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This past Saturday was a great day, and here's why: Alessandro Costantini and Shakura Dickson from Toronto's production of Dear Evan Hansen took over BroadwayWorld's Instagram Story for a behind-the-scenes look of a two-show day at the Royal Alexandra Theatre! In case you missed all the fun (or just want to relive the adventures of these two friends on a perfect day), we're compiled footage from the takeover for you to enjoy. Check it all out below!
Alessandro, who plays Jared Kleinman, is a Canada native who has run the independent musical theatre company YES Theatre in Sudbury for 10 years. Shakura, who plays Alana first appeared on the Toronto theatre stage in Obsidian Theatre's Other Side of the Game, and has also appeared in Girls Like That and Jerusalem.
Produced in Toronto by Stacey Mindich and David Mirvish, the first international production of the multi-Tony Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen began performances at the Royal Alexandra Theatre on March 5, 2019 and is now on stage through June 30, 2019. The show officially opens in Toronto on Thursday March 28, 2019.
The winner of six 2017 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Dear Evan Hansen features a book by Tony Award-winner Steven Levenson, a score by Academy Award, and Tony & Grammy Award-winning composers Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, and direction by 4-time Tony® Award nominee Michael Greif. The Grammy Award-winning Original Broadway Cast Recording of Dear Evan Hansen produced by Atlantic Records, was released in February 2017, making an extraordinary debut on the Billboard 200 and entering the chart at #8 - the highest charting debut position for an original cast album since 1961 - and went on to win the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album. A new deluxe version of the cast recording, including six bonus tracks and a pop cover from Katy Perry of "Waving through a Window" is now available digitally.
Declared "One of the most remarkable shows in musical theater history" by the Washington Post's Peter Marks, Dear Evan Hansen opened on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre to rave reviews on December 4, 2016, where it's broken all box office records and has struck a chord with critics and audiences alike. In addition to the Broadway and Toronto productions, there is a national tour currently underway with performances scheduled across North America, and a London production set to debut in October 2019 at the Noel Coward Theatre. The Broadway production recently celebrated its two-year anniversary with a special donation to the Smithsonian, where the show's iconic blue polo and arm cast will now be part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. Rolling Stone calls Dear Evan Hansen, "a game-changer that hits you like a shot in the heart" and The New York Times raves "a gut-punching, breathtaking knockout of a musical."
In addition to winning six 2017 Tony awards and a 2018 Grammy Award, Dear Evan Hansen has won numerous other awards, including the 2017 Drama League Award for Outstanding Musical Production and for the off-Broadway production, two Obie Awards, a Drama Desk Award, and two Outer Critics Circle Awards and two Helen Hayes Awards.
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