Dear Evan Hansen producer Stacey Mindich is pleased to announce complete casting for year four of the Tony Award-winning musical’s critically-acclaimed, record-breaking North American Tour.
Anthony Norman will play the title role ‘Evan Hansen,’ Coleen Sexton will play ‘Heidi Hansen’ and Lili Thomas will play ‘Cynthia Murphy.’ Pablo Laucerica and Micaela Lamas also join the onstage company as ‘Jared Kleinman’ and ‘Alana Beck.’ John Hemphill, Nikhil Saboo and Alaina Anderson all continue with the tour, with John and Nikhil reprising their roles as ‘Larry Murphy’ and ‘Connor Murphy,’ and Alaina, formerly the Alana/Zoe cover, taking over the role of ‘Zoe Murphy’ full-time.
The cast also includes Jeffrey Cornelius (as the Evan alternate) and understudies Valeria Ceballos, Ian Coursey, Reese Sebastian Diaz, Gillian Jackson Han, Isabel Santiago, Daniel Robert Sulivan, Kelsey Venter and Pierce Wheeler.
The new cast will begin performances for year four of the Dear Evan Hansen tour in Boise, Idaho on Tuesday, June 21, 2022.
The tour has been a critical and commercial success, having played 786 performances over 99 weeks in 65 cities. The Boston Globe said “Dear Evan Hansen is both of-our-moment and built to last.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution raved “There are few shows that represent 21st-century culture quite like Dear Evan Hansen. It’s a rare breed of musical that must be seen to be believed.” And The LA Times called the tour “an enthralling, beautifully-acted musical which has become a cultural phenomenon.”
Dear Evan Hansen features a book by Tony Award-winner Steven Levenson (Fosse/Verdon), a score by Grammy®, Tony® and Academy Award® winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land, The Greatest Showman), and direction by four-time Tony Award nominee Michael Greif (Rent, Next to Normal). Declared “One of the most remarkable shows in musical theater history” by the Washington Post’s Peter Marks, Dear Evan Hansen opened at the Music Box Theatre to rave reviews on December 4, 2016, where it’s broken all box office records and struck a chord with critics and audiences alike. It went on to win six 2017 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.
Biographies
ANTHONY NORMAN (Evan Hansen) Honored and beyond grateful to be here. Multi-instrumentalist from Chicago. Broadway: The Prom (OBC); National Tour: Newsies; TV/Film: Mare of Easttown, Chicago Med, Newsies Live, Dropping (upcoming); Selected Regional: Marcus in Murder for Two (FLMTF). Thanks to Richard Lissemore for showing me the way, Melissa Cross, Steve, Randi, Cady Huffman and Scott Weinstein. Thanks to the DEH team for welcoming me with such open arms. To Stacey, Danny, and Ben for believing in me. To Mom and Dad for your unwavering support. To stream my upcoming EP and future announcements, check out www.anthonyjnorman.com or follow @a_norms on Instagram.
ALAINA ANDERSON (Zoe Murphy) is elated to be making her professional debut! Proud alum of Yale University, B.A. Cognitive Science. Previous roles include Aldonza (Man of La Mancha), Wendla (Spring Awakening), Cinderella (Into The Woods), and Nina (In The Heights). Love and gratitude to the wonderful family, friends, and mentors who have supported her, as well as Tara Rubin, Xavier Rubiano, Stacey Mindich, and the entire DEH team. IG/Twitter: @laynieanderson. TikTok: @alainymous. alainanicoleanderson.com
COLEEN SEXTON (Heidi Hansen) starred on Broadway as Lucy when she was 20 years old in Jekyll and Hyde, as well as the TV version Jekyll and Hyde: Direct from Broadway opposite David Hasselhoff. National Tours: Wicked (Elphaba); Legally Blonde (Brooke Wyndham); Chicago (June/Go-To-Hell Kitty/US Mama Morton). Regional: Mamma Mia! (Donna); Spamalot (Lady of The Lake); End of the Rainbow (Judy Garland). Sending lots of love and thanks to the DEH/Tara Rubin teams and her Ma! @colsex79
LILI THOMAS (Cynthia Murphy) is overjoyed to join DEH! Recently in Dave Malloy’s pre-Broadway run of Octet. Off-B’way: We’re Gonna Die (2nd Stage), The Hello Girls, Only Human. Select regional: Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Berkeley Rep, Milwaukee Rep, The Rev. BFA NYU/Tisch. BIG thanks to Kevin & TRC, Matt & Kat at DGRW, and my loves, Annabelle & Jack, for letting Mommy make and find her own map! Endless gratitude to Mom… this is for you. @thelilithomas www.lili-thomas.com
NIKHIL SABOO (Connor Murphy) is elated to join the tour of DEH—aligning in his purpose of creating space, opening other’s perspectives, and lifting up all aspiring South Asian artists across the country. Prior, Nikhil was on tour with the Angelica Company of Hamilton and in the original Broadway cast of Mean Girls. Gratitude to Stewart Talent, the DEH company, and my tribe. Love to Mom, Dad, and Nisha. For Dada and Ama. @nikhil.saboo
JOHN HEMPHILL (Larry Murphy) starred on Broadway as Sam/Bill in Mamma Mia!, original Broadway company of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock. First National Tour of The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Night-Time. Film: Zodiac directed by Academy Award nominated David Fincher. TV: Castle, Monk, Las Vegas, The Black List, Mr. Robot, Big Love among others. Hi to my students at Stephens College! John is ever grateful to wife Jenn. @johnhemphill
PABLO LAUCERICA (Jared Kleinman) is PUMPED to be joining the DEH fam! A Miami-born Cuban-American, he recently graduated from Northwestern University, specializing in vocal performance and musical theatre. His main artistic interests include acting, songwriting, music production and content creation. Find his music content on TikTok/Instagram @pablodlaucerica! Special thanks to Stewart Talent, Stacey Mindich, Tara Rubin, Xavier Rubiano, and the entire DEH team. Lots of love to Mami, Papi, Kaki, and the Primelles for their constant support.
