ISU to present Idaho’s first amateur ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ production
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POCATELLO – Theater students and community members in Pocatello will be the first non-professional actors to perform a hit 2015 musical in Idaho.
The Idaho State University Department of Performing Arts is set to put on a production of “Dear Evan Hansen” for its 2026 Farm Bureau Summer Theatre production. According to a March 11 news release announcing auditions, “ISU is among the very first educational or amateur organizations in the country granted rights to produce the show.”
“It’s exciting to be one of the first theaters in Idaho to get the rights to it, but also one of the first theaters in Idaho to be able to do a full production of it,” said director Jef Petersen, assistant professor of theater at ISU.
“Dear Evan Hansen” is a musical that follows the title character on a journey where he learns the importance of truth and self-acceptance after a misunderstanding leads him to fabricate a friendship with a troubled classmate who died from suicide.
Idaho audiences have not seen “Dear Evan Hansen” performed for four years, since the show’s off-Broadway run came to Boise in 2022.
People will have a chance to catch a glimpse of the show on Saturday, during the Portneuf Valley Farmer’s Market at 10 a.m. Actors will take the stage at Lookout Point to perform a medley of around five different songs in the show, giving the audience “a good sampling of what the music for the show is like,” Petersen said.
And on Friday, June 5, there will be an open rehearsal at the Trinity Episcopal Church from 5 to 6:30 p.m., which will be “open to the public to come in and listen to some of the music, see some of the scenes, just as a little preview of the show,” Petersen said.
ISU’s production of “Dear Evan Hansen” will include six shows, taking place on June 12, 13, 15, 18, 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the Bistline Theatre at the Stephens Performing Arts Center.
Petersen said that Diana Livingston Friedley, D.M.A., who is the show’s music director, and Tara Young, the artistic director, are both huge proponents of bringing in a cast that’s as large as possible.
Petersen said that this gives “lots of opportunities (to) community members, and then also really fills out the show in ways that make it better.”
As such, there are 20 cast members in the show, with some roles being played by two different actors who alternate performing every other night. This cast will be accompanied by a “large” ensemble, Petersen said.
“We’ve got a large cast of ensemble (members) that are really adding to the fullness and the beauty of the incredible music,” Petersen said.
Not only that, but Petersen also said there will be a full orchestra playing live. The way he sees it, the music is one of the main selling points for the show, but he also sees the story as one that’s relatable for audiences and carries a powerful message.
“It’s a story that’s very relatable, because it’s about some of the ways in modern life we end up feeling very alone, and some of the ways that we work to bridge that connection with other people,” Petersen said.