus. I’ll be going back and forth between Detroit and Ann Arbor a great deal to observe some of the friends, and many of our classmates will come out and see the display. So, being in Detroit is very special. It’s going to be great to be in a place where I feel at home and familiar with.
Finally, what could you say in order to Detroit audiences to encourage them to come to notice Dear Evan Hansen ?
Get ready in order to cry. Get ready to perform and clap. And most importantly, obtain ready to get these essential conversations necessary to keep your loved ones close. Go along with their journey along with these figures and try to learn from their mistakes. And discover what the music does and where the story takes you.
This production contains a few adult themes, including discussions of suicide.
Dear Evan Hansen runs September 27th through October 9th from the Fisher Theatre within Detroit. For more information, visit www.BroadwayInDetroit.com . For tickets, visit www.ticketmaster.com , by phone at 800-982-2787, and in person with the Fisher Theatre Box Office.
A $25 digital lottery will be held for every Dear Evan Hansen performance. Visit www.luckyseat.com now until 9am EST the day before the overall performance. For Saturday and Sunday performances, entries must be received by 9am EST on the Friday before. Fans who have got been selected will become notified daily via email and can then purchase up to 2 (2) tickets at $25 each.
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