METRMAG Spotlight On: Caitlin Sams and Jeff Brooks from "DEAR EVAN HANSEN" at the Hanover Theatre (Worcester, MA.)
(Cover Photo: The CAST of the musical "DEAR EVAN HANSEN" playing at the Hanover Theatre in Worcester, MA. from January 10, 2025 through January 12, 2025. Photo Credit: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)
By Kevin T. Baldwin
METRMAG Reviewer
# 774-242-6724
METRMAG Spotlight On: Caitlin Sams and Jeff Brooks from "DEAR EVAN HANSEN" at the Hanover Theatre
The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts
Presents the
Smash Broadway Musical
"DEAR EVAN HANSEN"
Music and Lyrics by Justin Paul and Benj Pasek
Book by Steven Levenson
Original Director Michael Greif
Original Choreographer Danny Mefford
Music Director Michael Hopewell
Music Supervisor/Orchestrator Alex Lacamoire
Cast Includes: Michael Fabisch as “Evan Hansen,” Hatty Ryan King as “Zoe Murphy,” Bre Cade as “Heidi Hansen,” Caitlin Sams as “Cynthia Murphy,” Alex Pharo as “Connor Murphy,” Jeff Brooks as “Larry Murphy,” Gabriel Vernon Nunag as “Jared Kleinman,” Makena Jackson as “Alana Beck,” Michael Perez as “Evan Alternate, U/S Connor Murphy,” Monica Blume as “U/S Heidi Hansen, Cynthia Murphy, Alana Beck,” Julianna Braga as “U/S Alana Beck, Zoe Murphy,” Blake Ehrlichman as “U/S Evan Hansen, Connor Murphy, Jared Kleinman,” Jenna Kantor as “U/S Heidi Hansen, Cynthia Murphy,” Jared Svoboda as “U/S Larry Murphy.”
Additional Creative Team:
Direction Restager - Danny Sharron; Associate Music Supervisor - Ben Cohn; Direction / Choreography Restager Mark Myars; Scenic Design - David Korins; Projection Design - Peter Nigrini; Costume Design - Emily Rebholz; Lighting Design - Japhy Weideman; Sound Design - Nevin Steinberg; Casting - Murnane Casting; Music Coordinator - Talitha Fehr; Keyboard Programmer - Randy Cohen; Production Stage Manager - Anna Klevit; Assistant Stage Manager - Katy Gentry; Company Manager - Aaron Martin; Assistant Company Manager - Lindsay Kaplan; Production Manager - Gregg Damanti; General Manager - Andrew Terlizzi; Tour Direction - The Booking Group; Tour Marketing & Publicity - Bond Theatrical; Physical Therapy - Neuro Tour; Executive Producer - Jayna Neagle; Producer & Tour Management - Crossroads Live.
Performances:
January 10, 2025 through January 12, 2025
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
Presented at the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester.
TICKETS:
For More Information: 877-571-SHOW (7469) info@thehanovertheatre.org
BUY TICKETS
COVID 19 PROTOCOLS
Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.
(Photo: The CAST of the musical "DEAR EVAN HANSEN" playing at the Hanover Theatre in Worcester, MA. from January 10, 2025 through January 12, 2025. Photo Credit: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)
METRMAG Spotlight On: Caitlin Sams and Jeff Brooks from "DEAR EVAN HANSEN" at the Hanover Theatre
Sure, the media may sometimes seen as being “on the outside, always looking in,” but today METRMag is tapping at the glass and taking a firmly placed step inside the window to take a closer look at the musical "DEAR EVAN HANSEN" along with two of the show’s stars.
"DEAR EVAN HANSEN" has a Tony Award-winning score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and features a Tony Award-winning book written by Steven Levenson.
The musical opened on Broadway in 2016 running until 2022, with 21 preview performances and a disputed figure of either 1,672 or 1,678 regular performances.
