Dear Evan Hansen is a teen drama film directed by Stephen Chbosky and adapted for the screen by Steven Levenson from his, Benj Pasek’s, and Justin Paul’s 2015 stage musical of the same name.
The film is a collaboration between Universal Pictures and Marc Platt, and it stars Platt’s son, Ben Platt, in the lead role, which he originated on stage. Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, Nik Dodani, Colton Ryan, Danny Pino, Julianne Moore, and Amy Adams round out the ensemble group.
The film will make its world premiere as part of the Opening Night Gala Presentation at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2021, and will be released in theatres by Universal Pictures on September 24, 2021.
Following the suicide of a classmate, Evan Hansen, a nervous high school student finds embroiled in a web of falsehoods, familial and romantic relationships. The storey begins with a miscommunication: one of the deceased student’s family members misinterprets Hansen’s diaristic letter to himself for the suicide note of a classmate. What follows is a look at grief, fear, betrayal, and how, even with the world at our fingertips, we can still feel alone.
The film’s production was completed, according to Universal Pictures chairperson Donna Langley, who informed ScreenDaily in December 2020. Over 1 hour 18 minutes of the entire runtime of 2 hours 17 minutes is made up of 16 songs.
The first trailer for the new Dear Evan Hansen film was published on May 18 by Universal. Watch the complete trailer, which is set to the song “You Will Be Found” and gives a detailed description of the show’s plot.
Dear Evan Hansen filming locations
Ben Platt confirmed that principal photography for Dear Evan Hansen had begun on August 25, 2020. It was filmed in Los Angeles, California, and Atlanta, Georgia, with principal photography beginning in September and ending around Thanksgiving.
Additional filming took done in Fayetteville, Georgia as well. While the pandemic definitely presented some roadblocks and hiccups when it came to filming, they managed to pull through.
Los Angeles, California
Most of the main filming was divided between Los Angeles and Atlanta, both of which cities have seen their own share of movies being filmed. Los Angeles is definitely still the place to be in for all things entertainment and that also includes filming and making movies.
The city is famous for the very recognizable Hollywood sign as it stands tall as the home of the entertainment and film industry in the United States.
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is no stranger to filming and Dear Evan Hansen makes wonderful use of the city. In specific, we have learnt that a bunch of filming took place in Blackhail Studios in Atlanta and a city called Ellijay in Atlanta.
Ellijay is a Georgia city located in Gilmer County. At the time of the 2010 census, the population was 1,619 people. Gilmer County’s county seat is in this city. Agriculture is vital in Gilmer County, which is recognised as Georgia’s “Apple Capital.” In October, the city hosts the Georgia Apple Festival.
Fayetteville, Georgia
While a main chunk of the filming did take place in Los Angeles and Atlanta, additional filming also took place in Fayetteville, Georgia and this can be seen when we see scenes involving Ellison State Park were incorporated. The high school sequences were shot at Fayetteville’s Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School.
The Autumn Smile Apple Orchard/Connor Murphy Memorial Orchard was used for the scenes, as was B.J. Reece Orchards. The COVID-19 testing site for the performers and crew personnel on set was Blackhall Studios in Atlanta.
We can’t wait to see how all of these filming locations come together cohesively and reflect the films persona.