Dear Evan Hansen movie sets September release date

Dear Evan Hansen is going from the stage to the screen.

Universal announced Friday that its upcoming film adaptation of the Broadway musical will hit theaters later this year on Sept. 24. Ben Platt is once again playing the titular high schooler, after originating the role in the Broadway production (the role that won him an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony).

The show centers on Evan, an awkward and socially anxious student who's caught in a web of lies after he pretends he was close with a classmate who died by suicide. Julianne Moore also stars as Evan's mom Heidi, with Amy Adams as Cynthia, the mother of Evan's classmates Connor (played in the film by Colton Ryan) and Zoe (Booksmart's Kaitlyn Dever). The cast also includes Amandla Stenberg, Nik Dodani, and Danny Pino.

Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) is directing the film from a script by original show writer Steven Levenson, with music and lyrics by original songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

Dear Evan Hansen's newly announced release date means that it's one of several Broadway adaptations scheduled to hit theaters in 2021: The film version of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegria Hudes' In the Heights is set for release in June, while Steven Spielberg's new version of West Side Story is slated for December. The film adaptation of Everybody's Talking About Jamie is also expected to be released this year.

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