Dear Evan Hansen, the Tony Award-winning musical centered around a teenager’s life experiences while struggling with anxiety and depression, will be getting the film treatment. Actress and singer Amandla Stenberg will reportedly take part in the musical’s big-screen adaptation.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, “The Hate U Give star will play Alana, a high school senior whose cheery facade and social-media savvy mask a deeper loneliness and isolation, and whose response to the death of a classmate ignites a movement.” Per the report, the character of Alana, originated by Kristolyn Lloyd on Broadway, will be “reconceived and expanded” for the film adaptation of the musical.
Stenberg will also get the chance to perform an original song in the film, which she is writing in collaboration with the musical’s songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. She is no stranger to the music world, having performed as one-half of the duo Honeywater, where she sang and also played the violin. She’s also released a handful of songs, such as 2017’s “Let My Baby Stay,” 2018’s “Always” from her film The Hate U Give, and 2019’s “Be Mine,” which was featured on the soundtrack for HBO’s Euphoria.
Dear Evan Hansen exploded onto the Great White Way in 2016 and went on to win six awards at the 71st Tony Awards, including Best Actor in a Musical (won by Ben Platt, who is expected to reprise his role for the film adaptation), Best Score and Best Musical. Before COVID-19 shut Broadway’s lights off, actor and musician Jordan Fisher was portraying the titular role, beginning his stint in January 2020.
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