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| Dear Evan Hansen Film Casting | |
| Posted by: Drew288 12:05 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| I didn't realize this was moving so quickly. Colton Ryan, one of the original Evan covers, has been cast as Connor Murphy in addition to Nik Dodani as Jared. Amandla Stenberg had been previously announced as Alana, and speculation is that Platt will reprise his Tony-winning performance in the title role. The really interesting question is - who will play the parents? |
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| Link | DEH Casting Update |
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| Ben Platt is already too old, so they better hurry | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 01:37 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
| In reply to: Dear Evan Hansen Film Casting - Drew288 12:05 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| And i don't mean his age, i mean he does not look like a high schooler anymore. If they're committed to him playing Evan and they don't want it to look silly... they better get it shot asap. | |
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| re: Ben Platt is already too old, so they better hurry | |
| Posted by: hugoP 12:42 am EDT 08/23/20 | |
| In reply to: Ben Platt is already too old, so they better hurry - Chazwaza 01:37 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| I loved Platt off-Broadway and then on Broadway, but I have to admit that when I saw Noah Galvin in the role-- younger, smaller, more vulnerable-- I had a much stronger reaction to the whole piece. Because Galvin seemed much more like a kid to me, I think the stakes got higher. I felt the show more deeply, and my heart broke for that kid (I'm a parent, and was at that performance with other parents who had seen both Platt and Galvin, and we agreed on that point). Don't get me wrong: Platt is an extraordinary talent and I can hardly wait to see his future work (esp MERRILY!). He's got a wonderful voice and is a tremendous actor. But I'd opt for an Evan on film who would come across as an awkward, struggling, vulnerable teenager. |
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| re: Ben Platt is already too old, so they better hurry | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 09:32 am EDT 08/24/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Ben Platt is already too old, so they better hurry - hugoP 12:42 am EDT 08/23/20 | |
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| Wasn't one of the Broadway Evan replacements an actual teenager? I seem to recall much being made of the casting of an actual age-appropriate actor for this role. So it can be done. I wonder if that guy is/was in contention for the role? Assuming his performance was good, he should, at least, be on the short list. I could see going with someone like Noah Galvin, because he's got some name recognition, in addition to having already played the role on Broadway. But Galvin too is, I think, aging out of playing teens on film. He might work better than Platt though, because Galvin hasn't had many or any high profile roles playing adults yet, so it might be easier for audiences to buy him as a teen. |
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| re: Ben Platt is already too old, so they better hurry | |
| Posted by: sirpupnyc 10:16 am EDT 08/24/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Ben Platt is already too old, so they better hurry - JereNYC 09:32 am EDT 08/24/20 | |
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| Andrew Barth Feldman played Evan for a year, soon after winning a Jimmy Award for Best Actor. He finished his run just seven months ago, and turned 17 (Evan's age) in the middle of it. | |
| Link | He’s 16 Going On Stardom: Meet Broadway’s Next ‘Evan Hansen’ (NYT) |
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| re: Ben Platt is already too old, so they better hurry | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 02:48 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
| In reply to: Ben Platt is already too old, so they better hurry - Chazwaza 01:37 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| The story is way more affecting with a younger looking actor. How about Sam Tutty from the West End production? | |
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| re: Ben Platt is already too old, so they better hurry | |
| Posted by: Teacher64 09:27 pm EDT 08/22/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Ben Platt is already too old, so they better hurry - KingSpeed 02:48 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| Agreed. I have seen it several times and it works best when the actor playing Evan appears young and vulnerable; someone the audience wants to protect. Platt is too old to play it on screen, with those closeups. I believe he could still do it on stage, though not for much longer. | |
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| *could* is key | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 11:36 pm EDT 08/22/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Ben Platt is already too old, so they better hurry - Teacher64 09:27 pm EDT 08/22/20 | |
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| if he hadn't become such a utilized actor in stuff like The Politician... but I think most people have seen or have access to see too much of him now to see him on stage as a 17 year old and believe it. He is very clearly in his late mid 20s at least. While I'd maybe believe him as 23, i'd also believe him as 30. That is not good for this role at all. | |
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| Ben Platt hosted Jimmy Kimmel last night | |