"DEAR EVAN HANSEN" was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning six, including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, Best Actor (for Ben Platt), and Best Featured Actress (for Rachel Bay Jones).
A 2021 film adaptation had Ben Platt reprising his role.
The show continues to be performed worldwide with the latest touring production coming to Worcester’s Hanover Theatre from January 10th through 12th.
The songs, by Pasek and Paul, reveal pressures and emotional battles that result from a student’s death and a fellow classmate’s involvement with the family.
Pasek and Paul’s ballads stand out, but the story has also successfully brought to the front and opened dialogue on themes of mental illness and youth suicide.
Two characters in the show are the victim’s parents Cynthia Murphy, played by actress CAITLIN SAMS, and Larry Murphy, played by actor JEFF BROOKS.
METRMag had the pleasure of speaking with both SAMS and BROOKS about their respective careers and about their roles in the musical "DEAR EVAN HANSEN."
(Photo: CAITLIN SAMS plays "Cynthia Murphy" in the musical "DEAR EVAN HANSEN" coming to the Hanover Theatre in Worcester, MA. from January 10, 2025 through January 12, 2025. Photo Credit: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)
CAITLIN SAMS, who says she was “born in Indiana but grew up in Michigan most of my life,” is actually no stranger to the Hanover Theatre stage, having previously performed in a couple of tours.
SAMS appeared as part of the National Touring company of the musical “Flashdance” and then later as Charlie Bucket’s mother in the tour for “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
(Photo: JEFF BROOKS plays "Larry Murphy" in the musical "DEAR EVAN HANSEN" coming to the Hanover Theatre in Worcester, MA. from January 10, 2025 through January 12, 2025. Photo Credit: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)
JEFF BROOKS, who was born in what he describes as "rural" Marathon, New York, has lived in New York City for the last 20 years.
BROOKS is also no stranger to the Hanover Theatre stage having performed previously as gangster "Sonny" in the National Tour for the musical adaptation of "A Bronx Tale" back in January, 2020.
Other National Tours for BROOKS include the shows “Chicago,” “Bullets Over Broadway,” “Disney’s Beauty & the Beast,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “The Sound of Music,” and “Oklahoma!” and also appeared in the Netflix show “The Watcher.”
Both performers recall their earliest experiences.
“For me it was probably Christmas pageants,” SAMS remembers, emphasizing, “but I definitely was a theatre kid from the very beginning.” BROOKS remembers his first time on stage, telling, “I played one of the three wise men in my church’s nativity pageants.”
“I also did some high school drama - and my mother was the music director and piano player.”
As they made the decision to pursue their mutual dream of being on stage, the actors reminisce about their respective resolutions.
“I really thought I wanted to be a singer-songwriter,” SAMS recalls adding, “but, unfortunately, there is NO college major in ‘rock star.’
“So, I decided to study musical theatre. My parents were like ‘oh wow - what have we done?’ at first because they were conacred about the ability to earn a living. But as we started looking at colleges and meeting with professors, they eventually did get on board with my choice and are still my biggest supporters. I think they know and understand now that there really was no other path for me.”
“Well, first of all, I want to say that there absolutely SHOULD be a college major in ‘rock star’,” jokes BROOKS who discusses his own path to the stage.
“My parents have always been supportive of me and it became less and less an issue for them once things began to work out,” BROOKS says. “My mother is still my biggest fan, my unpaid manager and my biggest critic...and all at the same time.”
As part of her journey, when SAMS appeared at the Hanover Theatre in the 2020 touring production of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” it was literally the week before the entire country shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
SAMS remembers the experience, stating, “We actually shut down in Michigan - and it was such a wild time for everyone. As an actor, your job is so dependent upon travel - and that the world came to such a complete stop made it all so precarious.”
Now, with this latest tour of "DEAR EVAN HANSEN," the two actors share how they had not been exposed to much of the actual story before their auditions.
