Lisa Brescia debuts in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway

Stage veteran Lisa Brescia takes on the role of Heidi Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway.

Broadway veteran Lisa Brescia returns to the Great White Way this evening, following an absence of more than a decade and leaving her post as a teacher at Missouri State University, to assume the role of Heidi Hansen in the Tony Award-winning "Best Musical" Dear Evan Hansen at the Music Box Theatre. Tony Award winner ​Rachel Bay Jones exited the Broadway production on August 5.

Ms. Brescia's previous Broadway credits include The Times They Are A-Changin', The Woman in White, Wicked, Mamma Mia!, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Aida.

She previously commented: "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! 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."

Director Michael Greif added: "I'm so happy we were able to lure Lisa back to NYC to join the Broadway company of Dear Evan Hansen. 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 principal cast of Dear Evan Hansen includes Taylor Trensch (as Evan Hansen), Lisa Brescia (as Heidi Hansen), Alex Boniello (as Connor Murphy), Olivia Puckett (as Zoe Murphy), Jennifer Laura Thompson (as Cynthia Murphy), Michael Park (as Larry Murphy), Sky Lakota-Lynch (as Jared Kleinman), and Phoenix Best (as Alana Beck).

Dear Evan Hansen began previews on November 14, 2016 and officially opened on December 4. Read our 5* review.

Dear Evan Hansen features a book by Tony Award winner Steven Levenson, music and lyrics by Tony & Academy Award winners Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, and is directed by four-time Tony Award nominee Michael Greif.

Synopsis: "All his life Evan Hansen has felt invisible. To his peers, to the girl he loves, sometimes even to his own mother. But that was before he wrote the letter - that led to the incident - that started the lie - that ignited a movement - that inspired a community - and changed Evan's status from the ultimate outsider into the somebody everyone wants to know. But how long can Evan keep his secret? And at what price? A tribute to the outsider in us all, Dear Evan Hansen is about someone you know, maybe even someone you are, but more than anything, it's about discovering the person we all long to be - ourselves."

The creative team features choreography by Danny Mefford, musical direction by Ben Cohn, music supervision by Alex Lacamoire, scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Emily Rebholz, lighting design by Japhy Weideman, sound design by Nevin Steinberg, and projection design by Peter Nigrini.

At last year's 71st Annual Tony Awards, the musical picked up the coveted award for "Best Musical," as well as "Best Book of a Musical," "Best Original Score Written for the Theatre," "Best Orchestrations," "Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical" for Ben Platt and "Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical" for Rachel Bay Jones.

Dear Evan Hansen is produced on Broadway by Second Stage Theater in association with Stacey Mindich Productions.

Dear Evan Hansen Tickets are available now for performances through to May 12, 2019.

^{(Photo courtesy of Missouri State University)}