| Posted by: crewbway 08:37 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Ben Platt is already too old, so they better hurry - KingSpeed 02:48 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| Didn't look like a high schooler! For those who missed it, he showed some tweets from his time in DEH regarding his spitting. A few other Broadway references. Hard to host without an audience; he admitted he was used to performing in front of hundreds of people. | |
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| re: Ben Platt hosted Jimmy Kimmel last night | |
| Posted by: mikem 09:30 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
| In reply to: Ben Platt hosted Jimmy Kimmel last night - crewbway 08:37 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| Both Colton Ryan and Amandla Sternberg look significantly younger than Ben Platt does. I think they would have cast the other students differently if they were planning on casting Platt. Colton Ryan is a surprising choice for Connor for me. I know he understudied the role, but his look and persona are much closer to the homecoming king than the angry outcast. |
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| re: Ben Platt hosted Jimmy Kimmel last night | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 10:26 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Ben Platt hosted Jimmy Kimmel last night - mikem 09:30 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| "Colton Ryan is a surprising choice for Connor for me. I know he understudied the role, but his look and persona are much closer to the homecoming king than the angry outcast." Agreed. On the one hand, I don't imagine it will be that difficult to sort of goth him up and make him look more like an outcast than a really clean-cut, good looking guy, but it does strike me as a surprising choice. When I saw Colton on stage in ALICE BY HEART, it occurred to me that he might end up a movie or TV star, but I didn't think it would be in a role like Connor in DEH. P.S. I wonder if they considered casting Mike Faist to repeat his stage role of Connor? He, of course, is playing Riff in the new WEST SIDE STORY movie, so DEH would have been a nice follow up. And also, as per someone else's post, most people would probably say that Mike (who is 28) looks closer to Ben Platt's age (26) than Colton does, yet he might still be believable as a teenager on screen. Clearly, Steven Spielberg thought so :-) |
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| He did? | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 12:42 am EDT 08/21/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Ben Platt hosted Jimmy Kimmel last night - Michael_Portantiere 10:26 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| Riff is a high schooler? I never thought that. | |
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| re: Dear Evan Hansen Film Casting | |
| Posted by: mattyp4 12:32 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
| In reply to: Dear Evan Hansen Film Casting - Drew288 12:05 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| If Ben Platt is reprising his role as Evan Hansen, clearly they will be hiring the special effects team from The Irishman to "de-age" Ben so that he could convincingly play a teenager. (Hell, I thought it was a stretch on Broadway!) | |
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| re: Dear Evan Hansen Film Casting | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 01:39 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Dear Evan Hansen Film Casting - mattyp4 12:32 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| i agree, but it's worth nothing that when he started playing the role he was 20 and 21. I think he has a mature look in general, but when i saw him in the off-broadway production he looked believable enough (he would have been 22). | |
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| re: Dear Evan Hansen Film Casting | |
| Posted by: mattyp4 10:51 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Dear Evan Hansen Film Casting - Chazwaza 01:39 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| Even though I said it was "a stretch on Broadway," that was just a simple generalization. I actually saw it when it was Off-Broadway too! I didn't quite buy him as a high school student then but it was easily forgivable. Now? Over 4 years later? Ehhh.... | |
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| re: Dear Evan Hansen Film Casting | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 12:02 pm EDT 08/20/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Dear Evan Hansen Film Casting - mattyp4 10:51 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| "Even though I said it was 'a stretch on Broadway,' that was just a simple generalization. I actually saw it when it was Off-Broadway too! I didn't quite buy him as a high school student then but it was easily forgivable. Now? Over 4 years later? Ehhh...." I think we should all keep in mind that there's a huge difference between someone in their late 20s playing a high school-age student on stage as compared to film. On stage, including Broadway, teenagers are rarely played by actual teenagers, especially not when we're talking about leading roles or major supporting roles, whereas I would say such casting happens far more often in film and TV. There are a number of reasons for this, but the fact that it's true has, I would say, caused audiences to be far more accepting of young adults playing teenagers on stage than on film. THAT SAID, I think we should also keep in mind that two of the most popular film musicals of all time are GREASE and the 1961 film of WEST SIDE STORY, so......there are major exceptions to every rule. Maybe the producers of the DEAR EVAN HANSEN movie looked at those two huge hits in deciding it would be perfectly okay to sign Ben Platt to repeat his stage role in the movie despite his age. |
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| “ Maybe the producers of the DEAR EVAN HANSEN movie ...” | |
