Dear Evan Hansen Auditions
Organization
The Everett Theatre · Middletown · DERegion
LocalFees
FreeCategory
AuditionsDeadline
Wednesday, November 4, 2026 · 27 days leftShow Address
47 W. Main StreetDescription
Dear Evan Hansen Auditions
Ages: 17+
About the Show: Evan Hansen is a painfully anxious high school senior who would rather be invisible than risk being noticed. When a letter he wrote to himself as a therapy exercise ends up in the hands of Connor Murphy, a troubled classmate who dies by suicide days later, Connor’s grieving family mistakes it for proof that the two boys were secret best friends. Desperate to ease their pain and to finally belong somewhere, Evan goes along with the misunderstanding. One small lie becomes a viral movement, a new family, and a first love, until the truth threatens to take everything away. Funny, heartbreaking, and deeply human, Dear Evan Hansen is a contemporary pop-rock musical about connection, grief, honesty, and the universal need to be seen and to be found.
Performance Dates: February 12, 13, 19 , 20 at 7:30pm & February 14 & 21 at 2pm
Audition Dates: You may arrive at any time between the start and end time. Attendance throughout the duration of the audition is not needed. Check-In at The Annex next door to the theatre at 43 W. Main Street, Middletown, Delaware.
Monday, November 2 I 6pm to 9pm & Wednesday, November 4 I 6pm to 9pm
Call Backs if needed (by invitation only) Friday, November 6 I 6pm to 10pm
Rehearsals: Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays 6:30-9pm Read Through: Monday, November 9 from 6:30-9pm
Cast Members may not be needed at all rehearsals. A schedule will be finalized once casting and conflicts are received. Additional rehearsals may be needed. To be determined.
Important Information:
- Please complete the online audition form before arrival or sending your video.Audition Form
- We have provided audition and callback music and sides at this site: https://zips.to/deh-auditions
- In-person auditions are preferred; however, if you cannot audition in-person, you may submit a video audition BEFORE 4PM ON November 4 to auditions@theeverett.org and CC to bob@bobgatchel.com. Late video submissions will not be accepted.
- Video auditions should include:
- Name, age, the role you’re auditioning for, and the song you will be performing
- Choose a song that shows your vocal range, see AUDITION INFORMATION below
- Read the script sides for two different characters
- A brief description of your performance experience, including any harmony or small-ensemble singing.
- Conflict schedule
- No conflicts during tech rehearsals. 2/6 to 2/11 rehearsals are mandatory.
- As a volunteer-based nonprofit organization, The Everett depends on the support of our performers' friends and family in positions such as box office, ticket taker, concessions, and ushers. As a thank you for assisting in these key roles, volunteers are able to enjoy the show for free.
- All performers are required to attend set strike immediately following the last performance.
Audition Information:
- We appreciate the time, effort and courage it takes to audition. Please be assured that we are committed to providing you with a fair chance to show us your best in the audition room in a welcoming and fun environment. Once decisions have been made, everyone auditioning will be contacted by email regarding the outcome of their audition — whether offered a role or not. Please make sure the contact details on your audition form are accurate and that you check your spam/junk folder.
- Due to the sensitive subject matter of this production, we are requesting that auditioners be no younger than 17 at time of auditions. Five of the eight characters are high school students, but, due to the emotional depth of the material, mature content, and vocal demands, it is quite possible older individuals could be cast in the student roles. In addition, the three parent roles are to be adults in their 40’s, but could also be played by actors younger than that age.
- Anyone 17 years of age cast for the show will be asked to submit a parental permission form.
- Dear Evan Hansen is an intimate, emotionally powerful show with a small cast, and every single performer carries real weight. We are looking for:
- Strong, honest actors who can find both the humor and the heartbreak in the material.
- Strong contemporary pop/rock singers who are also excellent harmony singers; with only eight performers, every voice matters in the company numbers.
- Emotional availability, vulnerability, and the ability to handle sensitive material with care.
- Believable family dynamics and chemistry, especially between the Hansen and Murphy households.
- Friendly people who work hard.
- Commitment to the show and rehearsal process.
- A good attitude & willing to stretch and adapt as a performer.
- Come prepared to perform a song from Dear Evan Hansen (HIGHLY PREFERRED). A contemporary pop/rock musical theatre song is acceptable if you prefer. Prepare approximately 16-32 bars of music (about 1 minute).
