Dear Evan Hansen - Original Broadway Cast Recording

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are certainly riding a musical hot streak. Though musical theater buffs had already been on their contemporary bandwagon with their score to the award-winning show, "Dogfight" (or before that with the musical, "Edges"), the masses discovered the prides of the University of Michigan when they contributed songs to the television show, "Smash!" Now, between their score for the Oscar-favored, "La La Land," and their Broadway score for the Tony-favored, "Dear Evan Hansen," their success is currently soaring.

"Dear Evan Hansen" only opened on Broadway in December, and now the score is digitally available on Atlantic Records. A strong marketing campaign ahead of the general release, which included advanced streaming of the gut-wrenching trio, "Requiem," and a video of Ben Platt ("Pitch Perfect") performing his first solo in this new show, "Waving Through a Window," has attracted hordes of listeners, particularly Gen-Xers and Millenials, in droves, whether they were able to enjoy either of the pre-Broadway productions or not.

The score provides the perfect synergy of angst-ridden ballads and acoustic guitar driven mid-tempos to create a set of songs perfectly targeted for the technologically-obsessed music lovers of today. Platt leads a cast of eight through this 21st-century tale of a high schooler's struggle to fit in, and the opportunity that arises for his love and acceptance when another, similarly lost teen, commits suicide.

Rachel Bay Jones ("Louie") is Heidi Hansen, Evan's single-mother, while Jennifer Laura Thompson ("Urinetown") and Michael Park ("As The World Turns") are the Murphys, well-off parents of Connor and Zoe (Laura Dreyfuss - Madison from "Glee"). Zoe is the object of Evan Hansen's affection, as the parents attempt to love their children, while struggling to find the balance between making ends meet and giving the kids the benefits of those ends.

The recording is produced by Pasek and Paul, along with music supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire ("Hamilton"), and is available through all digital media outlets. The production is currently at the Music Box Theatre and the score of "Dear Evan Hansen" will get a lot of attention come time for the Tony Awards.

"Dear Evan Hansen"
$14.98
Digital and CD formats
www.atlanticrecords.com