When the hashtag “you will be found” swept the world, many researched it and found it came from the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen. The Justin Paul and Benj Pasek composed vehicle steered itself to greatness, taking home the Tony for Best Musical in 2017. And now the show is steering its way now to the big screen, as Universal Pictures has now picked up the film rights to the musical. Marc Platt (La La Land) is slated to produce while Stephen Chblonsky (Perks Of Being A Wallflower) is in talks to direct following the success of his film, Wonder. Steven Levenson, who authored the show’s book, will be scripting.
Dear Evan Hansen follows a high school student riddled with social anxiety who fabricates a story about a classmate who committed suicide in order to create a relationship with his classmate’s family. It explores themes of suicide and mental illness in a new light, causing a wave on social media of many people sharing the hashtag above in solidarity. The show opened on Broadway two years ago next month after shorter runs in Washington DC and off-Broadway. It won five additional Tonys, including Best Actor for lead Ben Platt.
There is no start date as of yet to the production and it is unclear whether or not actor Ben Platt will be reprising the titular role that he made famous on stage. Of course, with his father being Marc Platt the film’s producer, he just may have an inside track.
