With director Stephen Chbosky’s (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Wonder) Dear Evan Hansen arriving in theaters this weekend, I recently got to speak with Amy Adams and Julianne Moore about bringing the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical to movie screens. If you’re not familiar with Dear Evan Hansen, the high school-set film is written for the screen by the show’s Tony-winning writer Steven Levenson, with music and lyrics by the show’s Oscar, Grammy, and Tony-winning songwriting team of Benj Pasek & Justin Paul. The story is about a high school outsider (Ben Platt) who gains friendship and fame by falsely claiming that he had a tight bond with one of his deceased classmates. The film and play is a powerful look at isolation, social anxiety, and grief and shines a light on the importance of talking about mental health. Dear Evan Hansen also stars Kaitlyn Deaver, Amandla Stenberg, Danny Pino, Colton Ryan, and Nik Dodani.
During the interview, they talked about why they each wanted to be part of the adaptation, what it was like watching Ben Platt’s performance up close and the way he could sing and cry at the same time, why Adams always cries when she talks about Dear Evan Hansen, and more.
Watch what Amy Adams and Julianne Moore had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about.
Amy Adams and Julianne Moore
- What was it about the material that said they have to do it?
- What was it like watching Ben Platt’s performance up close and the way he could sing and cry at the same time?
- Why Adams cries when she talks about making the movie.
