Young actor gets his chance to play title role in last performances of ‘Dear Evan Hansen’

As the Broadway musical “Dear Evan Hansen" approaches its closing date, one final actor will get his long-awaited chance to take over the title role.
Sam Primack, 21, says he's always loved the show and dreamed of playing the role of Evan. He was cast as an understudy in the Broadway production in 2019 when he was still in high school. And he performed in the national tour of the musical as the Evan alternate.
He will step into the role on Broadway on Sept. 6.
"I think the show at its core is about connection and all of our need to connect," says Primack. "When he (Evan) doesn't feel seen, that's when he makes choices that lead him down a pretty dark path."
The musical is about a high school senior with social anxiety who gets caught up in the suicide of a classmate and pretends through a chain of emails that he was the student's friend and was trying to help him.
“Dear Evan Hansen” premiered on Broadway in 2016 to critical acclaim and won numerous Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It is scheduled to hold its final performance at the Music Box Theatre on Sept. 18.