“It’s funny - because it was so wildly popular - but I had never seen the show,” SAMS says with BROOKS adding “Same.”
“When I first auditioned, I only listened to a couple of songs on the OBC (Original Broadway Cast recording) but it was such an obscure piece to me,” BROOKS says. “So, even after I got the part of Larry, when I came into my first week of rehearsals, we were gathered around the piano and I was told I was in the song ‘Requiem’ - well, I didn’t even know.”
“My first audition was via video,” SAMS says, remembering the casting process. “I was in a hotel room, and I sent those videos in May of this year. I went in for two in-person callbacks and luckily was able to make it happen and then I had a job offer by mid-June.”
BROOKS notes his experience as being slightly different.
“I was in contract doing a show down in Rhode Island,” BROOKS recalls. “I had just done a submission and I had to leave the next week. I got a callback on the opening night of my (current) show and couldn’t attend.”
As fate would have it, even though BROOKS was not available for the callback, he still got an offer the next week to become the offstage cover for the character of “Larry Murphy” which ultimately evolved into taking over the role.
The musical follows high school senior with social anxiety EVAN HANSEN, who inserts himself into the family tragedy by fabricating his relationship to the victim.
EVAN is a bullied 17-year-old suffering from social anxiety, depression, and a recently broken arm.
Advised by a therapist to write letters to himself detailing what will be good about each day, EVAN, through a series of events, clumsily manipulates himself into the lives of the Murphy family.
(Photo: CAITLIN SAMS plays "Cynthia Murphy" in the musical "DEAR EVAN HANSEN" coming to the Hanover Theatre in Worcester, MA. from January 10, 2025 through January 12, 2025. Photo Credit: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)
In "DEAR EVAN HANSEN" the “Murphy family” is rocked by a suicide and, as parents Cynthia and Larry, the tragic event torments each of their characters but in unique ways.
“With Cynthia and Larry, they are trying to make things work for their family and they just aren’t succeeding in that,’ SAMS says as she discusses her character. “Cynthia has all the elements to make her the perfect wife and mom, but she is experiencing a series of ‘disconnects’ after the death of their son collapses their family structure.”
“Cynthia is really at a crisis point in her life, and through the family’s interactions with EVAN, she ultimately winds up in a better place.”
The character of Larry is also emotionally disconnected from his family, including son Connor for using drugs in High School.
BROOKS describes how the musical has a way of reaching generations that might seem diametrically opposed in their ongoing attempt to understand one another.
“There are many interesting character elements involved in the show,” BROOKS says. “We’re watching the show as a journey. Although, as we're looking at it, we also need to take a step outside of the story."
"Larry (as with all the characters) exists in this show that is told from multiple perspectives. First, there is a perspective that is relatable to young people with social media and other ways in how that age group connects with the show. But then, also, there are the characters of Larry, Cynthia and others (whereby) older members of the audience, perhaps parents themselves, can also react to these characters and with that aspect of the story.”
SAMS concurs, emphasizing the actor’s greatest challenge comes in how “so many of the scenes are highly emotional.”
“My directors were clear in reminding me that the audience needs to see me really crying,” SAMS says. “I need to get myself into a heightened state of emotions several times a day.”
“Also, for some scenes they would remind us that, while this is a musical, it really feels more like a play with music - and we would really work at drilling the pacing of the story. There is a rhythm that, as an actor, you walk into, and you can definitely feel when it is right. Every day we have to walk into that rhythm.”
“The emotional workload of the Murphys is enormous and, as Caitlin says, we do this several times a day,” BROOKS notes, adding, “Outside of the emotional load, we are embodying a character whose priorities involve marriage and family."
"It is a large step for me, playing a father and husband dealing with grief and loss. But, as an actor, it was also a really cool step for me to build upon that character and to really feel what he (Larry) is feeling.”
