Lisa Brescia Begins Performances as Heidi Hansen in DEAR EVAN HANSEN Tonight!

Broadway veteran Lisa Brescia will join the company of the Tony Award-winning musical as 'Heidi Hansen,' marking her return to Broadway after six years since departing the cast of Mamma Mia!. Brescia begins performances tonight succeeding Rachel Bay Jones, who plays her final performance on August 5, 2018.

On Broadway, Lisa has played an electric array of leading ladies, having starred as Donna Sheridan in Mamma Mia!, Elphaba in Wicked, Cleo in Twyla Tharp's The Times They Are A-Changin', Amneris in Aida, and Marion Halcolmbe in The Woman in White. Lisa is currently on the Acting faculty at Missouri State University's acclaimed Department of Theater and Dance.

"When I first saw Dear Evan Hansen, I remember thinking: 'This is the kind of storytelling that excites me...the writing, direction, design, and the honest, rich performances...this is as good as it gets!" Brescia said. "After I received the offer to join the Broadway company, and Missouri State gave me their blessing to take some time away, we loaded up a truck and now here we are! Of course, I'll miss my students, but knowing how they feel about Dear Evan Hansen, I suspect they'll be as thrilled as I am."

"I'm so happy we were able to lure Lisa back to NYC to join the Broadway company of Dear Evan Hansen," director Michael Greif commented. "Lisa is an extraordinary actor and singer, and she brings her unique gifts to the demanding and rewarding role of Heidi. We all feel very lucky to have her."

The current cast of Dear Evan Hansen includes Taylor Trensch, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Michael Park, Alex Boniello, Sky Lakota-Lynch, Phoenix Best and Michael Lee Brown, Garrett Long, Olivia Puckett, Ben Ross, Asa Somers, Nicole Van Giesen, Diamond Essence White and Dan Macke.

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 Theater Album.

In addition to winning six Tony awards, 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. The show's original cast recently won a Daytime Emmy Award for "Best Musical Performance on a Daytime Talk Show" for their April 2017 performance of "You Will Be Found" on NBC's "Today Show," only the second Broadway show in history to win that category.

Dear Evan Hansen features scenic design by David Korins, projection design by Peter Nigrini, costume design by Emily Rebholz, lighting design by Japhy Weideman, sound design by Nevin Steinberg, and hair design by David Brian Brown. Music supervision, orchestrations and additional arrangements are by Alex Lacamoire. Ben Cohn is the Associate Music Supervisor. Vocal arrangements and additional arrangements are by Justin Paul. Danny Mefford is the choreographer. U.S. Casting by Tara Rubin Casting/Lindsay Levine. Adrienne Campbell-Holt, Sash Bischoff and Adam Quinn are the Associate Directors. Judith Schoenfeld is the Production Supervisor.

Photo Credit: Linda Lenzi