- Please do not sing unaccompanied. Bring a backing track with no vocals (no accompanist will be provided), by downloading a track to a local file, or mobile device, to connect to our Bluetooth PA. Avoid streaming from YouTube or other internet services, as commercials or connection interruptions may disrupt your audition.
- Demonstrate your vocal range and ability.
- This score lives in a contemporary pop/rock style—show us your natural, conversational sound as well as your power.
- Memorization is preferred, but you may read from sheet music.
- We want to see your range and see you ACT when you SING.
- Headshots and resumes are accepted, but not required.
- Please bring all conflicts. Non-emergency conflicts are not accepted after a role has been offered.
CONTENT WARNING: Dear Evan Hansen is a contemporary musical drama, with plenty of humor, that deals openly and honestly with subjects such as suicide, grief, anxiety, depression, isolation, and the pressures of social media. We consider these to be aspects of real life which should be represented in art; however, we acknowledge these subjects may be triggering for some people.
Please seriously, and honestly, consider your ability and comfort dealing with these issues before committing to your involvement in Dear Evan Hansen. In particular, you should note the following:
- The death by suicide of a teenage character (Connor) is central to the story. It happens offstage, but it is discussed throughout the show.
- Connor continues to appear on stage after his death as a figure of Evan’s imagination.
- It is revealed that Evan’s broken arm may have been the result of a suicide attempt.
- The show depicts social anxiety, depression, and a family’s grief and anger in a realistic, emotional way.
- Connor physically shoves Evan to the ground in an early scene.
- Evan and Zoe are required to kiss with potential intensity.
- Some scenes include references to drug use.
- There are intense verbal arguments between parents and their children.
- Characters are subjected to online harassment and public shaming via social media.
- The script and songs include strong language, including frequent profanity, and sexual humor.
To avoid difficulties later, we encourage all auditionees to read a full synopsis of the show and listen to the Original Broadway Cast Recording prior to auditioning.
You might also wish to discuss this with your family, friends or healthcare professional prior to making the decision to audition.
Character Breakdown:
EVAN HANSEN – (Stage Age: 17) Our lead. A smart, sincere, and painfully self-conscious high school senior who lives with severe social anxiety and would rather hover at the edges of his own life than risk ridicule, or worse, being ignored entirely. Awkward, fidgety, and often funny without meaning to be, Evan is desperate to connect but terrified of it. When a misunderstanding makes him the center of attention, he is swept up in a lie that gives him everything he ever wanted. Requires an exceptional actor-singer with stamina, vulnerability, and impeccable comic timing; Evan is on stage for nearly the entire show and carries most of the score. Voice: Tenor, G2 – C5. Contemporary pop/rock tenor with a strong, flexible mix and easy access to falsetto. Must be able to sing with raw emotion while staying technically healthy over a demanding run. Suggested audition cut: “Waving Through a Window” or “For Forever”
HEIDI HANSEN – (Stage Age: 40s) Evan’s mother. A single mom working long shifts as a nurse’s aide while taking night classes to become a paralegal. Overworked and stretched far too thin, Heidi loves her son fiercely, but fears the two of them are drifting apart and is willing to do anything to repair the damage. Warm, funny, frazzled, and ultimately devastatingly honest. Her second-act ballad is one of the emotional high points of the show. Voice: Mezzo-soprano / belter, F3 – E♭5. Strong contemporary belt and mix with the ability to act through a song with simplicity and deep emotional truth. Suggested audition cut: “So Big / So Small”
ZOE MURPHY – (Stage Age: 16) Connor’s younger sister. Sensitive and sophisticated with a sharp, dry sense of humor, Zoe has no interest in the status games of high school. She plays guitar in the jazz band and has spent years living in the shadow of her brother’s volatility. After Connor’s death she feels a terrible ambivalence: she can’t grieve someone who hurt her, and resents everyone who tells her she should. Evan’s longtime crush and eventual love interest. Requires strong chemistry with Evan. Voice: Mezzo-soprano, F3 – E5. Grounded pop belt and mix with a natural, unaffected sound; able to shift between guarded and tender. Suggested audition cut: “Requiem” or “Only Us”
CONNOR MURPHY – (Stage Age: 17) An angry, disaffected loner and a source of endless worry for his long-suffering parents. Connor has been “the troubled kid” for as long as anyone can remember and is known at school for his explosive temper and drug use. After a volatile encounter with Evan early in the show, Connor dies by suicide. He then reappears throughout the show as a figure of Evan’s imagination, becoming a charismatic, sardonic, and ultimately haunting presence who shifts to become whoever Evan needs him to be. Requires an actor with edge, charisma, and range from menace to comedy to heartbreak. Voice: Baritone / tenor, C3 – G♯4. Pop/rock baritenor with grit and power in the upper range. Suggested audition cut: “Sincerely, Me” or “Disappear”
CYNTHIA MURPHY – (Stage Age: 40s) Connor and Zoe’s mother. To Evan, she seems to be the perfect mother: nurturing, available, and willing to talk about anything. To her own children, it’s more complicated. A stay-at-home mom who has tried every self-help program, wellness trend, and therapy to reach her son, Cynthia is shattered by his death and clings to Evan’s stories as a lifeline. Emotionally expressive and fragile, but with a steel core. Voice: Mezzo-soprano / belter, F3 – E5. Strong contemporary belt & mix with a warm, open sound. Suggested audition cut: “Requiem” or “Anybody Have a Map?”