MICAELA LAMAS (Alana Beck). Micaela is thrilled to join the DEH fam! She’s a recent grad of the Texas State University BFA Musical Theatre program (go bobcats!) and a Texas native. All the love & thanks to CGF, the DEH team, Tara Rubin casting, and every teacher along the way. Love to her friends, family, and especially mom & her grandparents. Love you always.
JEFFREY CORNELIUS (Alternate Evan Hansen; u/s Jared Kleinman). Jeffrey is ecstatic to be making his national tour debut in Dear Evan Hansen! Jackson MS Native and Current Student at CCM. LINK: Class 4, Homeschool Musical: Class of 2020 on HBOMax. Favorite Shows include Pippin (CCM), Once (CCM). Huge Thank You to Mommy, Daddy, Daniel, Granny, Grandpa, Nana, PawPaw, Uncle John, TT, Kevin, and EVERY SINGLE Teacher and Mentor who helped me get to this point. It takes a village. @thejeffreycornelius on Instagram.
VALERIA CEBALLOS (u/s Zoe Murphy; Alana Beck). Valeria is thrilled to be making her Broadway National Tour debut! She is endlessly grateful to the team at Tara Rubin, the DEH creative team, The Mine, her family, and her Jesse for supporting this little Latina’s big dreams. @valeriaeceballos
IAN COURSEY (u/s Connor Murphy; Jared Kleinman) recently finished his sophomore year at the University of Michigan. At Michigan, he is proud to have played the roles of Eddie Birdlace (DOGFIGHT), and George Berger (HAIR). Ian is thrilled to be a part of this beautiful show and would like to thank his family, friends, professors, Rolando Sanz, the DEH team, Danny and Haley. Go Blue!
REESE SEBASTIAN DIAZ (u/s Evan Hansen, Connor Murphy, Jared Kleinman). Reese is overjoyed to join the DEH family! Broadway: Mary Poppins. National Tours: Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast. Special thanks to the DEH/Tara Rubin teams. Much love to Mom, Dad, Nana, Sam, Frank, Roni, Warren, family, friends, and teachers. @ReeseSDiaz
GILLIAN JACKSON HAN (u/s Zoe Murphy, Alana Beck) is over the moon to be making her national tour debut in Dear Evan Hansen! She is a proud member of the AAPI/multiracial community and is filled with gratitude for the actors whose work made her own career possible. BWMT. Thanks to family, chosen and biological, her mentors, the Tara Rubin team, CTG, A and her parents. Always for J. Twitter, Instagram, TikTok: @with_a_gee
ISABEL SANTIAGO (u/s Heidi Hansen, Cynthia Murphy) Select Movie/TV: Blue Bloods, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, In The Heights, and Martin Eden. Off-Broadway: First Daughter Suite, GIANT. National Tour: In The Heights. Concert: PBS’ Great Performances: Bernstein’s MASS, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and The Philadelphia Orchestra. For Adam Swope. @mynamesIsabel
DANIEL ROBERT SULLIVAN (u/s Larry Murphy) performed as Tommy DeVito in Jersey Boys more than 1000 times with the Las Vegas, Toronto, and touring companies, and in the national tour of Motown the Musical. He’s the author of Prospect High: Brooklyn, Braving the Bronx River, Becoming A Jersey Boy, and There’s No Substitute for Empathy.
KELSEY VENTER (u/s Heidi Hansen, Cynthia Murphy). National Tour: Dear Evan Hansen. Selected Regional: Guthrie Theater, American Conservatory Theater, Old Globe Theater. BA in Theater SDSU, MFA American Conservatory Theater. All love and gratitude to my incredible family, friends, and mentors for believing in me. www.kelseyventer.com
PIERCE WHEELER (u/s Evan Hansen, Jared Kleinman). Pierce is so excited to make his professional debut with the DEH family. After studying for a year at NYU Tisch, he is thankful to travel the country and tell this beautiful story. Special thanks to family, friends, and teachers. @pierce_wheeler