| Posted by: kieran 02:19 pm EDT 08/20/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Dear Evan Hansen Film Casting - Michael_Portantiere 12:02 pm EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| Platt’s father is one of the film’s producers. | |
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| is there anything in WSS that says they are or need to be under 18? | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 01:07 pm EDT 08/20/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Dear Evan Hansen Film Casting - Michael_Portantiere 12:02 pm EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| I think it works fine with the audience assuming they are between 17-23, and i don't think there's anything in the film that ages them below that. WSS is not set in a high school with high schooler students, like DEH. (and no, i don't think the Dance at the Gym tells us they are high school age - that is a community space, I never took it as organized by or for high school students specifically). Maybe my memory betrays me. But i do think they are different in terms of how weird it would look to have people in their mid-20s playing the characters. |
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| re: is there anything in WSS that says they are or need to be under 18? | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 10:16 pm EDT 08/20/20 | |
| In reply to: is there anything in WSS that says they are or need to be under 18? - Chazwaza 01:07 pm EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| "I think it works fine with the audience assuming they are between 17-23, and i don't think there's anything in the film that ages them below that. WSS is not set in a high school with high schooler students, like DEH. (and no, i don't think the Dance at the Gym tells us they are high school age - that is a community space, I never took it as organized by or for high school students specifically). " Well, that is a good point. I guess I've always thought of the main WSS character, or most of them, as teenagers. But I suppose you're right that there's no reason why some or all of them can't be at least a little bit older, and I imagine it's likely that some members of actual gangs at the time were in their early 20s. On the other hand, GREASE is definitely supposed to be about high school kids, and the actors in that movie were pretty far removed from that in terms of age. |
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| re: is there anything in WSS that says they are or need to be under 18? | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 10:42 pm EDT 08/20/20 | |
| In reply to: re: is there anything in WSS that says they are or need to be under 18? - Michael_Portantiere 10:16 pm EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| For sure. I am no expect on gangs of the 50s in NYC, but I think it's safe to say gangs are/were by no means just for teenagers, and you don't just leave a gang or "gang life" when you turn 18 or 21. In the most wholesome way, the gang is probably a family to most of these guys, part of their community too, in another sense they may not have options or interest in leaving the gang, and in other senses they may not be allowed to. I have no idea how the Jets work. But maybe it's because my first exposure to WSS was the film, I never assumed they were in High School because they don't look like they are. But more than anything, the way they act with and toward the Girls always made me think they were mostly 18-24. |
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| re: is there anything in WSS that says they are or need to be under 18? | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 12:20 pm EDT 08/21/20 | |
| In reply to: re: is there anything in WSS that says they are or need to be under 18? - Chazwaza 10:42 pm EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| "I am no expect on gangs of the 50s in NYC, but I think it's safe to say gangs are/were by no means just for teenagers, and you don't just leave a gang or "gang life" when you turn 18 or 21. In the most wholesome way, the gang is probably a family to most of these guys, part of their community too, in another sense they may not have options or interest in leaving the gang, and in other senses they may not be allowed to. I have no idea how the Jets work. But maybe it's because my first exposure to WSS was the film, I never assumed they were in High School because they don't look like they are. But more than anything, the way they act with and toward the Girls always made me think they were mostly 18-24." Yes, again very good points. That said, I guess I'm thinking that, generally speaking, gang members tended (and maybe still tend) to be on the younger side because at least some kids who are in gangs when they're in high school (or are high-school aged) might have to cease being active members when they get a little older because they have to get jobs, so they have less time gang membership. (This is part of the reason why, in WSS, Tony leaves the Jets.) But again, I'm sure you're right that there was still a significant percentage of people beyond high school age in gangs. |
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| re: Dear Evan Hansen Film Casting | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 11:25 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Dear Evan Hansen Film Casting - mattyp4 10:51 am EDT 08/20/20 | |
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| Since Platt has moved on to playing adult roles, I wonder if general audiences would accept him playing a teen again. During the first season of THE POLITICIAN, Platt's character was supposed to be a high school student and, were it not for his character attending a Hollywood GREASE high school where all the teen students look like they're 25, it would not have worked at all. The second season with Platt playing the character as a young adult (after a multi-year flash forward in the final episode of the first season) worked so much better. |
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