(Photo: JEFF BROOKS plays "Larry Murphy" in the musical "DEAR EVAN HANSEN" coming to the Hanover Theatre in Worcester, MA. from January 10, 2025 through January 12, 2025. Photo Credit: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)
"DEAR EVAN HANSEN" has a tremendous score, and the actors reveal their own personal favorite songs from the show.
“It’s so hard because I fangirl over this music," SAMS says. "It is so good, but the one that tends to always get stuck in my head is ‘Sincerely, Me’.”
For BROOKS - “There’s an extremely beautiful moment late in the second act when EVAN's choices roll out of control and consequences pile up and he sings ‘Words Fail’ – again, it is just a beautiful moment acting wise and one where we are on stage and become totally invested in this moment.”
Both actors praise the latest touring company’s cast and creative team.
“They have all been so great,” SAMS says. “This group has such a great cast dynamic, but also we are all traveling and living and working together. We have a positive experience overall. Our creative team consists of those who worked on the Broadway production, and to work with them has been invaluable.”
BROOKS concurs, also noting how, with the creative team, there is great "attention to detail, especially in how the music is relayed."
"Not just note-wise, but also in areas of volume and intent - I mean, it is great to have that level of commitment in all technical elements of the show. In general, there is a collective sense and unwavering support of all things artistic.”
(Video: A preview of the musical "DEAR EVAN HANSEN" coming to the Hanover Theatre in Worcester, MA. from January 10, 2025 through January 12, 2025. Courtesy Hanover Theatre)
SAMS notes her hope that Hanover Theatre audiences will find themselves “lifted up” and “come away enjoying the plush, dynamic music and score,” of "DEAR EVAN HANSEN."
“I also hope they walk away with the message of hope and healing and that feeling of a more human connection in an otherwise completely digitally connected world.”
“Everyone I talk to online or get greeted by at the stage door, there is such an outpouring of love,” BROOKS says. “Some tell me they had the same story – meaning they may have only listened to the score but never saw the story. So, they had no idea coming in and then, after seeing the show, they tell me how much they loved the story. That’s something I love to hear. That makes it all so special.”
"DEAR EVAN HANSEN" will be performed at the Hanover Theatre in Worcester from January 10th through January 12th, 2025.
For tickets and more information, contact Hanover Theatre at # 877-571-SHOW (7469) or via email at info@thehanovertheatre.org
BUY TICKETS
ABOUT THE SHOW
"DEAR EVAN HANSEN" tells the story of a young man with social anxiety disorder who so yearns to make a connection with his peers that he fabricates a relationship with a deceased student to become closer to the boy’s family.
When a classmate commits suicide, shy EVAN HANSEN finds himself at the center of the tragedy and turmoil.
In a misguided attempt to comfort the boy’s grieving family, EVAN pretends that he was actually good friends with their son.
EVAN invents a fabricated email account to “prove” their friendship, and when a fake suicide note makes its way online, EVAN finds himself the unintended face of a viral video about loneliness and friendship.
As his social currency skyrockets, EVAN HANSEN is drawn deeper and deeper into the lie.
His relationship with his actual mother wanes in comparison to that of his “shiny new family.”
He finally lands the girl of his dreams, and most importantly - he’s no longer invisible.
Eventually, EVAN HANSEN is forced to make a decision: Will he give himself over to the fantasy he’s created, or will he bite the bullet and risk losing everything he’s ever wanted?
With a fast-paced score from songwriting duo Pasek and Paul, (not to mention a few Tony Awards), "DEAR EVAN HANSEN" became an instant hit among theatergoers everywhere. (STAGEAGENT)
For More Information: 877-571-SHOW (7469) info@thehanovertheatre.org
BUY TICKETS
Please contact the box office at 877-571-SHOW (7469) for more information.
ABOUT HANOVER THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Worcester Center for Performing Arts is a registered not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, which owns and operates The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
HANOVER THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
2 Southbridge Street
Worcester, MA. 01608
# 877-571-SHOW (7469)