LARRY MURPHY – (Stage Age: 40s) Connor and Zoe’s father. Often tense, guarded, and taciturn at home, Larry shows a different face to the world, representing for Evan the dad he always wished for: strong, confident, and above all reliable, someone to be counted on. A successful professional who has long since run out of ways to reach his son, Larry keeps his grief locked tightly away until Evan unexpectedly gives him a chance to be the father he wishes he had been. Requires a subtle, restrained actor who can reveal enormous feeling underneath a controlled surface. Voice: Baritone, B♭2 – G4. Warm, lyrical baritone with a solid contemporary mix at the top. Suggested audition cut: “To Break in a Glove”
JARED KLEINMAN – (Stage Age: 17) Evan’s “family friend” (he is very clear that they are NOT actual friends; their parents are friends and he needs the connection for his car insurance). Droll, sarcastic, and relentlessly quippy, Jared covers his own insecurities with a well-practiced swagger and a know-it-all arrogance. He helps Evan fabricate his emails with Connor and provides much of the show’s comic relief, but underneath the wisecracks is a kid who is just as lonely as everyone else. Requires excellent comic timing and quick-fire delivery. Voice: Tenor, D3 – B4. Bright, agile pop tenor with personality in the sound and the ability to handle fast, rhythmic lyrics. Suggested audition cut: “Sincerely, Me”
ALANA BECK – (Stage Age: 17) An overachieving classmate and self-appointed leader. Earnest to a fault, prone to melodrama, and involved in every club, committee, and cause, Alana hides a deeper loneliness beneath an ever-present smile and an almost aggressive friendliness. She becomes the driving force behind “The Connor Project,” the student movement to honor Connor’s memory, and she refuses to let it fade. Requires high energy, clarity, and precise comic delivery, balanced with genuine vulnerability. Voice: Mezzo-soprano / belter, F3 – E5. Confident, bright contemporary belt and mix with strong rhythmic and harmony skills. Suggested audition cut: “Disappear” or “Good for You” (Alana’s section)
ENSEMBLE / ADDITIONAL ROLES - Beyond the eight principal roles, the audition panel MAY decide to add more actors as ensemble for movement and vocals - and, subject to licensing, additional offstage vocalists for the online “virtual community” voices heard throughout the show.
CALLBACKS – IF NEEDED: After initial auditions, the panel will discuss casting and may invite some auditionees back. Callbacks help us decide between potential options and see how different people look and work together, so all auditionees should keep the callback date available. If you are called back, you will be contacted by email with any music or script sides to prepare. We suggest getting familiar with the score beforehand.
Callbacks may include: Script Reading: You will read scenes from the show with other auditionees. Dear Evan Hansen is an intimate, dialogue-driven show that relies on honest, detailed acting and real chemistry between the families, so you may be asked to re-perform a scene in a different way or with a different partner.
Additional Singing: You may be asked to sing again, including material from the show, alone or with other auditionees.
Movement: Dear Evan Hansen is not a traditional dance show, but it does include musical staging, particularly in company numbers such as “You Will Be Found.” Our movement director may take small groups through a brief staging exercise. No dance experience or special shoes are required; just dress comfortably.
If you aren’t called back, it does not mean your audition was unsuccessful. Depending on the outcome of auditions, we reserve the right to hold an additional audition period.