Baldwin Wallace University to Stage Early Production of Dear Evan Hansen This November

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Broadway veteran Jennifer Hemphill directs the production with her husband John Hemphill, who played Larry Murphy in the national tour.

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Baldwin Wallace will be one of the first universities in the country to be granted the rights to produce the Tony Award-winning musical "Dear Evan Hansen," which will run November12-22 at BW's Kleist Center for Art & Drama.

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"Dear Evan Hansen" (book by Steven Levenson and music/lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul ) won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2017. It brought light to the challenges faced by high school students who often feel isolated and disconnected from their families and communities.

BW music theatre's connection to "Dear Evan Hansen" goes back to the original Broadway production, when then-BW music theatre senior Colton Ryan '17 was selected to join the Broadway company following a national search.

Ryan served as the understudy for the title role being played by Ben Platt , who received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Colton completed his final semester of BW classes remotely while performing on Broadway. Colton went on to play Connor Murphy in the movie version of "Dear Evan Hansen."

Arts management and entrepreneurship alumna Bailey Ford '20, who joined the producing team for the National Tour while serving as account coordinator for Bond Theatricals in N.Y.C.

Broadway veteran Jennifer Hemphill , who currently serves as BW's music theatre director, joined the faculty in the fall of 2025. Hemphill's husband, John Hemphill , is joining BW faculty this fall and will serve as director of the show. He played the role of Larry Murphy, the grieving father of Connor Murphy, in the National Tour of "Dear Evan Hansen" for four years.

The BW production also features music director Richard Biever and choreographer Gregory Daniels . The design team includes set and projection design by Lindsay Webster , costume design by Suzanne Houstle , lighting design by Logan Chapman and sound design by Angie Hayes.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/cleveland/article/DEAR-EVAN-HANSEN-to-be-Presented-at-Baldwin-Wallace-University-20260910)._